More Discovering You Blogs
- Living Your Truth: Be real, BE YOU!
- Fabulous Festive Decorating Ideas ...for the Holidays
- How To Make Your Own Bath Salts
- How To Make Your Own HALLOWEEN BODY GLITTER
- Meditation: For Deep Relaxation
- What do your HANDS say about you?
- Part II: You and Your Dreams
- The RAINBOW That is you!
- What colours mean - Black
- Double, double toil and trouble
- What colours mean - Silver
- What colours mean - Gold
- What Colours Mean: Purple
- What Colours Mean: Blue
- What Colours Mean - Pink
- What colours mean: Red
- What colours mean - Orange
- What Colours Mean - Green
- What Colours Mean - Yellow
- Discovering you - White
- Part I: You and Your DREAMS
February 2009 Blogs
Part I: You and Your DREAMS
DISCOVERING YOU, February 2009, by Alicja Zajac
Part I:
You and Your DREAMS
Imagine that you’re standing alone on a flat ledge high up on a mountain. Your feet are blistered and your knees are bruised from climbing, yet you feel exhilarated at the height you’ve reached. You sit down to rest, reaching out to the puffy clouds that are almost within grasp. You then notice a beautiful rainbow-hued bird standing a few feet away. It tilts its head to one side, regarding you with its bright, wise eyes. Bending its head, it pushes a small, wonderful object towards you and says clearly, “Look!” You peer at it - only to find that you are in your bedroom tucked under the covers... it was all a dream! Read on to discover what this particular dream means.
The Science Part
Our bodies are controlled by the ‘Circadian Rhythm’ - an internal clock with a 24-hour cycle, run by the hypothalamus in the brain. This center is regulated by sunlight, which sends a message to the pineal gland, located close to the hypothalamus. It in turn regulates a chemical called melatonin, which makes us feel sleepy. This is why inadequate sunlight exposure or poor sleep habits result in frequent drowsiness.
Most people spend two hours or more dreaming every night, especially during the deep REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep when your eyes move rapidly under your eyelids. You can also dream during lighter sleep stages, and even ‘daydream’ when you are awake. Sound familiar?
Feelings and Subconscious
Feelings related to your daily experiences are reflected in your dreams. Experts say that if you saw a frightening movie before you went to sleep, it would not affect your dreams because it was not a personal experience. However, if you thought about it a lot before you fall asleep, then it could affect your dreams because the subconscious mind which is separate from conscious thoughts will begin to believe it as a real occurrence. So don’t watch scary movies before bed!
Interpreting Your OWN Dreams
There are a lot of books and information available on how to interpret dreams. They provide good basic explanations to help interpret symbols or events in your dreams such as mountains, falling, flying, horses, trains, and so on, as well as providing entertainment. The renowned psychotherapist Friedrich Perls stated that every person and every object in your dream is an aspect, like a reflection, of you. For example, a horse may represent strength and confidence to one person, but if you’ve had an accident with a horse, it may represent fear and uncertainty in your dream. Try examining your dreams more deeply by considering personal experiences and situations.
In the dream example, climbing a mountain is a huge achievement which could relate to an accomplishment you’ve had or want in your own life. The blisters and bruises acknowledge the difficulties, but feeling exhilarated shows that it was worth the effort. Being on a flat ledge showed you were in a safe place, while the clouds represented your dreams being within reach. The bird was an ‘aspect’ of you, bringing a message from your heart and soul. Its loveliness shows how your true inner beauty shines through in so many ways. The gift indicates that all you have to do is look inside then acknowledge and let your gifts and talents shine through. You awaken to new knowledge that has come to the surface of your consciousness.
Dream Diary
Keep a dream journal. I do and it is amazing to read past dreams and realize what they meant at the time. When examining our dreams, it’s amazing how solutions to our problems are often revealed if we look deep enough. Thank your inner wisdom when you discover that.
Tonight, fall asleep with the intention of discovering a solution to a particular problem. The more often you fall asleep with positive intent, the more you will train your unconscious mind to look deep within and bring creative solutions forward into your conscious, awake mind. Try it. It works!
~ Alicja