{"id":5731,"date":"2013-10-08T10:02:33","date_gmt":"2013-10-08T14:02:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/dreamgates\/?p=5731"},"modified":"2013-09-21T10:09:43","modified_gmt":"2013-09-21T14:09:43","slug":"nine-ways-dreams-can-wake-you-up-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/dreamgates\/2013\/10\/nine-ways-dreams-can-wake-you-up-2.html","title":{"rendered":"Nine Ways Dreams Can Wake You Up"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Kai<\/a>Have you ever said, \u201cit\u2019s only a dream\u201d? While we often dismiss dreams, or fail to make room for them in the hurry of our daily lives, dreams can be a fabulous source of guidance, healing and juice for any day.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s an open secret about dreaming. It\u2019s not fundamentally about sleeping. It\u2019s really about waking up. Here\u2019s how:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

    \n
  1. We solve problems in our sleep<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Jeff Taylor woke in the middle of the night from a dream in which he created an electronic bulletin board that was lit up with eager job-hunters logging in from all over the map. He scrawled the phrase \u201cMonster board\u201d on a pad in the dark, then rushed to an all-night coffee shop and roughed out the plan for what became the stunningly successful internet job agency, Monster.com<\/p>\n

    If you want to solve a problem, or need a fresh perspective, sleep on it. Write down your intention (\u201cI would like guidance on X\u201d) before turning in, and be ready to record something whenever you wake up. Even if you have forgotten your dreams, you may find you have your solution.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Dreams coach us for future challenges and opportunities.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      John Lennon dreamed he read his own obituary and was shocked to find that he had murdered himself, in front of the Dakota on Central Park. Eleven months later, he was murdered in front of the Dakota by a demented fan who identified with the Beatles star to the point where he married a Japanese woman, collected the same type of art, and signed out of work the day before the murder as \u201cJohn Lennon\u201d.<\/p>\n

      Lennon\u2019s dream was precognitive; it showed him a future event that was played out when the wannabe John Lennon killed the real one. But dreams also give us early warnings: they show us future challenges (and opportunities) that may or may not play out, depending on whether we read the message correctly and take appropriate action. I believe that my own life has been saved from fatal road accidents on three occasions because I was able to use dream previews as travel advisories.<\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Dreams show us what our bodies need to stay well.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Wanda Burch\u2019s dead father turned up in a dream in a white medical coat yelling at her, \u201cGet to a doctor immediately! You have cancer!\u201d She acted on the warning, getting medical help early enough to survive the disease. Her survival chances were greatly enhanced as she developed the ability to harvest healing imagery from her dreams, as recounted in her book She Who Dreams.<\/i><\/p>\n

        We have a wise physician and healer available in our dreamtime every night. Our dream doctor can predict possible symptoms long before they develop, prescribe appropriate treatments, and give us images the body can believe in to make us well or keep us well. Our dream doctor makes house calls and doesn\u2019t charge a cent!<\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

          \n
        1. Dreams hold up a magic mirror to our actions and behavior<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          Renowned Swiss analyst Carl Jung was impressed by the experience of a wealthy businessman who was about to embark on a new venture when he dreamed that he got himself so dirty that his arms were covered in black muck, up above the elbows. He concluded that the new project was \u201cdirty business\u201d, and abandoned it.<\/p>\n

          Dreams give us an objective <\/i>picture of our current actions and attitudes, and show us where they are likely to lead. When I was leading a very fast-track life, I dreamed I took a corner at insanely high speed in a beautiful racing-green Jaguar. Then everything came to a stop.\u00a0 A doctor in a white coat turned up and inspected my engine. He cautioned me that I ought to be much more careful. \u201cIf you smash up this vehicle, don\u2019t imagine you\u2019ll get one as good any time soon.\u201d I took the advice!<\/p>\n

           <\/p>\n

            \n
          1. Dreams are a secret laboratory<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            Nobel laureate Wolfgang Pauli, a pioneer of quantum physics, said that dreams were his \u201csecret laboratory.\u201d He recorded many thousands of dreams, and they guided not only his work in physics, but his researches in other fields such as philology and the interaction of mind and matter.<\/p>\n

            Many of our greatest scientists, inventors and discoverers have been world-class dreamers. The list includes Isaac Newton, physicist Niels Bohr, chemist Friedrich Kekule, inventor Elias Howe (who dreamed up the first practical sewing machine needle, giving us the modern garment industry) and Albert Einstein, who woke on a spring morning with the special theory of relativity clear in his head.<\/p>\n

             <\/p>\n

              \n
            1. Dreams are a creative studio<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

              Jacqueline Mitchard, author of the bestselling first novel The Deep End of the Ocean <\/i>told Oprah she got her whole plot from a dream, though it took her several years to bring all of the book through. The stunningly original architect Frank Gehry dreams up building designs. He says he based part of his design for a cancer center on dream conversations with a woman friend who had died from breast cancer. He dreamed his dead friend told to make his design softer, to appeal to women patients; in the finished version he worked in shapes derived from the folds of fabric in a shawl.<\/p>\n

              To be creative is to bring something new into the world. Whatever our field of interest \u2013 from a dinner party menu to the next leap in nanotechnology \u2013 our dreams provide a creative studio where we try out new ideas and make connections that escape the everyday mind.<\/p>\n

               <\/p>\n

                \n
              1. Dreams help us mend our divided selves<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                New York actor and playwright Roger Ziegler dreamed he looked in a mirror and saw many selves, aspects of himself at many ages, each bringing different gifts. He was thrilled as he watched them embrace and join together, becoming a single being \u2013 all except a shy five-year-old he had to rescue later on.<\/p>\n

                Our dreams put us in touch with many parts of ourselves, including shadow aspects we may have sought to repress or deny, and also that larger and wiser Self who can help us grow.<\/p>\n

                 <\/p>\n

                  \n
                1. Dreaming is a key to better relationships<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                  Schoolteacher Marybeth Gurske dreamed that her heart was opened, and she saw an \u201cenergy cord\u201d running from her open heart to her dream partner, the ultimate \u201cMister Right.\u201d She painted that beautiful image. When she dated men, she checked whether the energy in the encounter matched that of the dream, and moved on fast when it did not. Every night, she imagined herself being drawn, inexorably, by that heart-cord towards the man of her dreams. Fourteen months later, she found him and they are now married.<\/p>\n

                  Dreams can introduce our life partners. They can also put juice and depth into an existing relationship, or show us when it is time to cut our losses and move on. Sharing dreams in a family circle or among friends or workmates is a great way to build stronger connections, solve mutual problems \u2013 and have fabulous fun. Through dreams, we can also heal our relations with our departed, bringing a blessed sense of forgiveness, closure and continuing or reviving love.<\/p>\n

                   <\/p>\n

                    \n
                  1. Dreams recall us to our larger our purpose<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                    Australian Aborigines say that the Big stories are hunting the right people to tell them, like predators stalking in the woods. Dreams put us in touch with our bigger stories and our larger life purpose. When we can make a connection between life\u2019s everyday dramas and a bigger story, we find courage and direction for whatever life throws at us.<\/p>\n

                    –<\/p>\n

                    Parts of this article are adapted from The Three “Only” Things: Tapping the Power of Dreams, Coincidence and Imagination<\/em> <\/a>by Robert Moss. Published by New World Library.<\/p>\n

                    –<\/p>\n

                    Graphic: Kai Altair in Dreams of the Last Butterflies<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                    Have you ever said, \u201cit\u2019s only a dream\u201d? While we often dismiss dreams, or fail to make room for them in the hurry of our daily lives, dreams can be a fabulous source of guidance, healing and juice for any day. Here\u2019s an open secret about dreaming. It\u2019s not fundamentally about sleeping. 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He is the creator of Active Dreaming, an original synthesis of dreamwork and shamanism. Born in Australia, he survived three near-death experiences in childhood. He leads popular seminars all over the world, including a three-year training for teachers of Active Dreaming. A former lecturer in ancient history at the Australian National University, he is a best-selling novelist, journalist and independent scholar. His nine books on dreaming, shamanism and imagination include Conscious Dreaming, Dreamways of the Iroquois, The Dreamer's Book of the Dead, The Three \"\"Only\"\" Things, The Secret History of Dreaming, Dreamgates, Active Dreaming and Dreaming the Soul Back Home: Shamanic Dreaming for Healing and Becoming Whole. His most recent book is The Boy Who Died and Came Back: Adventures of a Dream Archaeologist in the Multiverse. Over the past 20 years, he has led seminars at the Esalen Institute, Kripalu, the Omega Institute, the New York Open Center, Bastyr University, John F. Kennedy University, Meriter Hospital, and many other centers and institutions. He has taught depth workshops in Active Dreaming in the UK, Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, France, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Romania, Brazil and Austria and leads a three-year training for teachers of Active Dreaming. He hosts the \"\"Way of the Dreamer\"\" radio show at www.healthylife.net. He has appeared on many TV and radio shows, ranging from Charlie Rose and the Today show to Coast to Coast and the Diane Rehm show on NPR. His articles on dreaming have been published in media ranging from Parade to Shaman's Drum.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.mossdreams.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/dreamgates\/author\/rmoss"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/dreamgates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5731","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/dreamgates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/dreamgates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/dreamgates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/224"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/dreamgates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5731"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/dreamgates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5731\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5732,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/dreamgates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5731\/revisions\/5732"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/dreamgates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5731"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/dreamgates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5731"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/dreamgates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5731"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}