Lens flare or divine light?
“It’s lens flare,” says the scientist. “It’s synchronicity,” says the mystic. “It’s divine,” says the shaman. “It’s alchemy,” says the alchemist. “It belongs in the fifth chapter,” says the author. “Let’s see what my dreams make of this,” says the dream analyst. That’s me: scientist, mystic, shaman, alchemist, author, and dream analyst, though probably not in that order. And that’s me in picture, taken by a Samsung smartphone, under the lemon tree in our garden
Not just a dream
What’s the best way to comfort a child who wakes up distressed from a nightmare or bad dream? We might be eager to soothe and calm, to say ‘Don’t worry, it was just a dream’, but is there a better approach, one that helps reduce your child’s scary dreams, and strengthen your bond? How do you feel when you wake up from a nightmare? Even though you might tell yourself that it wasn’t real, it
Recent television videos
I’ve had a request to pop some of my recent national television videos up for those of you who haven’t been watching them through social media. So this is a mini between-blogs-blog selection. (Click images to watch.) Channel Seven, The Morning Show Channel Seven, Sunrise Channel Nine, Today Extra These are just a couple of the Today Extra videos that I could find..
Are dreams rehearsals for life?
There’s a widespread theory that our dreams are mental dress rehearsals for life. Might this be true? Do we practice and learn life skills in the safe space of our dreams? Well, yes, and no. The theory is usually put like this: Imagine our ancestors dreaming about being chased by wolves. Imagine them dreaming of running faster than the wolves, or outwitting them in some way, reaching safety, staying alive. The theory is that while
Failed lucid dreamer
I’ve programmed myself to notice when cell phones appear in my dreams and then to try to dial Michael, my husband, by tapping the numbers on the dial pad. In dreams this can be really difficult to do. The dial pad morphs, the numbers get jumbled, or extra hashes or asterisk combinations are required. This complication is supposed to alert me to the fact that I’m dreaming, at which point lucid dreaming begins. In lucid
The sense of a meaning
Last Tuesday started out with a routine trip to the dentist for a check up, so I was rather shocked to exit the surgery minus two teeth, a wisdom tooth and the one next to it. “Bone loss,” the dentist had explained, “better to take them out.” Later in the week I was telling my daughter about my unexpected loss. “Tuesday?” she asked, “Really?” It turned out that she had taken Isobel, my five-year-old granddaughter,
Human and humane
Everyone and everything in a dream represents something about the dreamer, and when you think about your more worrying dreams, that may feel scary. You might be happy to acknowledge the things that flatter you: the wise old woman you met in a dream as your wisdom, the exciting new rooms you discover in a dream house as the exciting new ways in which you’re growing in the world, the soaring eagle as your ability
Dream analyst
It’s a conversation stopper, momentarily. “I’m a dream analyst,” I say, when asked what I do, and I see eyes widen, minds ticking over. “Did she say dream analyst? Or was it team analyst, some kind of HR job or competitive sports role? Or cream analyst, maybe she works for a dairy company.” Or, as a recent news article about the meaning of common dream themes said, “We spoke to Brisbane dream analyst (yes, that’s
Back to basics
Are there days, weeks, months, when you wonder how you can possibly fit everything you need to do into so little available time? There are solutions, but you can never see them when you’re too busy running from one task to the next. Your dreams may help you to discover those solutions, but taking the time to write your dreams down and analyse them can feel like just another task, and one way down the
A question of reframe
To reframe or not to reframe, that is the question. How does reframing a situation help you deal with a sea of trouble? Are there times when it’s more important to delve into that sea with eyes wide open, to feel it, to know it, to resolve and heal it, rather than to pretty it up? Or might you delve into that troubled sea with eyes tight shut in sleep, perchance to dream a clearer