This is my dream

Maybe you’ve had the experience of having a nightmare in which you are being chased, cornered, or caught by a terrifying beast, when suddenly you realize, “This is a dream!” and you wake up, safe in your bed. Or, if you’re lucky, you remain in the dream, but now that you know you are dreaming, you can do anything you like: fly away, shrink the beast down so it fits in the palm of your hand, or blast it with a ray gun that conveniently appeared within arms reach the moment you realized you were dreaming.

The other night I dreamed a gang of stone-toting teenagers was chasing me. Suddenly I knew I was dreaming, but instead of saying, “This is only a dream,” I said aloud in my dream, “This is my dream!” The moment I spoke those words, a car appeared at the curb, to which I magically had the keys, and off I drove, safe and happy.

When I woke, that two-letter possessive pronoun, “my” danced in my head. It’s not “just a dream.” It’s my dream! What a difference that small word made. I felt empowered within the dream and even more so when I woke.

“This is my dream” began to take on meaning all day long. It became like a mantra. I was walking down a sunny street worrying about what I’d have on my schedule at work on Monday, and I realized, I don’t need to be worrying right now. This is my dream! This is my life. My moment. And immediately I “woke” into the beauty of the day and dropped my restless thoughts.

Awake, I may not be able snap my fingers to produce a getaway car, but I can snap out of the fog of unconsciousness in which I allow external factors, like the actions of others, the weather, an unwanted turn of events, or negative thoughts, to shape my mood.

Unfortunately, not everyone feels a sense of connection with their dreams. Despite the fact that all of us dream several times a night, our culture by and large ignores, mocks, and devalues dreams.  People often don’t remember their dreams, or they dismiss them as strange, scary, or nonsensical. Or even if someone is interested in their dreams, they may have learned that you need a highly paid therapist to interpret them.

But why should this be? These are YOUR dreams. Each dream is a masterpiece created by you. The dream is stitched together from your memories, fears, beliefs, and concerns. Or perhaps they come, as many believe, from the world of spirit, God, or the gods. Either way…it’s yours! The dream came to you, and you alone.

By writing dreams down, reflecting on them, and sharing them, we have the opportunity to learn from and grow with them.

Once we take ownership of our dreams … and our lives … options open up, and more productive and peaceful paths appear.

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To learn more about how to understand and use your dreams for insight, guidance, help with creative blocks, and more, contact me to set up an individual dream consultation.