It's All in Your Dreams
Though we appear to be sleeping, there is an inner wakefulness that directs the
dream…that will eventually startle us back to the truth of who we are.
~Rumi
F.E.A.R. Formula
Transforming Fear into Rocket Fuel for the Manifestation of Your Greatest Dreams!
A wise man once said, “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.” This is as true in life as it is in dreams. Learning how to shine a light on that which frightens you (while awake or asleep) puts you on the fast track to dream mastery, self-realization, and your ultimate fearless awakening.
When Brandy came to see me, she was suffering from the following recurring nightmare:
“My daughter, Vanessa, and I are in the woods looking at a school that she might attend. I look up and see a mother lion and her cub watching Vanessa. I know they want to devour her. They start running toward us and I scream for Vanessa to run away, diverting their attention toward me. The mother lion pounces on me and pins me on my back. Before she can eat me I pick up a stick and throw it (as if she was a dog and we were playing fetch). The lion goes for it and chases the stick, while I take the opportunity to run away. I wake up breathless, knowing we were safe for the moment…barely.”
Logically speaking I could see why this nightmare was so frightening, but I couldn’t help but secretly be thrilled by the symbolism. I had a hunch that this nightmare held a key to Brandy’s freedom.
Even though she was nervous I encouraged Brandy to re-enter her dream— and once inside view it from the perspective of the lion (as a shadow aspect) attempting to empower her with a gift.
I shared with her that when you dream of someone chasing you, you may be running from an undesirable aspect of yourself, from an adverse influence, or from a disowned aspect of yourself. Consider this dream to be about power…either going after power or running from someone who is trying to take your power from you. My suggestion is, in your waking state, imagine that you confront who (or what) you are running from, ask it why it’s chasing you, and negotiate closure. After all, what you resist persists.
Brandy immediately broke into tears because she realized the lion represented her rage at her soon to be ex-husband (Hell hath no fury like a mother lion scorned!). She had suppressed her anger fearing it would devour her, which in turn would devour her daughter.
When Brandy re-entered her dream I guided her to ask the lion to impart its gift to her. She immediately began to entrain to (get in sync with) the lion and she began to shake. When I asked her how she felt she smiled through her tears, “I feel powerful…happy…not afraid of my ex-husband…not afraid of my anger…not afraid of anything. I didn’t think I could handle this much intensity…but I can…its just energy…energy that makes me feel …confident…I can’t believe I pushed this away!”
Brandy called me after her dreaded custody hearing. She was ecstatic as she shared with me how she walked into the courthouse with her lion by her side. She said that at no point in the meeting did she break down in tears (like she was historically–and hysterically–known for doing). She felt carried by an invisible strength that made it impossible to feel intimidated by her soon to be ex-husband. She walked out of court awarded full custody of her daughter, and full custody of her inner lioness.
Face It:
From the perspective of being able to “re-enter” your dream scene and “re-direct” it, use your imagination, and in a meditative state, describe how you would “face it” (look at the events of your dream, or the most challenging aspect of the dreams with wide-open eyes.) For example, you might want to bring a guide, a powerful ally, archangel, animal, or friend with you into the dream so you don’t have to face it alone. Or you might prefer to watch the events of the dream in a movie theatre, television screen, or I-pad in your mind.
Name It:
Once you’ve faced your dream, give the dream a title, give the scary person a name, or ask them to tell you their name.
Embrace It:
From the perspective of being inside the dream, describe how will you approach, embrace, reframe the most challenging aspect of the dream in order to extract the golden gift from it. For example, you might choose to shrink the scary creature into something that could fit in the palm of your hand. You might choose to literally hug the scary creature, or simply ask them what their gift is for you (and wait to see how the answer you…you may be surprised. They are usually a aspect of your power in disguise!
Ace It:
Now that you’ve extracted the gift (the message, an element of your power, a gift) describe how you will absorb the gift so that you emerge “on top” having aced this situation. For example, one man I know who was being chased by King Kong aced his dream by realizing this great ape was an aspect of his strength and power, and completed the dream by taking a ride on top of King Kong’s head, directing him where to go, feeling enormous and re-empowered.
Replace It:
Identify how the dream, dream character, or essence of the dream has been altered by your courage and willingness to become a dream alchemist. Describe what it was, and what it has been replaced with as a result of dream alchemy? For example, fear is replaced by faith; victim hood by victoriousness; and weakness to strength.
I believe that every single event in life happens in an opportunity to
choose love over fear.
~Oprah Winfrey
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