/>Dreams reveal inner truth. by michaelson/bigstockphoto
Sleeping
dreams hover in our psyche like silvery sprites gracing the doors of destiny. When
we remember our dreams and interpret them correctly, they reveal hidden
dimensions of our being and lead us toward self-fulfillment.
Dreams
often come to us in symbolic form--as allegories, riddles, and metaphors. Interpreting
them correctly can be a challenge. We can be fooled into false interpretations when
dreams serve as psychological defenses.
In
a dream, for instance, we might feel judgmental or even disgusted when we see
someone who appears weak or who is acting foolishly. We don't want to
acknowledge that we're seeing our own weakness through that person. A correct
interpretation enables us to see ourselves more objectively, which is a great
help in becoming wiser and stronger.
People
hold widely divergent views of dream interpretation, and many dream
interpreters tell us what we want to hear. We're easily seduced into believing
whatever puts a gloss on self-image rather than what's true. We're inclined to object
to true interpretations because they often point out our psychological
weaknesses rather than celebrate our strengths.
Dreams
often reveal an inner conflict. A dream in which we fervently desire an object
can be covering up our temptation to feel deprived of that object or other benefits
of life. This is the conflict: While we want to get and possess nice things, we
are at the same time emotionally attached to the feeling that we're somehow
missing out on good fortune.
Dreams
in which we're passive are very common, and they reveal our emotional
entanglement in inner passivity which is a lingering emotional association from
childhood. Often we dream about being defeated in some manner or being chased
by cruel or malicious entities that want to destroy us. These dreams originate
out of the inner conflict in our psyche between our aggression and our
passivity.
One
of my clients had many dreams involving golf. He had played with passion and
intensity on and off throughout his life. He was never consistent with his
ball-striking, and his mediocre play was frequently a source of misery. For
many years he had a recurring dream in which he was flubbing shots on a golf
course or else trying to hit his drives in a tight confined space where a
proper swing was impossible. In these dreams, he felt frustrated as well as
ashamed of his poor performance. His emotional distress in these dreams was his
defense, his attempt to prove he hated feeling helpless and being seen in a
negative light. His inner conflict consisted of his keen desire to excel, at
the same time that he was expecting failure and unconsciously facilitating it.
Because the inner conflict was unresolved, he was compelled to recycle and
replay the resulting negative emotions.
His
feeling of weakness and incompetence had dogged him over many years in many
aspects of his life. He stopped having this recurring dream as his growing
insight resolved his emotional entanglements in passivity and the feeling of
being seen in a negative light.
People
often have recurring dreams of being pursued by malicious entities, being naked
in public places, and being able to defy gravity and fly. The feeling of being
pursued by monsters or thugs corresponds with the relentless harassment we can
be experiencing from our aggressive superego or inner critic. In this type of dream,
the act of running away or fearfully fleeing pursuers reflects an entanglement
in inner passivity. This weakness in our psyche causes us to be intimidated by
our inner critic. As we become emotionally stronger, dreams of being chased or
troubled in other ways stop occurring.
Dreams
of being naked in public places relate to repressed shame and unresolved emotions
associated with being seen in a negative light. If in the dream we have no
shame of being naked, we're producing this defense: "I don't want to be seen in
a negative light or feel ashamed of who I am. Look, even when naked, I'm
relaxed and unashamed." (People can feel liberated at nudist colonies when their
nudity serves this defense.) If, instead, we have a dream in which we're
ashamed of being naked, then we're directly experiencing our entanglement in shame
or rejection without an intervening defense.
Again,
be thankful when you can see an emotional weakness. That's how you're able to
overcome it. (Often we resist seeing an emotional weakness because our inner
critic will harass us for having the weakness. Yet our inner critic has no
business doing this. Our challenge on an inner level is to learn to deflect or
neutralize these unwarranted accusations or attacks from our inner critic.)
The
dream of being able to fly or levitate is a defense. Usually the dreamer feels
pleasure in this ability to fly. This ability, however, is a claim to power. It
is the dreamer's attempt to "prove," through the enjoyment of such flying, how
much he or she wants to feel power. The defense proclaims, "I am not helpless
and passive (usually referring to some recurring or particular situation or
circumstance in one's present life.) Look at what I can do. I have this power
to fly. This is what I like."
The
flying dream can also be a defense intended to cover up one's conscious or repressed
feelings of being unworthy or not having value. "Look, I can fly," the defense
now proclaims. "I am special, I have great value." The feeling of not having
value is painfully apparent for many people. Our tendency is to repress this feeling
and remain unaware of its presence in our psyche as we compulsively pursue
external validation and the materialistic trappings of value.
These
principles can also apply to recurring nightmares. Such nightmares indicate the
individual is stuck emotionally in some acute inner conflict. Often the
conflict centers on the inner standoff between our harsh inner critic and our beleaguered
unconscious ego (the seat of inner passivity).
Some
dreams do serve as indicators of our growing emotional strength. They show us handling
challenging situations more adroitly than ever. In other related dreams, we can
encounter strangers who are guides to psychological or spiritual awakening. I
have had many dreams in which I was guided to follow certain practices or to undertake
suggested actions involving, for instance, diet, exercise, breathing techniques,
and financial and professional matters.
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