The Magic of Dream Work

Sep 5

Have you ever woken up from a dream and it just "sticks" with you all day? One of those dreams you think, "Wow, that was weird." Or one of those dreams that brings up a lot of emotion---like being in a familiar place or seeing a loved one?

Maybe you find yourself waking up and thinking "It was just a dream".....a phrase that has unconsciously caused us to minimize and not pay too much attention to the places we visit while we sleep.

But what if.....

Your dreams were actually your psyche's way of bringing some really important and valuable things to consciousness while you sleep because it is a time you are actually “still”. Think of it as a super creative way your psyche is trying to bring healing and wholeness in a particular area your waking brain is not necessarily aware of just yet. This might just be possible while you sleep because it is a time when your logic brain is turned off enough to finally get through.

Here's the beautiful part about dreamwork: Nature NEVER wastes energy and ALL dreams are here to bring us valuable information our unconscious feels we are ready to explore. Our dreams are FULL of symbols, colors, characters, places....all clues being brought to us to pay attention to and be more curious about.

Let’s jump in to is!

Why dream work?

Dream work is the process of exploring the images, stories and emotions that carry super important messages through our dreams. Dreams are a guide to help us do deeper inner work within ourselves, bringing us to greater self-awareness in our waking life.

Working with our dreams (even the ones we feel are silly or not "that big of a dream") builds a bridge between our conscious and unconscious worlds and helps us explore what the dream is bringing to help heal old wounds, understand our life purpose, and guidance for problem-solving in our "awake" life.

The gifts dreams can bring:

Reveal emotions you may be ignoring or pushing away
Give some creative solutions to challenges you may be experiencing
Give guidance for processing grief, anxiety and big life transitions
Connect you to a deeper relationship with your intuition
Reveal deeper layers or perspectives that you possibly haven't explore or thought of yet

How dream work works:

It's not about "interpreting" the dream. It's more about exploring ALL the pieces and parts of YOUR dream to find the "gold" or the "aha" and what it is wanting to bring to consciousness. It is not always what your logical brain thinks the dream means.... the message is almost ALWAYS something unexpected and is a completely NEW way to see.

Our dreams never tell us something we already know.

No two dreams are alike and EVERYONE'S dream world is a magical and unique place with messages just for them. So, if you dream of a hot pink elephant---that pink elephant is going to represent something totally unique and specific for you.

No dream book is used here to label what a dream symbol "means".

Let’s explore this more using the pink elephant for a sample of the questions we might explore to get started in what this dream is revealing to YOU.

Possible Exploratory Questions:

What were your emotions in the dream with the elephant?
What was the elephant doing?
Were you in a familiar place?
What does an "elephant" represent to you? What are your associations in your life with elephants?
What are your associations with the color "hot" pink?
What time of day was it in the dream?
Where in your dream was your energy the highest?
What were the emotions you felt when you woke up from the dream?

That's just a small glimpse into how we begin wading into the mysterious waters of what this dream is bringing to you in a really creative and magical way! Your dream may be exploring something from childhood, an issue with a friend at work, a new career decision, a call to shift something BIG in your life.....who knows! That is the beauty of dreamwork and how the psyche gets our attention----even with a "hot pink elephant"!

Dream work sessions to work a dream:

Lots of people wonder “How does a dream session work? Here is a general outline!

1. First we recall the dream and give it a title

2. We explore the symbols, emotions, themes, etc

3. Get curious and make connections with waking life

4. Notice patterns over time

5. Get creative with ideas to integrate the dream in life after our session

Where we'll go from here (this blog):

Just a few of the topics we will start to explore in future blogs (or dream sessions)...

How to remember your dreams
Nightmares--is there a point to "bad dreams"?
What are the different "types" of dreams?
Group dream circles and how they are different from one on one dream sessions

Ready to get started building a relationship with your dreams? You can get started TONIGHT!

Grab a notebook and put it beside your bed. When you wake up (before you grab coffee or check your messages) write any and ALL details you remember from your dream the night before. Even if you feel like you can't remember it all. Colors, key words, a place… anything you can recall is important.

Don't judge it, or try to make sense of it.....just write it down and then we can take it from there together!