Issue 85, September 2005
Changing ways
©Jane Teresa Anderson, September 2005
Have you ever dreamed of being lost, unable to find your way? If so, this one’s especially for you.
Two months ago my latest book, DREAM ALCHEMY, found its way beyond Australia, the country of its birth, to the US and the UK. (If it’s not on the shelves, please ask your bookshop to order it in.) It’s found its way – now it needs to establish its presence!
In celebration – and to entice you to read the book – here’s CHAPTER 21 in its entirety for you to enjoy and forward to friends, helping to spread the word.
DREAM ALCHEMY looks at 41 of the most common dream themes, what they mean and …. Well, sample for yourself:
CHAPTER 21
I’ve lost my way
THE DREAM: You can’t find your way through the city, a big building or the countryside. You’re lost and you know it.
The way may change,
but the compass always points true.
In your dream perhaps …
• You half recognise the place, but streets you used to know don’t lead to the same places anymore, hallways you were once familiar with lead elsewhere, and the countryside you knew so well is now all changed.
• You wait for buses or trains but realise you’re at the wrong bus stop or train station. You don’t know where the right stop or station is.
• Street signs are confusing. They are of no help in directing you.
• You can see where you want to be, or know where you want to be, but you can’t fathom how to get there.
• You have no idea where you want to be. You just know you’re lost and can’t find your way out.
How do you feel in your dream?
Lost. Confused. Puzzled. Unsure. Unconfident. Aimless. Determined. Exhausted. Tired. Frustrated. Deserted. Desolate. Lonely. Abandoned. Unsupported. Incapacitated.
How does your dream end?
Positive changes are on the way if …
• You find your way to your original destination.
• You find a short-cut to your original destination.
• You end up at a much better place.
• You learn something insightful or discover something interesting instead.
• You meet up with someone who helps you find your way.
• You decide on another plan and feel good about it.
• You find the right bus or train station.
It’s time for a new approach if …
• You are still lost at the end of the dream.
• Your confusion in the dream increases.
What your dream means
Your way forward may be blocked by …
Old approaches or ways of relating that no longer work for you. Inflexibility or difficulty in adapting to changed circumstances. Being out of touch with your intuition or other life skills needed to find your path to where you want to be. Doubt about the goals you have been aiming for.
Moving forward
Be more flexible and open to new ideas and ways of doing things. Know that life is about change (who wants to be stuck?) so be still and watch the way the wind blows. Tune into your inner guidance and reconsider your goals.
There are times in life when the old ways just don’t work for you anymore. Things have changed and moved on but you are still expecting the new world to operate in the old, familiar way.
The destination may read the same but the old route has been superseded by a new order. That old boys’ or old girls’ network once useful for getting a good job no longer works; those childish tears no longer bring you the attention you want; playing the underdog has lost its sympathy-pulling power now you are expected to be more mature.
Life isn’t a puzzle with a single solution. There is no right answer, no one and only way. Life is more like a kaleidoscope, ever changing, ever reflecting the last move. Today’s decision changes tomorrow’s path. The map you were handed in childhood is no longer relevant. It’s time to find a new way or to change destinations, but first you must change your ways!
In your life this could be about …
• Preferring to use the work skills you were taught instead of new systems and technologies.
• That job, marriage or house purchase you had set your heart upon seeming to be out of your reach.
• The loss of a partner leaving you to find your own way in the world – something you haven’t had to do for a long time.
• The loss of your job and income leaving you feeling lost about how to survive.
• Old ways of relating with family members no longer working.
Your unique dream contains personal clues only you may recognise
• If the streets, bus stops or street signs are from a place you knew in your past, think back to that time. What were your goals then and how were you approaching them? Which of those ways might no longer be working for you?
• What is your destination in your dream? An ocean destination might give you a clue to an emotional goal, a church to a spiritual goal, a restaurant to a self-nurturing goal or a place you once knew to a need to re-evaluate your past.
&149; Look at your dream clothes or shoes for further clues. For example, high-heeled shoes (perhaps indicating a corporate approach or using your sex appeal) hindering your progress in your dream may give you a clue about the need for a new way of approaching your goal.
Why has this dream come up for you now?
Your answers to these questions will reveal the reason:
• What feelings and emotions did you experience in your dream?
• Which situation in your life now do these feelings remind you of?
• Imagine the best possible outcome for you in this situation. What fears or challenges does achieving this bring up for you?
Your answer to the last question may reveal the reason your dream has come up for you now. You are ready to find new ways to achieve your goals – or to create new goals – but your fears about the change ahead are causing you to hesitate.
Dream alchemy practice
Starting the inner work
This is what to do if you hope to see dramatic transformations in your life.
Practice A
It is the year 2050. Your biographer is preparing her material to write a book about you. She is looking back over the years from 2050 down to where you are today. She has drawn circles over the page and is writing a landmark achievement in each one. Later she will link the circles as stepping-stones, showing how you got from where you are now to where you are in 2050. She will use this stepping-stone map as a guide when writing her book. Close your eyes and imagine her doing this – see what she is writing in the circles.
Now take a piece of paper. Write the title ‘2050: Looking back’ on the page. At the top of the page draw a face or stick figure (or cut out a picture from a magazine). This is your biographer. Now draw the circles and put yourself in her shoes as she writes your landmark achievements in them. Don’t think too hard – just let this dream alchemy practice flow. Then link the circles up to form a stepping-stone map.
If you like this life story, study it every day for up to three weeks and visualise yourself achieving these goals and the steps between. On the first day of the fourth week decide on your first step and do it.
If you don’t like what you see, take a second piece of paper and write the title ‘2050: The rewrite …’ on it. Rewrite your life from this day forward! Then follow the same dream alchemy practice as above, studying the map every day for three weeks and so on.
Practice B
Here’s an affirmation for you:
“I look to my left, I look to my right and suddenly I see a new way. My destination is near and is shining in the light bathing my path. I feel the surge of energy, excitement and joy as I set foot on this new way. The journey is smooth and fast. I feel elated and successful as I now arrive at my destination.”
You can insert the name of your goal instead of the word ‘destination’ if you wish (for example, ‘perfect job’). The dream alchemy will be more powerful if you insert your dream destination, even if you’re unsure of its symbolism. So, if you were trying to get to the ice-cream shop in your dream, insert ‘ice-cream shop’ instead of ‘destination’.
Practice C
List three things that you have done in the same way for at least several years. For example, the route you drive to work (always the same), the way you do your banking (queuing at the bank) or the method you use to remove weeds from your garden (pull them out). Then design new ways of doing each of these. For example, drive a different way to work, or walk or take a bus; learn how to use Internet banking; grow plants that counteract weeds (ground covers) or take a permaculture approach.
Glimmers of gold
In your dreams
When your recurring dream stops or changes to embrace a happier ending, you are making good progress.
Some symbols from your dream alchemy practice may appear in your dreams. For example, you may pick up your biography in a futuristic bookshop.
Your dreams may release grief as you let go of old goals or old ways of doing things. The passing of the old always needs to be mourned before the birth of the new. This is a natural and positive process.
Look out for dreams of earthworks, looking down from a high place to see a pattern or map and, possibly, some creative ideas and solutions.
In your waking life
Things that used to puzzle you are much clearer. You are surprised to realise that you were stuck in old ways before without really knowing it. Everything looks quite different to you now.
You feel more vitality and energy. You are ready and keen to take risks. Your intuition is sharp.
You feel younger and see your life ahead as one of endless choice, great opportunity and change.
You feel empowered by the range of choices ahead of you, and experience a great sense of achievement and flow as you make those choices and step on those stepping-stones.
- End of extract from DREAM ALCHEMY,
by Jane Teresa Anderson -
DREAM ALCHEMY covers 41 common dream themes in a similar way, using the same approach and headings as you have seen in this extract. The book also describes my approach to dreams as well as my methods (such as dream alchemy practices) explaining how and why they work to create positive, long-lasting change.
Click here to read the list of 41 common dream themes covered in this book.
Jane Teresa Anderson
|
