In Dreams…

Most nights I remember at least part of a dream. Sometimes though, all I actually remember is my own interpretation of the dream. Part of my mind is deciphering the dream while I am having it and I wake up with the advice from my dream! I had a dream a couple of nights ago that I was giving a young woman a ride on the back of my bike. I shouted at a car that was driving below the speed limit, “Com’on Pops! Let’s go!” Then when the car turned I realized that it was an elderly woman driving. I thought “Mom’s” isn’t quite effective in this instance. I realized that it was hard to pedal with the young woman on the back. It was good exercise but I wasn’t getting very far, very fast.  When I woke I was reminded of several women who I have helped in various ways, which made me very happy. Then I thought of so many women who have helped me over the years, which made me feel very grateful.

In the language of dreams a bicycle can represent balance, since you must stay balanced to ride one.  In my dream there was both a young woman who I was helping to get to where she wanted to be and an older woman who was in my way, going slow. Both women could be parts of myself. Sometimes it feels as though things are moving way too slow, will I be old before I get to where I want to be? Other times I feel like I am just going along for the ride, but not in charge. I was riding on a familiar street in Southern CA next to a park with beautiful green grass. I think the dream was reminding me that life is an adventure. Enjoy the beauty and do the best you can, and it feels great to help others along the way. Even so, I am going to incubate a dream tonight to see what else I can do to move things along!

Placebo

I dreamt about a conversation that I actually had in my waking life. Do you ever carry over your awake life into your dream state? Most of us do at some time.

The dream illustrated a dilemma I have long held. I believe that the studies done with placebos demonstrate the connection between what we believe and our intentions and what we experience with respect to our health. If you believe that if you go outside on a cold day with wet hair you will catch a cold, you are more likely to do so. Additionally, if you believe that homemade chicken soup will cure your cold, it is likely to give you comfort, even though it both instances there are other factors and influences at work contributing to your experience.

Therefore I am cautious when answering questions regarding health. Recently I completed a 16-module course on nutrition and an exam, becoming a Nutritional Advisor to add to my knowledge and credential. Clients dream about food, health, weight loss, addiction and therefore questions come up that I want to answer responsibly. As a board certified behavioral therapist I have worked with many people to achieve their weight and health goals for more than 20 years.

Yesterday a woman asked me about vitamin D. She said, “I just moved to the desert. I should get plenty of vitamin D from the sun.” I said, “One would expect,” nodding. In my dream I saw basically this same scenario and was very unsettled. Recent well-respected studies from universities and hospitals have shown that many of us are deficient in vitamin D, known as “The Sunshine Vitamin”. And vitamin D deficiency is associated with many illnesses including cancers, arthritis, M.S. and high blood pressure in addition to assisting with calcium absorption. All that said, I want the woman to absorb her vitamin D from the sun. I don’t want to plant a seed of doubt. I don’t know exactly how this all works. If every time she feels the warmth of the sun on her skin she confirms to herself “got my “d” for the day,” maybe that is exactly what will happen.
 
In my dream my thoughts were around things I have read and heard, that apparently pollutants in the atmosphere filter the sun in ways that can prevent our bodies from making vitamin D naturally. In my dream I was so conflicted. It actually woke me up.
 
My personal rule is to answer direct questions directly. The woman did not actually ask me if she would absorb enough sunshine to make sufficient vitamin D. So I did not tell her what I have been taught. In my waking state that felt appropriate. But my subconscious mind was bothered.
 
Our subconscious minds are the policing authorities of our lives. We can convince ourselves while awake that all is well, but if it isn’t indications can bubble up in our dreams, giving us an opportunity to take a look from another angle. A fresh perspective can help us make new healthy choices in our waking state.
 
Until tomorrow, have a great day!

Following My God Dream

In the days following my awakening dream, I have on many days, woke with a sentence, advice I believe from the essence of God within my cellular structure. On February 1st I heard: Release your want to receive your treasure." On the 2nd, I woke with the image of epoxy...a type of glue which only works when the contents of two tubes are mixed together...the liquids are absolutely ineffective until mixed together. I rejoiced in the knowing that God's essence is mixed with ours, not separate. On the 3rd, I heard, "Be not discouraged, neither be afraid." On the 4th "I am the intelligence in every cell in your body." To which I asked: "Am I merely a puppet, then?" And I heard "No, you have a mind of your own." On the 5th: "Your best ideas are inspired by me, but I may take it up a notch if you'll take the lid off the pot." Apparently God has a sense of humor! I can't explain why or how or even what, but I am greatly honored to be dreaming these dreams and I feel blessed and reassured that God indeed knows each of us intimately.

My Dream, A Conversation With God!

It was a lucid dream, I was dreaming and yet aware that I was dreaming. In my dream I was with God. I didn't see God, I was in the presence of God's energy. I asked: "How does it all work, God"

And God showed me. There were things I saw and felt and words I heard. God said "I am the consciousness in every cell of your body, and in the cells of every living thing." Then there was a knowing that God is also in the energy all around me and around every living thing. God said "The reason the bible says that God knows the number of hairs on your head, is because God is in every hair on your head, God is holding them onto your head." I said "When I was young I spent a lot of time pondering how God could hear my prayers, and everyone else's prayers too. God was kinda in the same category as Santa Claus to me and I couldn't figure out how Santa could possibly read all the letters he received either. In those days I thought of God as a crowned, bearded man on a throne in the sky."

Now, someone else with the opportunity to communicate with God, would have asked, how can we achieve world peace, or what is the cure for some major illness, but, (not proud of this but it's real, I had gone to bed feeling bloated and knew that I had gained a few pounds over the holidays which I was lamenting) as I observed the beauty that God is living within my cells, animating as God said to me my "clay matter" the very life force in me and all others--I said "God you know my body, my purpose, my soul, tell me, how can I best release these few extra pounds?" (The intension was set and I knew I'd release the weight easily.)

Then I realized that every fly, ant and other insect also have God in them. God breathes life into everything. A new reverence for all living things over-took me, I was filled with such appreciation. I remembered hearing that when asked if he had any regrets--the Dali Llama said "Only that I once accidently stepped on an ant." I then realized that since God already knows my thoughts, wishes, wants, desires and experiences, I don't pray to inform God, I pray for my own clarity. God knows all before I am even made aware. Every intuition, idea and prompting comes from God. "You are my beloved and in you I am well pleased." God showed me the energy of thoughts, thoughts create. I said "Psychologists, for the past 100+ years have taught that we need to be responsible for our behavior and actions, but not our thoughts. But the truth is that thoughts create, they shift energy, and we can learn to control them by seeing the God in the other person. Just as the Japanese water scientist discovered in affecting water with words and emotions. There was an echo as if God and I were speaking the same words at the same time.

I am still living in awe of this dream, daily I close my eyes and tune into the God within the cells of my body and give thanks for knowing that God is not removed, or far away in some perfect land in the sky, but here knowing Gods-self through me and through each of us. A living God, living our lives with us.

My Conversation With God

Wow, what a night! Two nights ago I had one of the most profound dreams of my life. I'll share soon, traveling today, but have you ever had a dream that changed your life? I'll tell you mine if you share yours!

What is the value of our dreams?

"An uninterpreted dream is like an unopened letter from God." --The Talmud

Day Dreams, Night Dreams, Conscious Dreaming

Have you ever had a dream where you recognize that you have been there before? Same dream home, same dream job, friends, etc. It's a feeling of deja-vu and an almost surprising sense, as if you'd forgotten this other life. New research suggests that we are actually dreaming all of the time. That dreams are actually another level of consciousness. If you've had this experience I'd love to hear from you, please tell me your story and send your contact information if you're willing to be interviewed. Thanks so much!

I have had this experience and sometimes the feeling is almost a panic, as if I've avoided responsibilities, or really missed out on an important part of life. If time is actually happening all at the same time and only perceived as linear...what does that say about our dream worlds?

Love to hear from you.

All best wishes for sweet dreams.

Cynthia

Dream Power!

I have entered the hot-flash phase of life.
One of the symptoms that goes along with the hot-flashes is something called "fuzzy-thinking." We’ve probably all walked into a room and once there realized that we had no idea what we came there to do...right? We can all relate to that. Well, fuzzy-thinking takes it up a notch, you go to your computer to send an e-mail and once you sit down, you have no idea of who you need to e-mail or what about...so I related when I hard this story:
Two elderly women were sitting in the park, enjoying the sunshine as they had on every good-weather day for 10 years. After a while one women looked at the other and said, "Now dear, please don’t be mad at me, but I’ve been sitting here trying to think of your name and it just won’t come to mind, what is it?" The other woman stared at her with a scowl on her face for a couple of minutes, and then a tear rolled down her cheek and she asked"How soon do you need to know?"
The title of my book, is Dream Power, and it instructs readers in remembering and interpreting the dreams that we have at night, involuntarily, to stimulate creativity, solve problems and as a barometer of what is going on in our psyches, in the subconscious aspect of our minds. Our night dreams can alert us, when we need to take a stand and they can also empower us by demonstrating our strengths. I invite you to think of the other definition of the word "DREAM" dreams as our goals, intentions and the vision we hold of the world we want to live in.
Mahatma Gandhi said:
"You must be the change you wish to see in the world."
I agree of course, but I’d like to phrase it differently; We get to be the change we seek for the world.
WE, women, mothers, daughters, girls, we get to be the change. How do we do it? Turns out, by being ourselves. Through our natural leadership, by living as an example of strength and compassion. By doing what women do, nurturing, supporting, celebrating, and yes, working hard.
Times have changed and it has become abundantly clear that it is up to the women to be the change we urgently need for the world.
"Margaret Mead, the famous anthropologist said "Men have always been afraid that women could get along without them."
Well, of course we can, most of us don’t want to, we love and appreciate our fathers, husbands, boyfriends and so on, but it is time for each of us to recognize her own skills, talents and abilities and to contribute them to our communities, families and futures.
First Imagine what you want your life to look like. When I was in high school, my humanities teacher, Mrs. Wren, said that she had three choices as a career minded woman, Nurse, Secretary or Teacher. She fainted at the site of blood, so nursing was out, and she figured that having a husband already gave her one boss, why take on another and so secretary was not a good choice for her, and she became a teacher. Something I am very grateful for. By the way; Today, the only job that a woman isn’t qualified for is sperm donor!
My family didn’t have a lot of money, both my parents worked; dad was a deputy sheriff, mom a bank teller, but there were 5 of us kids. We were told that there would be no money from my parents for college. I desperately wanted an education. So when my friends suggested that I enter the Jr. Miss Pageant my senior year of high school I was excited, after all the prize was a scholarship. But when Mrs. Wren heard that I was rehearsing for the pageant, she was angry. She handed me a copy of the Feminine Mystic by Betty Fredan. How dare her student slap feminism in the face with a swim suit competition. Well, there was no swim-suit competition in the Jr, Miss Pageant. there was a "youth fitness" demonstration that just as well could’ve been. However 50% of the scoring was based on academics and 20% on personality based on an interview with the judges; the remaining points were accrued by a measure of our talent, I danced the Charleston, which my grandmother had taught me, When I won, no one was shocked more than my mother, she said, "I can’t believe that you won, I thought Valerie Klein was going to win, she has such beautiful long hair and she plays piano!"
Now the mother and daughter dynamic is something else, but my point here is that as females of all ages we need to support each other and stick together. There is power in numbers.
In elementary school I was privileged to be in an experimental class for what were termed "Gifted Children" It was a combined class of 5th & 6th graders, 9 girls and 8 boys. Each month we voted on a Judge for that month in the event that we needed to discuss any problems that came up in the class. We had lots of freedom it was a very progressive system where each child’s interests were used in the process of teaching. It was a wonderful experience. Instead of a standard book report, we could create a board game based on the book, or paint a poster inspired by what we had gleaned from the story. But here’s the important thing that I learned. Each month the Judge, whom we all voted for by secret ballot, was a boy! It took several months for me to realize what was happening. The boys nominated one candidate from the 5th grade and one from the 6th as did the girls, however the boys secretly decided in advance which boy to vote for and just so that everyone agreed they took turns between the 5th grade candidate and the 6th grade boy. In contrast, the 6th grade girls, including myself the second year I was in the program, wouldn’t be caught dead voting for a 5th grader. So the girls vote was always divided and the boys always won.
If you take one thing away from my part of this day, please know that the more people that you help to achieve their goals, the more will help you and the closer you’ll be to living the life you dream of.
What makes you smile, what gets your creativity flowing and your passion going. And don’t think it’s too late. Even if you only had one more day on the planet, wouldn’t you want to live it doing what you truly love?
There’s POWER in your dreams, dream on!

Other People in Your Dreams

There are many ways to correctly interpret a dream and the more you work with yours, the more comfortable you will be at knowing which style to use for a particular dream. It's a lot like cooking. If you have beautiful, vine-ripened, heirloom tomatoes you will want to do the least amount of preparation in order to fully enjoy their delicious flavor. Maybe just slice and top with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil and a bit of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Yum! But if the tomatoes are a few days past prime, you might enjoy them more if you chop and cook them into a light sauce for pasta. And if you have tomatoes today...you need to throw them out due to the salmonella scare. Yikes! One method of dream interpretation is the Fritz Perls, gestalt method, wherein everyone and actually everything in your dream is a reflection of yourself. So I recently had a dream with my daughter in it. I could look at the dream to see if it is a message for me about her or about our relationship. I could ask myself what she represents to me in terms of adjectives: youth, great handle on life, sensitive, lovely...or I could look at her as an aspect of myself. That method fit my dream best, my daughter often represents the part of me that I gave birth to myself, the self-actualized part evolved from "doin' the work" as they say. Looking at myself objectively to claim the aspects I choose and discard or change the parts I don't. I call it Pecking Out. Based on the life of a bird, first born by its mother in the shell and then it does the work of pecking out of the shell to be a whole free creature. When we observe the shell around ourselves we might see things that were applied to us before the age of conscious memory: they could include your religion, political party affiliation, things adopted from your family...and even things like "she always was the quiet one." You get to observe and change your definition of self, weighed against what I call your gut meter. What is really true for you? So, my daughter often represents my soul or spirit or true self in my dreams. In this dream she signed me up to teach aerobics at a gym. I was in an unfamiliar town and an unfamiliar home. I said, "Well, I've never taught aerobics before and it's been a long time since I've taken an aerobics class. But I've got the right shoes and once the music starts I'm sure I can help everyone get a good workout." My interpretation: In my waking life I have taught many things, from Sunday School to Modeling, Past-Life Regression to Writing the Story of Your Life. So I see this dream as a message from my true self, I have the shoes or tools to lead a group in a healthy activity and the people will be satisfied. So go for it! Teach or lead a new thing, it will help people. I hope my blog encourages you to pay more attention to the wonderful guidance your dreams can be for you.