Dreams are the touchstones of our character. –Henry David Thoreau
Recently I have been having and remembering many dreams. A goodly number of years ago I spent some time with a Jungian therapist as I was having dreams that were close to nightmares. In these particular dreams I was being chased by a variety of known and unknown creatures and by a variety of people. My therapist told me about the Senoi, a tribe found in Malaysia. These folks attributed great importance to dreams; they gathered together each morning and shared them with one another. When they dreamt of being chased they would assume that whatever was chasing them was wanting to help them, was an ally if you will, and was not something that wanted to do them harm. So in their dreams they would turn and face the pursuer and ask a question: What message do you have for me? What is so important that you needed to chase me. This little story helped me shift and then change my attitude toward these types of dreams.
This, I was taught, was the essence of dream-work – revealing the messages that the dream is attempting to deliver. The challenge lies in turning around and facing and then welcoming the messenger; then inquiring and then paying attention. If there is one general rule regarding dreams where one is being chased it is: Don’t run!
I learned that if I was courageous enough to turn, face my pursuer, welcome my pursuer, inquire and pay attention then the message would indeed be delivered (now, one of the important steps is to discern the meaning of the message – sometimes this is no easy task). As my therapist noted Richard, you’ve got to be willing to boogie with the boogeyman!
There is a temple in Singapore (if you want to visit some wonderful temples go to Singapore and Malaysia) that I visited with a friend. The inscription carved above the entrance (written in a number of languages) is translated into English as: I have come as a messenger of joy unto thee – why dost thou grieve? After my friend translated this message she then informed me that these are the words of ‘death incarnate’ – talk about the really big boogeyman!
Not all dreams are ‘chase’ dreams; but there is, as the old saying goes, Gold in them thar hills no matter the nature of the dream. It does take some courage to pay attention to your dreams; the same nerve it takes to examine a firecracker that has not gone off. To put it another way, engaging dreams are like stepping onto the slippery slope. A part of us doesn’t want to remember them because of the messages they bear, because of the things they reveal, because of the directions they might point us in, because of the admonitions they may lay on us. The truth might well set us free but there is a real possibility that we will be scared out of our socks first.
On the other hand – there is always another hand isn’t there – if we simply pay attention to our dreams; if we grant them ‘mystery,’ then often a pathway is revealed to us [as the Quakers say, Way Opens]. The more I pay attention to my dreams the more I recall them.
Dreams are sacred. I attempt to treat every dream with reverence because I don’t know what paths might be opening to me. I pay the most attention to those dreams that are recurring or to dream themes that are recurring. These are also the dreams that are most disturbing and hence are the ones that I ‘run from’ – which is why they recur. Duh!
I have also learned that dreams respond to direct requests. I invite them by inviting them. I ask a question and hold an intention that my dream messenger will respond. I generally do this requesting as I am dropping off to sleep or when I awake during the night. I have also learned that it is important to keep a pad and pen available so I can write down the dream that is then offered to me. I have learned that it is o.k. to ask specific questions, to ask for direction, to ask for clues and to ask for clarification. When I have the courage I ask for the clarification of a recent dream. The first question is addressed to myself, Richard, do you really want to know? The second question is the one asking for clarification. I also know that it is important for me to write the dream down as soon as I wake; once my eyes open, my mind clears itself of the dream.
Gentle Reader, I leave you with an Aboriginal Australian saying: ‘Happy Dream-Time.’
Dreams are often most profound when they seem the most crazy. –Sigmund Freud
Searcher-Seeker 