When Is A Dream Not A Dream: Concluding Post

image courtesy of vestaastrology.com

I am examining the experience of a woman who, as a teenager, had a dream with all the qualities of an angelic, out-of-body event. Although this experience stands on its own, the dreamer agreed to try a dream interpretation anyway to see if there was more to be learned. We went through the entire interpretation process. (Scroll down to the last posts to follow our discussion.) I then asked the dreamer if she felt the interpretation experience was helpful. What follows are her thoughts.

The dreamer’s reaction to the interpretation of her out-of-body event

This was an incredibly powerful experience all by itself. If I hadn’t gone through the interpretation with you, I still would have gotten the message about not trying to take my own life. But it’s also true that, by reading back the dream in the metaphor version, I got a different perspective that was helpful.

The most important thing that happened when I heard the dream told back to me this way, was the understanding that this is all about me. When I experienced the original event—and I’m not really sure what it was, a dream or some other kind of spiritual event—there was a sense of it coming from outside of me. The light and the voice were entities that came from—I don’t know—some etheric, godly realm, and were visiting me as a favor. But when I listened to the reworked version as a metaphor, the whole emphasis shifted. It was no longer about something going on “out there.” Instead, it was all about a process happening inside of myself. That made the advice I was given more serious, somehow. I also felt a shift in the responsibility. Before, there was this kind of feeling that decisions were being made about me from somewhere else. But after reading the new version, I definitely got the sense that any changes and any improvements were up to me. That made it realer.

There were also some specifics in the dream that struck at my core in a way that was new. The last part about how there’s going to be a price I have to pay and that I’m not happy about it, was actually helpful. If you think something’s going to be easy and then it turns into an ordeal, you have less patience. But that part of the dream made it clear that I have to do some work and it’s not always going to be fun. Even just knowing that puts me in a better space to stick with the work that needs to be done.

And the part in the beginning where it talks about the stairs and how I was about to go to the base level. I felt my whole heart go “boing!” when I heard that. I knew the direction I was headed in was not constructive. So, yeah. Even though the gist of this amazing experience was already there, the interpretation helped; it enriched my understanding.

ANNOUNCEMENT

On March 11 & 12 I will be participating in the Body Mind Spirit Expo in the town of Hillsboro, just west of Portland, Oregon. I will be lecturing and helping with dream interpretations. Click on the Events page for details.