BLOG POST
Why Dream Interpretation?
If you reading my website, you may have several questions. Why does she offer dream interpretation? Why would I want to interpret my dreams? Besides it being fun, interesting, and fascinating, what will Dreamwork Spiritual Direction do for me?
There are 3 answers to this question. 1). Dreams tell you what is wrong in your life (what needs changing) and give you guidance about how to make things better. 2) Dreams help you understand your inner world more fully – your emotions and your spirituality. 3) Last, and perhaps most importantly for people with a spiritual, intuitive, or mystical approach to life, your dreams can guide you toward better, more effective self-love and self-care. The common theme to all of these reasons for receiving dreamwork spiritual direction is to make your life better – happier, healthier, more joyful, peaceful, and loving.
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PART 1
DREAMS SHOW YOU WHAT YOU CAN CHANGE TO MAKE YOUR LIFE BETTER
Dreams give you symbolic pictures of what needs attention in your life – what you can change to create more truth, wholeness, and integrity in your life. The dream gives you a symbolic picture of what is happening in your life. Sometimes the symbolism is obvious; often some exploration is required to understand it. An obvious dream symbol that frequently occurs in my life is this: I dream that my car ran out of gas. This dream occurs when I am overwhelmed, overextended, burning out, trying to do too much, and not attending to my own needs.
The change that is needed to make my life better is obvious after hearing the message, “Your life is a like a car that is out of gas.” Symbolically, I need to “fill my gas tank.” I can choose to practice spiritual disciplines, do things that are fun, attend to my energy, and do things that give me energy rather than depleting my energy. My life is significantly better when I make these changes, every time. Even small changes in the right direction make a big difference. This is often the way of dream guidance. Small changes matter and make life better.
DREAMS HELP YOU UNDERSTAND YOUR FEELINGS, STRUGGLES, AND INNER-CONFLICTS SO THAT YOU CAN FEEL AND LIVE BETTER
Dreams that help you understand your inner life are often the ones that need some exploration. Suppose you dream about fighting with a girl you knew in middle school. I ask you what that person was like, and you remember that she was very rebellious and often made unwise decisions. To explore this dream more deeply, I would ask you the question, “What part of you that is rebellious and unwise are you struggling with?” You might reply that you are struggling with the desire to eat unwisely, to neglect your health, for example. If this is the meaning of the dream for you, then you will be prepared to recognize what changes to your beliefs and actions will make your life better. (The details of the dream will help you understand your inner struggle more completely). A dreamwork spiritual director can help.
DREAMS GUIDE YOU TOWARD SELF LOVE AND SELF CARE
Significantly, dreams guide you toward deeper self-care and more honest self-love. Taking the previous example a step further, I would encourage this dreamer to explore how to love this rebellious part of the self (that is like a middle school girl) who is making unwise decisions about diet and health. I would ask several questions. What is her behavior in the dream telling you about yourself? Perhaps she is showing you an area of your life that needs more self-love. What kind of thoughts and actions can help you shift to a wiser lifestyle that loves and nurtures yourself properly? What changes will make your life better? Discovering the messages of the dream can help you find the key to truly give yourself the nurture that you need.
MY WORK AS A DREAMWORK SPIRITUAL DIRECTOR
My approach to dreamwork spiritual guidance assumes these reasons for doing dreamwork. You might say they are my “big why” for offering dream interpretation as a path to more effective and powerful self-love. I am honored to witness the insights, guidance, and growth that emerge from the process of dream interpretation. I believe that dreams are a way to listen to God as you understand God, a way to listen to your own true self (higher self) and a way to connect with your own inner wisdom. Such important work happens when we seek to understand and follow the guidance of our dreams. My training has prepared me to work with people of all faiths or no faith, and to guide inward spiritual and emotional exploration.
I bring two assumptions to being a dreamwork spiritual director: 1) You are the expert on the personal connection you have with the symbols that show up in your dreams. I don’t tell you what things mean. I do guide you to discover the meaning for you of the objects and actions in your dream. When there are universal symbols in your dreams, I share with you those possible ways of understanding them, but you will determine if they are accurate for you and your dream.
2) It’s my job to ask powerful questions and guide you through the process of interpreting your dream, offering my insights where I believe they will be helpful. It’s your job to seek your own answers, to be open to and alert for the “aha’s” that might emerge, and to make the connections between the dream and your life. Dreamwork spiritual direction includes working together to design a ritual to honor the dream or an action plan to follow the guidance you have discerned from the dreamwork. Greater understanding leads to meaningful changes in your thoughts and actions, which leads to a happier, healthier, better life.
If you are interested in exploring dreamwork spiritual direction with me, I offer a consultation at no charge to see if this process is right for you and if I’m the right guide for where you are and where you want to go. We will be discerning fit and timing and what is best for you. This is not a “sample session” but rather is a conversation to get acquainted and address your questions and concerns so that you can judge if working with me is right for you or not. Click any “Contact Me” button on my website to schedule a consultation.
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