Dreamwork

"Dreamwork" is a term currently associated with modern day New Age spirituality; but the art and practice of it is ancient. 

Many of us are familiar with the biblical story of Joseph (known as Joseph and the coat of many colors) who was imprisoned in Egypt. His prophecy and dream interpretations gained him notoriety and eventually the way out of the dungeons and onto the seat next to the Pharaoh who valued his guidance and wisdom. 

Nowadays, the notion of dreamwork is patronizingly viewed as a practice of would-be-witchy teen girls who are lighting candles, making herbal teas, and posting on social media. It has become perceived as frivolous but the truth is; dreamwork is a valuable self introspection tool that anyone can use to find patterns and subconscious programming in their psyche that may otherwise be overlooked. 

Dreamwork can reveal awarenesses about your mental state and your life that you may never otherwise recognize. There are countless books, journals, and websites that will attempt to tell you what dreams mean, but to begin- you don't need any outside sources.

Dreaming is the frontier of the subconscious. It is the playground where the brain is "working out" energies that it is aware of and is organizing them.

The human brain is performing a variety functions at all times and aware of much more than the conscious part of our psyche. The brain must filter out to the conscious part of the mind, what is or isn't important to notice. For example, at any given time, we are surrounded by background noise: an airplane or car in the distance, refrigerator running, subtle humming of electricity, a bird outside the window, etc. The brain will automatically filter out these as unimportant. However, if the sound of the washing machine begins to waver from what you recognize as "normal" sounds, the brain will immediately signal to you that something is amiss and you will notice it. 

This filtering also occurs in our physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual environment. Have you ever met someone who is completely oblivious to their tendencies of behavior, but when you mention it- they are seemingly stunned that they could have missed something so obvious? This would be selective filtering from the brain. (a great book that talks about the complexity of the brain is The Body Keeps Score by Bessel Van Der Kolk M.D.)

It is common for something to "show up" in a dream that is a message to you that you are not paying attention to in the "awake" times of your life. 

Sometimes dreams and symbols are obvious and sometimes they are cryptic. To determine what keys you hold inside of you and more importantly, how to unlock the wisdom within- dreamwork can be the answer. To get a clear answer or message, you must look to your own interpretation before researching another. 

While there are cultural archetypal symbols in every society, there are individual meanings too- and the individual meaning is more important. 

For example: As a painter, I am often commissioned for pieces. A man who lived in Oregon had hired me to do a particular piece and every time I went to paint what he had asked for; the image of pink sea shell kept coming to my mind. The impression was so prevalent that I contacted the man and told him what I was "seeing." He was shocked to silence. Breathlessly, he said, "Paint the shell."  

If I were to "interpret" what the shell meant, I could have searched the internet to find what a shell meant, the color, the shape, read dream blogs, etc. And it would have been insightful but not necessarily accurate. For this man, the shell was intimately connected to a childhood memory and the shell was showing up as a "flag" that would bring back the memory of that experience. The experience was the message- not the pink shell. Had I assumed what the shell meant- I would have been wrong. 

How to implement Dreamwork:

Set yourself up for success by turning off electronics and not eating 2 hours before bedtime. The "blue" light from electronics affects our ability to sleep well. When the brain doesn't need to use energy to digest food, more energy is used to replenish the brain during sleeping hours. 

Reading positive material or listening to music, or doing a creative art is helpful as these all access the subconscious and imagination areas of the brain. You can also shut off electric lights and spend the evening in relaxing candle light. (Never leave a candle burning while you sleep.)

Full moons are especially potent times to implement dreamwork. You may notice around full moons that your dreams are quite vivid. New moons are beneficial too.

Keep a notebook, paper, or journal nearby.

Some crystals I like to use to support dreamwork are: Iolite, moonstone, clear quartz, super 7, and amethyst. 

You can place one under your pillow or next to your bedside. Amethyst can be used in water as well. Taking an amethyst and leaving it in water for a few days then drinking the water (carefully as not to ingest stone!) before sleeping. I use a large glass liter bottle that I can drink from for a few nights at a time.

Drink a full glass of water before retiring for bed (amethyst or no). This will cause you to wake in the middle of a sleep cycle that you normally would not- and you are more likely to remember your dream. 

When you wake, write a couple words of the dream or how you feel before you even use the restroom. After you relieve yourself, you can expand on the writing- or just wait until morning. I personally wait until sunrise. 

When morning comes, just having a few words to prompt you, is usually enough to remember the dream. Write colors, places, people, tokens, clothing, animals, shapes, etc. If you aren't remembering imagery, then write feelings or sensations. You don't need to analyze it or question it. Writing it down is enough. 

Notice as you read over your writings if there are specific or similar things showing up. I tend to dream of my childhood home when I am going through emotional challenges in my current life. I know this is a message of inner child healing. 

If totem animals show up- before you search the internet about that animal; ask the questions to yourself what that animal means to you, what you felt during the dream, what you feel about the animal in waking hours, colors, textures, environment, behaviors are all clues to what the meaning can be. Searching for answers in books or online is beneficial; but always start with introspection first. 

A great power animal meditation is available in my online courses here with a worksheet and question prompts: 

Connect to your Power Animal

I once kept a dream journal regularly for over a year. I didn't interpret any of the dreams or symbols, I just made notes of my dreams. When I read over it later, the pieces of a larger puzzle were obvious and clear. My psyche was aware of a betrayal happening that my conscious mind was in denial of. The dreams had foretold of other future experiences that came to light as well. 

While I don't keep a rigorous dreamwork practice anymore; whenever I have a deeply vivid dream, I record it in my journal- knowing that if it's imprinting me strongly; there is a reason. It's showing me what my subconscious is perceiving as well as patterns it is replaying. Dreams can be foretelling, as well as a mirror into what is really happening deep down. They can have the answers as to why you may be struggling with addiction or finding yourself in the same situations or relationships over and over again. Dreamwork isn't a science, but a tool for self reflection and inner growth. 

Give it a try. It can change your life. 

To learn more about what I do- go to katiejodrum.com I have some great online courses about shamanic practice and power animals and more! katiejodrum.com