What your dream means
It’s a cherished belief of several popular approaches to dream interpretation that only the dreamer knows the meaning of their dream, and that input from others should never involve telling the dreamer what their dream means. One widespread method advocates sharing a dream with a group of people who then each, in turn, say, “If this were my dream …” and then describe the meaning that they would derive from such a dream if indeed,
The Sandman
I’ve got this earworm as I write, and it’s all because Michael emailed me a link yesterday to “Find the #1 Song on the Day You Were Born”. It turns out the number one song on 22 December 1954 was Mr Sandman by The Chordettes, with its opening line, “Mr Sandman, Bring me a dream …”, and while I don’t call on the Sandman each night as I go to bed, I do relish what
The ancient alchemist
In a dream last week, an ancient alchemist leaned in close and shared his advice: “When you work with the feminine, work with earth. When you work with the masculine, work with metal. When you gain clarity, work with Perspex.” The previous day, I had been puzzling over the way to approach the next step in a project. There were several possibilities, each quite different. I had been working long hours and knew that a
A life in dreams
When I look back over my life so far, I see a path of dreams. I think of my early childhood, and there it is, my dream of snakes nesting at the foot of my bed. I think of being six or seven, and there it is, in full colour and vivid heart-pounding emotion, my dream of being a shepherd boy encountering a pack of wolves gazing down at me from a mountain ridge with
The Russian doll effect
“It’s only a very short dream, but it was so vivid, it stayed with me all day, should we interpret that one or will we get more out of a longer dream?” This is a question I’m often asked by clients, students, or podcast guests, and I’m sure, when you think about your own dreams, you’ll see the dilemma. Long dreams seem be packed with more drama, more symbols, and plenty of material to interpret,
According to your dreams
What does your future have in store for you, according to your dreams? Or, to ask a more proactive question, how can you use your dreams to predict the shape of your future and then, if you wish, change it? Rather than predict actual situations, our dreams can help us to understand our likely attitudes and responses to the circumstances we may meet, and it’s our attitudes and responses that can powerfully affect the outcome:
Health and healing through dreams
Can your dreams help alert you to health issues, and can those dreams be used to explore avenues for healing? If you dream that you have cancer, you’re most likely dreaming about something in your life that seems to be growing out of control, or about your fears or feelings that something in your life is terminal, perhaps a relationship or business you’re involved in, or the finite amount of energy you can devote to
Dreaming I was at my funeral
“I have a recurring dream that I’ve died, aged thirty, and I’m at my own funeral, watching. No-one else has turned up,” said Nathan, who called HotFM when I was taking calls about dreams recently on Carly and Ben’s breakfast show. Nathan’s call reminded me of Chris, a man in his twenties who consulted me several years ago about his recurring dream that he would die on his thirtieth birthday. Chris had experienced the dream
Don’t kill the wicked witch
You might wake from a dream of a weapon-wielding alien invader, a murderer in the shadows, a Sabretooth tiger poised to pounce, or a wicked witch casting evil spells, and, knowing a little about dream alchemy and the power of reimagining your dream with a positive ending, decide to kill or vanish the dark force. It seems logical, and it’s what a parent, in less enlightened times, might have advised a child waking from a
The path of resistance
I resisted, I struggled, I thought the task would be too tough, no part of me really wanted to do it, my heart counselled no. I have other creative projects that bring me joy, and shouldn’t we follow our bliss? And, questions of bliss aside, was it really necessary to do this thing? For a couple of days I convinced myself it wasn’t, and my heart felt the relief. Surely this is a good thing?