From the comment section of Why We Dream:
10/28/08 12a-3a Houston, TX.
Last night I had two dreams...
The first dream was me boarding a cruise ship. It was a nice warm night, the water was calm. The cruise ship was beautifully lit with white lights everywhere and the harbor/port was buzzing with soft and romantic boats and sounds.
Dreams of vehicles that go over water portray how you are moving through changes and how you feel about the changes.
I was with a group and we took a small wooden boat to get to the larger one. As we approached my mother dove in with joy. Almost like she couldn't resist the urge to be in this calm and lovely sea. I jumped in, in fear after her. Then I realized I was the one in danger. Not actually in danger but the only one scared.
This portion of the dream portrays your fear of jumping into relationships. You dive in after your mother from the sense of following in your mother's footsteps in terms of how she approaches relationships. Since everything and everyone in the dream is a reflection of you, your more 'adult' or nuturing side (mother) is feeling the need to 'jump in' even while you remain afraid.
Then I could hear the fish as if they were in a large school as the brushed the bow's bottom as they swam by. Then an extremely large, big mouthed fish that was brown and green in color with big eyes buzzed me. Almost just saying hey I see you and it's no big deal but I was here first. This portion of the dream suggests that indeed, there is life swimming 'below the surface' in the deeper aspects of what you attempt to keep out of conscious awareness. Its all good.
The second was me falling in love. The man was a close family friend, mostly of my older brother. He and I don't speak in waking life, so the fact that we were just normal in the dream was a great feeling. I felt no fear, animosity or regret around him. I was comfortable. My brother and I seemed to be living or staying in a big open house. There were no rooms but there were doors. I just didn't know where they went. There were a lot of high windows with lots of sunlight coming in but the house was just grey in color but in a warm, peaceful way. There were lots of posts like in a big cabin and lots of stairs. There was no furniture. I was the only one who went upstairs where there were lots of empty shelves.
This second portion of the dream reveals the deeper aspects of how you move into relationships. Family members can portray how the past might have influenced why you keep yourself 'reserved.' The big open house shows you exploring your potential, but please notice how the house:
--has no rooms but has doors...it has no furniture but lots of posts...and empty shelves.--This is a snapshot of both, how you hide and your fear of having nothing to offer in a relationship.
The 'aha' to me is the repetitiveness of doors, posts and the chain link fence at the end....
AHA: something that is being protected in this way cannot be filled with furniture (ideas to rest upon) or have things on the shelves (what you can share with others and how you present your ideas to others.) Since the house represents your 'inner architecture' here are things to consider: no rooms but doors? are there no walls? Is this a snapshot of having an easy escape?
There was something drawing this friend and me closer together and I knew we were in love but I didn't want to disappoint my brother, my family. I kept hiding things from them and denying my feelings to this man. I kept thinking they have to know. Each time my brother went out the front door I was sure it was because he was upset or felt awkward that this man and I had a connection. Finally the man couldn't take it and wouldn't accept it anymore. As he was professing his love and I clearly felt the same my brother came upon us. I was so worried and he just walked away. NOt in an angry or disappointed way but saying "I knew all along I'm happy for you" or "I never cared the way you thought I did I just want you happy." For a woman, the male becomes symbolic of moving fearlessly in the world. This portion of the dream reflects how you are ready for a fulfilling relationship.
Then the scene changed from us in this place announcing our love to me meeting him outside school. It must have been a high school or grade school. I met him outside. He was very excited because they had just discovered his natural ability to instantly formulate nourishment? I don't really know how to explain it now, but in the dream he said "watch, i take 10 sprints then I eat a banana and 3 teaspoons of peanut butter and I'm a machine" It was like a new invention and he had been hired by endorsers and athletes and teams worldwide. He would be very successful and I was so proud of this person and loved him so much.
The last portion of the dream takes place in a school setting (learning) and focuses on nourishment (how you have been trained to find nourishment.) Food in a dream is a more broad view of how you find nourishment in life. His ability to "formulate nourishment" is a classic snapshot of 'hiding the banana' or the covert way that your mind is saying....I like sex...it nourishes me. He (you) is even getting endorsements on that idea! This suggests that you are opening to intimacy.
I continued to follow him as he made formulas for all of our turns. We were running and laughing and were very happy. As we rounded a chainlink fence from an alley to a new street I thought "when do I tell him this will not work out? when do i tell him that someone so much younger than me can't make this work? That right now things are great but in real life they won't be very soon?"
Here, the chain link fence appears, it becomes obvious how you sabotage relationships. The idea is no longer hidden in the obscurities of the large open house... You wonder how to bring it up. This is a conversation you need to have with yourself. What are you afraid of?
As we rounded the corner (now on vespas) he asked me to join him at his favorite taqueria. It was a like this soulful, hip hubub while everything around seemed lifeless (buildings/people walking by). There were all kinds of interesting people on the patio. The tacqueria or 'foreign' restaraunt suggests that you need to find a new way, an exotic way, a more foreign way (or something different from what you have done in the past) to receive nourishment in life.
Two girls took my attention. They were having breakfast with iced coffees with cream. They had also just ordered two shots and dropped a dark liquid into what looked like milk. I remembered wondering if it was coffee dropped in kailua? They were so happy to be friends. The image of dropping liquid in cream is another way of exploring sex for more profound fulfillment....kind of like nourishment from the breast when you are a baby (your reference to cream.)
I woke up waiting for him to come back out. Wondering what he would surprise me with next. Perhaps you are exploring a new relationship or going through changes in your approach because of something you are observing in your mother or work you are doing in this area. Either way, your mind is awakening you to how you might find real fulfillment. The work consists of understanding what you are protecting and how your fear of intimacy can lead to a sense of constant rejection. While you do not own the condition, you can only feel victimized as if it is happening to you, and not because of your own fears.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
The Return to Nature
How did Halloween become associated with the living dead?
Why do we celebrate Easter as a time when eggs are delivered by rabbits?
What events happened in the natural world that gave rise to our holidays?
The ancients saw themselves as participants of a Great Mystery and the things that took place in nature did not place human beings on the sidelines. At the root of any holiday, we can trace the natural phenomena that gave rise to our ancient beliefs.
2000 years ago, people watched the stars in the same way that we watch television. We might laugh at our ancient myths, but television shapes our beliefs in much the same way.
In addition to being resurrection vehicles for kings, the Egyptians built their pyramids as ancient observatories. Observing the precise placement of the Dog Star, Sirius coincided with the annual inundation of the Nile. As an agricultural community, they could predict with great accuracy when to plant and harvest by watching the movement of the stars.
On the winter solstice at the end of December, many ancient civilizations noted how the sun appeared to be reborn. This is a time when the shortest day of the year seems to switch course to give way to longer days. They celebrated the winter solstice as a time when a new sun was born. The ancients worshipped the return of the sun by decorating world trees with celestial orbs. Today people celebrate the birth of a son differently and wait for a return. Perhaps this is a rumor from ancient times, although the ancients would remind us how the sun returns every year.
At the end of winter, many ancient cultures observed what appeared to be a rabbit living on the moon. This coincided with a time when wild birds would lay their eggs. The ancients celebrated this renewal aspect of nature by worshipping the symbolic lunar rabbit or goddess Eastre. This coincides with the the celebration of Easter. We exchange eggs from a time when we honored the resurrection or rebirth occurring in the natural world. This was no mysterious resurrection, but the rebirth of life that was witnessed all over the earth.
The ancient Norse celebrated the onslaught of winter as a time they called the Great Hunt. Odin the Wild Huntsman led Thor, the God of Thunder along with his snorting hounds and horses through the skies overhead to tug the last remaining greenery from the earth. Townspeople would leave gifts of food out for the flying host and his train of horses who flew over overhead to gather the disembodied souls of the dead. Influencing our Halloween and Yule time traditions, many of our festivals have much older roots than religion.
During winter, the ancients also celebrated the life force that appeared to rejuvenate the sleeping seeds beneath the snow. Odin as the Flying Host inspired the tradition where gifts are delivered to the townsfolk below.
Autumn is a time when the natural world appears to die away. This was an important time to in these ancient agricultural communities however, because what was done in earnest during this season laid the proper foundation for a springtime to come. The ancients found comfort observing how in nature, everything that appears to die away is reborn.
The harvest festivals of ancient times also coincided with a time of honoring the dead. In the Great Mystery, it appeared that autumn brought life and death together....in a sliver of time...just once each year. As the earth opens to receive the seeds where the past and future will lead to new life, perhaps they believed their wishes could reach their departed loved ones. Honoring this life/death/life pattern of nature evolved into Halloween as a confirmation that there is nothing to fear.
The snake worshipping cults of antiquity honored the cyclical regeneration symbolized in the way that the snake sheds and renews its skin. They honored abundant fertility goddesses and earth deities so that their crops might find favor in the coming spring. In ancient times, it was the things of the earth that gave them inspiration. Nature offers this message of hope and renewal to anyone who would observe its ways. This halloween, may the seeds of your greatest dreams grow into your sprintime.
Why do we celebrate Easter as a time when eggs are delivered by rabbits?
What events happened in the natural world that gave rise to our holidays?
The ancients saw themselves as participants of a Great Mystery and the things that took place in nature did not place human beings on the sidelines. At the root of any holiday, we can trace the natural phenomena that gave rise to our ancient beliefs.
2000 years ago, people watched the stars in the same way that we watch television. We might laugh at our ancient myths, but television shapes our beliefs in much the same way.
In addition to being resurrection vehicles for kings, the Egyptians built their pyramids as ancient observatories. Observing the precise placement of the Dog Star, Sirius coincided with the annual inundation of the Nile. As an agricultural community, they could predict with great accuracy when to plant and harvest by watching the movement of the stars.
On the winter solstice at the end of December, many ancient civilizations noted how the sun appeared to be reborn. This is a time when the shortest day of the year seems to switch course to give way to longer days. They celebrated the winter solstice as a time when a new sun was born. The ancients worshipped the return of the sun by decorating world trees with celestial orbs. Today people celebrate the birth of a son differently and wait for a return. Perhaps this is a rumor from ancient times, although the ancients would remind us how the sun returns every year.
At the end of winter, many ancient cultures observed what appeared to be a rabbit living on the moon. This coincided with a time when wild birds would lay their eggs. The ancients celebrated this renewal aspect of nature by worshipping the symbolic lunar rabbit or goddess Eastre. This coincides with the the celebration of Easter. We exchange eggs from a time when we honored the resurrection or rebirth occurring in the natural world. This was no mysterious resurrection, but the rebirth of life that was witnessed all over the earth.
The ancient Norse celebrated the onslaught of winter as a time they called the Great Hunt. Odin the Wild Huntsman led Thor, the God of Thunder along with his snorting hounds and horses through the skies overhead to tug the last remaining greenery from the earth. Townspeople would leave gifts of food out for the flying host and his train of horses who flew over overhead to gather the disembodied souls of the dead. Influencing our Halloween and Yule time traditions, many of our festivals have much older roots than religion.
During winter, the ancients also celebrated the life force that appeared to rejuvenate the sleeping seeds beneath the snow. Odin as the Flying Host inspired the tradition where gifts are delivered to the townsfolk below.
Autumn is a time when the natural world appears to die away. This was an important time to in these ancient agricultural communities however, because what was done in earnest during this season laid the proper foundation for a springtime to come. The ancients found comfort observing how in nature, everything that appears to die away is reborn.
The harvest festivals of ancient times also coincided with a time of honoring the dead. In the Great Mystery, it appeared that autumn brought life and death together....in a sliver of time...just once each year. As the earth opens to receive the seeds where the past and future will lead to new life, perhaps they believed their wishes could reach their departed loved ones. Honoring this life/death/life pattern of nature evolved into Halloween as a confirmation that there is nothing to fear.
The snake worshipping cults of antiquity honored the cyclical regeneration symbolized in the way that the snake sheds and renews its skin. They honored abundant fertility goddesses and earth deities so that their crops might find favor in the coming spring. In ancient times, it was the things of the earth that gave them inspiration. Nature offers this message of hope and renewal to anyone who would observe its ways. This halloween, may the seeds of your greatest dreams grow into your sprintime.
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