Meditation and Dreamwork Book

It’s so amazing when you “accidentally” find a book that you weren’t looking for. And, just like magic, it turns out to be the one you really needed.  I am already learning so much from this “Meditation and Dreamwork” book that seemed to just jump out at me from the shelf in the laundry room of our apartment complex.  Oh, sometimes, doing laundry can lead you to extraordinary findings.  Where you might lose a sock, you may also gain a treasure – of learning and exploration.  I have just begun this book but it has already taught me more about myself while helping me to appreciate further the world around me. I love how old books can still speak to you, louder and clearer than some lessons or classes that you can be seated in in the here and now.

If you’re interested in dreams and meditation and in adding depth and more awareness to your life in general, I highly recommend this book.  It’s also a great way for someone who has been curious or interested in meditation, but a little overwhelmed by where to start, to learn some very simple but life changing steps towards making meditation a part of your world.  It takes the daunting, far-from-my-regular day stereotypes of meditation and dreams, and brings them together to show you how the these seemingly separate worlds are not separate from your daily life at all.  In fact, they truly enhance each other if you know how to tap into this connection.  This book teaches you how to do just that.

I think stumbling upon this book was no accident at all, but just another bit of proof that our energies and inner guides really lead us to answers all the time.  And we just need to learn to be more open to listening to the signs.   Dreams are an amazing part of our lives, not just because they mesmerize us in our sleeping worlds, but because they enrich our waking world when we know how to make use of them.

 

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Emtpy Suitcase?

I haven’t been very successful at remembering my dreams lately, until last night or this morning. 

I think I had a three part dream, and at the time, all three parts seemed disconnected in their surroundings and the people involved.  But maybe they are related in some way.

The first part involved a guy I know, but I could never really see his face. And he was just always close, or trying to get close, but we were not really communicating.  Everything seemed distant, and the time spent seemed almost pointless.

The second part of the dream was that I was driving downtown with some friends. The driver was a g uy- a friend I know from dancing. We were in some sort of mini van or something larger than an average car.  I don’t even know if I recognized the other people with us.  But on that same day, I was to go to meet a friend for a show that night, AND get packed up to go on a little getaway to Seattle the next day.

It felt as if I had packed too many events with too many people in the day, to have my head on straight.  I had one little bag and one carry on sized suitcase in my friend’s car with me, as if I was so organized that I was packed and ready to go for the next day.

I guess I didn’t want to leave all the stuff behind in the car for some reason? So one of the guys with us, a shorter, stalky Asian guy (I have no idea who it was), took my small bag and carried it so that the strap went over his shoulder and across his chest.

My friend who was driving, asked if I wanted to take the little suitcase, or maybe I just saw it? And I was really embarrassed because I noticed that the suitcase only had one shirt in it…possibly a long sleeved shirt or sweatshirt, maybe the olive green one I got in Atlanta?  And that was it!  I somehow thought I had packed, when in reality, there was nothing else in the suitcase.

I hoped that my friends didn’t notice, and I just left the suitcase in the car, somewhere in the middle row seats.  I remember it was my small, black suitcase, the one I like to take with me whenever I go on a trip.

Something about the rush of doing things with these friends, and going all around downtown, knowing that I still had to find time to meet up with my other friend for show, got me feeling stressed.  I was not relaxed, and had so much on my mind- how stupid I was not to have packed properly, why was it that I agreed to meet up with other friends when I knew I didn’t have a lot of time that day?  And somewhere along the line, we all went in different directions and I no longer knew where the guy who had my small bag was.  I mean, he didn’t take off with my stuff, he was trying to help me carry it. But now, on top of everything else, I had to figure out how to get a hold of him to get it back.

The third part of my dream turns a little, or… a LOT.  I am driving this time, and it doesn’t feel like I’m driving the Mazda that I own. Instead, I am driving a small jeep or something. Maybe it is the one I drove over 8 years ago, a white YJ kind of a jeep?  All I know is that it was not a regular car, and it seemed to have more openings in it, as if the top was down or there were no windows- jeep style, you know?

So for some reason, I’m driving along this kind of gravely road. I have no idea where I was in the dream, or where I was headed, but it seemed like I knew at the time.  But suddenly, …actually, the strange thing was that it didn’t seem sudden. I could see it happening early on, and slowly, there was another car heading towards me from the opposite direction.  I don’t even think it was going fast, but it felt like it was cutting me off from the very little space I had in my “lane”.  But I didn’t want to hit him, even though I could have just swirved to the left where there seemed to be absolutely no traffic and a lot of space. So I sacrificed myself somehow, and swirved to the right, so the car could go through without any problem. And suddenly, (okay, there’s the suddenly), I realize that it’s the edge of a gravelly kind of cliff. Not the kind that falls off into water or thousands of kilometers below, but just one that makes a drastic dip from what was the top of my road to now what became a slope that brought me and the car tumbling down to its bottom. 

The funny thing is that I could feel the bumpy, rocky ride all the way down, and I didn’t fall out of the jeep or whatever it was, even though it was so open. And the jeep seemed to bend and curve with the shape of each hit and roll throught the gravel, as if it was maleable, but still keeping me in it. I could see the pile of small rocks each time we hit and rolled a little further, but it didn’t feel like it hurt.  But I could also feel how, from the moment I realized I was falling with the car, I let myself go. I mean, I didn’t fight it. I just went with the movement, wondering how far it would take me, but it was almost as if I was relaxing into it. I was upset and scared on the one hand, wondering how I would ever make it or how much repair the car would need (obviously, my priorities were mixed up for some reason).  But I felt so defeated and tired of my life just rolling into one bad pit after another, that I just decided to give up, and let whatever happen, well,…happen.

But the reason I feel like these dreams were somehow connected is because one of my worries after I stopped rolling, and ended up at the base of the slope or hill or whatever, was how I was going to get my bags back. (oh my god! haha!), and how I was ever going to make it for the show that night (what the heck? dreams are weird- haha!), and why I added so much to my plate when I knew that I was looking forward to a getaway to Seattle. And think at some point, I blamed it on the guy from the first part of the dream. Or I blamed it on myself for spending wasted time with him.

And somewhere along the line, two or three guys who must have seen me roll down the hill tried to lift me out. But the weird thing is that they somehow were lifting me up and out WITH the jeep. Both the jeep and I were being lifted at the same time, and suddenly, there was this ledge at the top of the hill, that I didn’t know was there before (because I don’t think it was there originally). My dream must have just stuck it in there later. And those guys were standing at the ledge, trying to lift me and the jeep up with ropes or something, and they had to get me up and over the ledge bars (there were simple wooden bars at around their chest or waste level that marked off the ledge) in order to get me safely back “on the road”, so to speak.  I woke up before I knew whether I got there or not.  I think I was getting there, but the jeep finally had to be dropped or something like that. So weird!

The dream does make sense or add a little more understanding to some of my recent real-life experiences and feelings. I mean, I AM supposed to go to see a show tonight with a friend, and was excited about a little getaway to Seattle, and I do feel like I’ve been trying to squeeze a lot of errands in before the trip.  But I don’t know a lot about dream symbolism and would be curious to know what other people think.

I realize you’d have to know me to make any conclusive interpretations of all this. But if anyone would like to comment on any of the dream, or if you know anything about dream images or symbols like falling off a cliff, or rocky roads, or empty suitcases (haha! That one I find really intriguing), feel free to share your thoughts. I’m open to hearing whatever it is you want to say.

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Dreams like art…

“Just as paintings can be impressionistic or abstract or can appear to be so real they jump off the canvas, so can our dreams.  Dreams can also be like a collage, an artistic composition made up of various materials such as paper, fabric, and wood.  Our dream collages can be as illogical as snippets of conversation spoken by a woman balancing a tepee on her head as she’s chased by a pck of llamas.  Most of the time there seems to be no rhyme or reason to them, but if we’re willing to reflect on them, they make perfect sense.  Eventually, dreams are our spiritual illustrated discovery journals.”- Sarah Ban Breathnach in Something More.

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Writing Down Your Dreams

As a lover of words and literature, I find the process of writing so intriguing.  But I realize that not everyone enjoys writing, or even feels comfortable doing it.  Believe it or not, I too have my days when I think the last thing I want to do is write some more.  Sometimes, I’m scared that nothing interesting will come out.   But… there is a secret behind what makes me pick up and start writing again:  it’s not until you actually try it and give it a chance that you come to learn that writing has its own power to grow… grow ideas, grow new perceptions, grow solutions and even grow a whole set of words that you never had planned in your head beforehand.   And I am always fascinated to find out where this will take me. And the only way to find out, is to START the writing.

One of the greatest lessons I learned from my favorite English Literature Professor- Lee Johnson- is this Wordsworthian idea that writing has “the power to move thought forward”.  The romantic poet Wordsworth felt that the mere act of putting pen to paper (or pen nib and ink to scrolls- in that period?) – writing a word or one thought down- actually allows more thoughts to develop and surface.  It is, therefore, in the act of writing that the writing  grows. Sometimes, you might think you have no idea what to write, but it’s because you haven’t started yet. Let the writing happen for you. Writing actually generates more writing.  Believe me, it works.

I have suggested in previous entries in this blog that using a voice recorder, or scribbling down images and pictures of your dreams, is a helpful way to record the dreams as immediately as you can.

Nevertheless, it is important not to use this as an excuse not to write the dream down in words.  If you can try not to, do not use your voice and sketches as a substitute for the writing. The reason for this is that, just as Wordsworth described, it is in the writing – the process of putting the words down- that more ideas and details emerge.  It’s not that your mind will be making things up as you write. It is that you will start jogging your mind’s memory as you start jotting the first thought or idea down.  “Even if you only remember one object, …record the object, your feelings, and ideas about it. …Sometimes in the process of recording this snippet of information you will recall other pieces.”- (Dreams of the Goddess-p. 85)

The digital recorder and sketches would be better thought of as tools to help you to better remember and describe the dream so that once you do write it down, you have a more accurate picture to work from.  This does not mean that you have to write every dream down or stress yourself out with too many words.  Simple is fine.  But try not to eliminate the writing. You’ll be amazed at what you get out of it once you start.

The more you record your dreams in writing, the more value you give your subconsious and the dream world.

” Befriending the dream begins with a plain attempt to listen to the dream, to set down on paper or in a dream diary in its own words just what it says… and so one takes care receiving the dream’s feelings, as with a living person with whom we begin a relationship.”- James Hillman (in Dreams of the  Goddess)

It’s getting your mind into the habit of this recording and honoring your dreams that is important.  It’s similar to writing in a journal. Some people do not like writing, but once they train themselves to write in a journal regularly, it becomes more natural and comes more easily.  With dreams, it helps to practise keeping track of them.  Writing, with its power to move thought forward, is one of the best ways to do this.

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Quality time with your dreams…

It turns out that I didn’t grab my journal or my digital recorder last night to record my dreams, because my dreams… or at least the two I remembered at the time, just vanished. and I had nothing to report.

I found out that when you make an abrupt movement, or are woken up by a sudden noise or even a loud alarm clock, this can actually push away your ability to recall the dream you just had. 

I believe that is partly what happened to me last night.  I suddenly turned onto my other side because I was cold and went to grab the blanket to pull it further up towards my chest.  And with just those little movements, the dream slipped away even though I know that at that moment when I was awake, I was starting to remember it.

What do you do in this situation? Some books have suggested that again, it’s all about the comfort you feel when you’re sleeping.  Having the right mattress, pillow, and temperature in the room may help you prevent you from having to make sudden movements that distract your dream recall. 

Also, I have been reading how waking up naturally, if you can do it on some days, without any buzzers or outside noises to startle you awake, can help train you to remember your dreams. 

This is because at this time in the morning, you are coming out of a dream state.  Take the time to think about the images that come to mind as you rest in bed for a short while.  Don’t get up. Just lie there in the moment, and let your mind scan over the details that come up in the silence, in that very instance. 

Although this is hard before you have to go to work, and because we are often in a hurry when we get out of bed, it might mean trying it on the weekend or a day when you don’t have to worry that you might be late or miss your time to get up.

After awhile, the more you get used to this, you may be able to try more frequently.  Honoring your dreams by spending a little extra quality time with them just after you awake from the dream state means your are giving value to your dreams.  And just a few minutes each time will help to develop  your ability to recall these dreams and find out what the dream world might be telling you.

I’m going to see if I can spend a few minutes… maybe I’ll start with 5- lying in bed tomorrow morning, letting the images from my dreams sink in- before I actually get up and start my day.

You try it to!  We can exchange notes on how it all went.

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