Did I ever tell you about the time my dog ate a three-pound wheel of cheese and then turned into a ballerina?
What? I DIDN'T?
Then let me tell you about it right now.
Because it's a perfect illustration of how our dreams are trying to get our attention.
Are you rolling your eyes?
I get it. Most of us of us have had a brush with dream-analysis that involved a weird exchange with someone at the office, or in a tent at the Fair Grounds.
And let me guess. It wasn't HELPFUL.
That was my experience too, before I trained with Martha Beck.
Martha's method builds on the work of Carl Jung, and as I watched her demonstrate her process (and volunteered myself) I instantly became a huge fan.
And I think you will too.
Because the more bizarre or funny (or scary) your dream is, the more your subconscious is trying to be heard.
I've been tracking this for a while now.
In the past two years alone, I've analyzed nearly 100 dreams and have always been gob-smacked by the intelligence (and benevolence) of each message.
Unfortunately, most of us dismiss our dreams because they seem silly.
And that's a shame because the symbols in our dreams are not meant to be taken literally!
That’s what makes dream analysis so much fun.
The trick is to understand that the subconscious likes to speak to us in terms of metaphor and constantly sends us important information by using images or symbols.
And you, my friend, are the only one who can decipher them!
Let's use my dog dream as an illustration.
My DOG ate a three-pound wheel of CHEESE and then turned into a BALLERINA.
Each highlighted word is a symbol . . . but don't be fooled.
This dream is NOT ABOUT A DOG.
Or cheese, or even a ballerina.
In fact, after analysis, the message was this:
I need to be a friend to myself—I need to feed my soul so I can freely express all the joy and beauty inside of my heart.
How did I figure that out?
First, I isolated the symbols.
DOG
WHEEL OF CHEESE
BALLERINA
(You could also look into “three-pounds”, but for now, let’s stick with the easy stuff!)
Then I deciphered the dream, by becoming the symbols.
That’s right. I went into acting mode and played the part of each symbol in the dreams.
This is important!
When you’ve gotten the symbols from your own dream, get into your new role and then ask each symbol to describe itself using three adjectives.
Don’t censor here.
Whatever pops into your head, write it down.
It may feel silly, but it’s worth it, I promise!
For me, it went like this:
“I’m Dog. I’m reliable. I’m friendly. I’m loyal.”
(Quick Note: It’s really important to be the symbol the way it shows up in the dream! In my case, the dog was a real dog from my childhood, but I played the part of him from the perspective of the dream, not the way he was in real life.)
Then I asked the symbol (Dog) three more questions.
What’s your purpose in this dream? (Why are you here?)
How are you here to help Kelli? (Insert your own name here)
Do you have any special messages for Kelli? (Insert your own name here)
What came up was insightful.
Dog's purpose was to draw my attention back to my essential self, to remind me to be my own best friend and to be kind to myself.
Wow. Pull out the box of Kleenex.
Cheese spoke to me about nourishment and the need to get off the treadmill (wheel) of life.
Ballerina talked to me about letting my soul dance and be creative with my own special kind of expression.
Do you get why this work is so crucial?
Carl Jung believed that many of our dreams are created as fragmented parts of the self that are trying to reconnect so they can be whole.
After putting this to the test, I have to agree.
So don’t be afraid to try this.
Once you’ve asked the questions above and written down the answers, it will start to be come clear what part of you needs some attention.
I hope you enjoy the process.
Your dreams are actually special messages from YOU to you.
And I've come to believe that when we listen to these messages, we allow information from a universal consciousness to come through.
Sending you so much love,
