Your dreams

Your nightly dreaming is possibly the most creative, spontaneous thing you do in your life. These dreams present a wonderful opportunity to find missing and disowned parts of your true self. When your self censoring mode is off in the dream state, certain people, symbols, feelings and meanings will emerge.

Often you awake from a dream quite puzzled about what you have experienced. You may have managed to repress certain strong feelings in your waking hours, but left unbridled and able to roam in the dream state, they will always emerge. It may take some courage to face these holes in your personality however there is immense potential for self discovery when these dreams are experienced in the present moment.

It is possible to re-experience the dream using the following technique. Begin taking advantage of this simple technique to allow yourself to recapture these lost parts of your personality. Begin by choosing a vivid dream you recall, whether it occurred last night or decades ago.

Often the more bizarre and confusing the dream may be, the more vital information it contains. Make a mental note of all the individual parts of the dream. All the people, places and things.

For example, I may dream that I was in an old blue truck that was parked outside a cottage. On the seat next to me was a chain saw and a pair of work boots. The sky was cloudy and it looked about ready to rain. Approaching the truck and carrying a potted plant was someone who resembled a former teacher. I awake feeling completely bewildered by this dream. The old blue truck, cottage, seat, chain saw, work boots, cloudy sky, potted plant and teacher are all of supreme importance.

Our intent is not to analyze these parts of the dream, rather to re-experience them in the present moment. We do not want to involve the intellect. Remember that this dream is uniquely yours, created in your mind with meaning to you only. Books which interpret symbols tend to miss the mark, because meaning is unique to the dreamer and the dreamer's life experiences.

Once you have made this mental list of dreams items, begin by using the previously learned meditation to center yourself in the now. Use the hand technique to get grounded in the present moment. One by one we are going to, in the now, become or re-experience each individual part of the dream.

This may sound difficult or strange so let me clarify. Each and every part of the dream is originating from within, telling a story about you for you, relaying a message from your subconscious. Follow patiently because this absolutely works! In my dream example, if I become or re-experience the old blue truck, really become it, I may say (as the blue truck) " I'm dependable" or "I've never let you down before" or "I've given you my best years" and at the same time I am "blue" or sad or depressed.

You may be saying, "So, what does that mean?" Well perhaps upon examining this previously puzzling dream, I have the following realization. I am currently in a relationship where I feel that I could honestly say to the other person " I'm dependable" or "I've never let you down before" or "I've given you my best years" but at the same time I feel "blue" or sad. Perhaps on some deep level, I feel that there is a certain amount of inequality in this relationship, but I've never expressed these feelings because of the threat of a painful end to this relationship.

So I have managed to repress these feelings during my waking hours. They are never totally repressed however; they will arise in the dream state. With this new found realization, I could approach this person with honest expression and possibly find a resolution. With resolution, the dream item would then disappear from future dreams. Further dream re-experience examples are found in the Optimum Self eBook.