What dreams may come....

When I was in high school I became deeply interested in dream interpretation. I had several recurring dreams that were of interest to me, so I kept detailed journals, noted the patterns, and delved into the many possible meanings. I had a dream interpretation book (for Dummies!) and used it as a guide, and I think I learned a lot about myself through those journals.

Today I've got less time to journal each dream, considering I can easily recall up to four detailed dreams a night. But I still pay attention to them, note them, pick out patterns. It interests me, that my subconscious has so much on it's mind while I sleep! And that so many repeating patterns arise, that these subjects or meanings are so significant to my subconscious that it works them out again and again in my sleep.

I don't know where my old dream journals are, but I remember that I used to dream often of....

*Long narrow paths with water expanding as far as the eye could see on both sides.
*bathtubs
*getting shot
*running (for my life through my old elementary school yard at night to my house)
*moving back to the townhouse we grew up in and being really sad that we had to leave our new house
*my sister Kerry as a baby
*great big houses or hotels with secret winding paths, secret passageways, hatches, closets with trap doors, and being pursued through these passageways.

Not much has changed really.

I used to know what it meant to dream of expanding water (the path dreams) and contained water (the bathtub), but now I only dream about the ocean. It's always the same spot, completely made up by my mind, but in my dreams always really familiar. I sometimes I have the path dreams, where the road is so narrow that the water comes up to the tires rims, and I love those dreams though I don't know why.

Every now and then I dream about getting shot, but it's much less often. I should add that these dreams are not traumatic, they just end. But it puts an end to the urban legend that if you die in your sleep you die in real life, it's not true.

But, I still dream, quite consistently, about big winding houses with secret rooms and hatches and tunnels. I'm being chased through these dreams and every move I make is precise and quick. There can be an element of hear to these dreams, but they're mostly fascinating, so many hidden little escapes and pathways and I know them all, and I always escape whoever it is that's pursing me.

This may be a terribly boring post, but I am so fascinated by my dreams. I used to try and influence what I'd dream about it by thinking about it intently before going to bed (because Beakman said it would work!). Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. Dreams have long since fascinated mankind. We study them, analyze them, look for meaning, guidance, and even messages from God, so I know I'm not alone in my wonderings.

The Bible is full of dreamers.

Jacobs son Joseph

Mary's husband Joseph

Soloman

Nebuchadnezzar

And then some.

God spoke to us in dreams back then, and possibly He does so now. But I've learned about, and have been cautioned against looking for messages from God in my dreams, as it could be all to easy to shape and distort the interpreted message to suit our human wants and desires and then take action claiming it was God's intentions. If God speaks to us in dreams, it will always coincide with what He has said in scripture and will never contradict it, and we should keep that in mind if we think our dream is God sent.

But, I'm inclined to believe that our dreams more often then not come from ourselves.

They speak for the parts of us that have been suppressed or neglected.

The parts of us we don't want to deal with, or don't have time to deal with.

I think dreams come from the parts of us that need the most attention, calling for it when our daily defenses have gone to bed and we're susceptible to hearing these callings.

And the challenge comes from trying to decipher what your subconscious is actually trying to say, why do so many dreams have to be so coded and obscure?

Thankfully, I'm growing more and more aware of myself and my deepest fears and concerns. And thankfully my dreams have been fairly transparent lately. They speak their message loud and clear.

I'm afraid. I'm angry. I'm insecure.

Lately my dreams show me holding onto my marriage for dear life, with white knuckle intensity. Afraid for it to get away from me again.

I'm lashing out against influences I feel contributed to my separation and that contributed to prolonging it. I'm raging against people I feel continue to stand in the way of getting our marriage completely back on track. I've never been so angry in my dreams or in real life, and this is something that needs to be addressed in the waking hours, and soon.

And I'm insecure, afraid the bottom could fall out of my life at any given minute without warning. My faith in everything other then God and my kids is shaken and I don't feel confidant about my place in a lot of areas of my life right now.

I'm so glad I have dreams to pound these messages home every night. I'm glad I'm paying attention, so I can take note, then take action.

I'd love to take action. To tackle the fear and insecurity and anger, and make them go away, so that I can focus on more positive emotions, and have more positive and enjoyable dreams.

What do you dream about?

Do you remember?

Elvis doesn't remember any of his dreams, and I think that's a shame.

Do you have any recurring dreams?

What do you think they mean? What are YOU trying to tell you?

Katie