Dream messages - YoM Day 283

Nine months ago I began a journey of practicing mindfulness every day and we've reached day 283. Yesterday, I talked about censorship and the importance of expression. Today is a new day.

"A dream which is not interpreted is like a letter which is not read." - The Talmud

Last night one of my students discussed one of her dreams to me from when she was a teenager. She described being in a house and seeing a volcano erupt from her window. The lava would eventually flow down the mountain and come through the window. She'd wake up just before the lava incinerated her and she'd wake up in a cold sweat. The interesting part is that with dreams like this, that reflect disaster and negativity, she said her real life tends to reflect the opposite of it. The reverse is true. When she'd have dreams where her husband is really nice, when she wakes up he ends up particularly cold that day. This made me think about what it could all mean.

Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud researched a lot about dreams and their meanings. They believed very much the relationship between our dreams and our subconscious. I also agree that our dreams are far more than just random firings of our neurons coincidentally creating a "movie" that entertains us while we sleep. I think that's absurd. I also think that they're not just our brain trying to process all of the stimuli we've experienced throughout the day and compiling it in order to predict the future. Are dreams are a gateway into understanding ourselves on a deeper level.

When thinking about my own dreams and trying to make sense of them, I learn a lot about myself. They help me dig deep within myself and see my inner demons, which helps me figure out what I need to do in order to improve myself. To self-realize.

Following the lesson with my student, I went home and was able to have my own vivid dream. I was spending time with a girl and I thought she had a beautiful soul. She had been abused for not being "beautiful" and had a lot of marks on her body that made her feel self-conscious about herself. We spent the day together and she ended up confessing to me and telling me that I made her feel human. Her words made my heart melt but I wasn't attracted to her in that way. I then encountered a beautiful woman who conversely had a shallow and broken heart. She was charming, but also full of herself and focused solely on self-indulgence. The energy made me feel terrible and I just couldn't bring myself to feel anything for her.

Waking up, I thought about balance. In terms of dating I've always been more about the connection I have with the person more than I do their looks alone. However, if I don't feel attracted to someone then I just don't. It goes beyond just looks though. Thinking deeper, lifestyle and mentality also play a huge role in attraction. It's why someone with a beautiful soul may still not be the one for you. You might live too different a life for each other to match and that's okay. Just means you can be great friends. In looking at my past relationships, I've noticed that the balance was more even in the ones that were very passionate and engaging. In ones that weren't so great the balance was also just as much lacking. I have a date this Saturday and this dream might have been my subconscious trying to remind me of my values and to not get too caught up in one thing or another. Rather, to think about how our energies and lifestyles fit and whether they're balanced.

What might seem like a random dream might actually be an analogy of how we live. The messages may not be so clear right away, but with enough thought they can offer a lot to learn from.

What are your dreams trying to tell you?

                                                                                                                       Peace

Dreams are like messages from the soul.