dreams

Earlier this summer I read a book by Sue Monk Kidd, the well-known author of The Secret Life of Bees. In both her fiction and nonfiction, her belief in the power of dreams as a means of subconscious communication is made explicit. Particularly in her book The Dance of the Dissident Daughter, a spiritual memoir of her explorations of the feminine divine, dreams are consistently a method she uses to navigate the complexity of life in a way I had never encountered before. 

Fortunately for me, I come from a faith tradition which takes dreams as a potential conduit of revelation and self-knowledge seriously. Though Mormons typically reject Freudian dream interpretations (although Jungian analysis is entirely compatible, at least from my viewpoint), they readily acknowledge that God sometimes will touch our subconscious through dreams. Scripture unique to Mormons, such as The Book of Mormon, The Pearl of Great Price, and The Doctrine and Covenants, are replete with examples of God communicating with His children through dreams. The prophet Lehi (1 Nephi 1), after seeing in vision that Jerusalem will be destroyed, collapses with exhaustion on his bed, dreams of the Savior who is yet to come to Earth and understands his mission is to try to warn Jerusalem dwellers of incumbent destruction.  Later, this same prophet dreams up one of my favorite scriptural allegories (1 Nephi 8), what Mormons like to call " The Vision of The Tree of Life".  In the book of Ether in The Book of Mormon, Omer (Ether 9:3) is warned in a dream to leave his kingdom which has just experienced a political coup. 

The Bible, of equal importance to Mormons, is also replete with some of the most interesting dream stories. Dream interpretation is considered a bona fide spiritual gift wielded by scriptural giants such as Joseph (sold into Egypt, remember?) and Elijah. Joseph, Mary's husband, is warned in a dream to escape to Egypt, consequently saving Jesus' life. Peter, despite his pugnacious refusal to extend full Christian participation to non-Jewish peoples, finally concedes after God sends a certain dream his way. I could go on and on, but you get the picture.

Sue Monk Kidd awakened my appreciation for the mystery of dreams.  Although I do believe some dreams come from God, I also believe there are messages within our subconscious, and maybe even in our souls that can be unlocked through particularly pertinent dreams. Reading about Kidd's dreams is a bit of a surreal experience. A part of me was incredulous. That her dreams were remembered in such detail, and carried such relevant weight seemed an impossibility to me.  In a typical year, I may have a handful of dreams I remember after I wake up. I'll admit that I found myself suddenly jealous of Kidd's mysterious ability to remember her dreams and interpret them in such a profound way.

I brought this up to Derrick who mentioned that it has been clinically proven that keeping a dream journal increases dream memory.  I decided to try it. Though I wasn't always hyper-vigilant, I did for about a week or two immediately jot down what I remembered from my dreams, whether the dream itself actually seemed pertinent or not (none of them were pertinent, actually). I have to say, as inconsistent as I was, it actually did work.

Instead of the handful of half-baked dreams I partially remember during a given year, the few months since I've started this experiment have spontaneously and intermittently been scattered with dreams that I felt were messages I needed to interpret and understand more fully.  A little unsure of what to do next, my friend Sharon, a motivational speaker and life coach, encouraged me and gave me some tools she has used to interpret her own dreams, which proved useful.  

More than anything, the dreams I've had this summer-two in particular-have served to tell me that I am on the right path for me. Particularly after I decided to come to Columbia, this assurance was priceless to me. One dream I had when I was getting ready to say goodbye to my parents at their Utah home. I awoke with the sense that this dream had something important to tell me. Faithfully using the tools Sharon had given me, the dream told me that whatever burden or inconvenience experienced as a result of the path I was on was ultimately worth it because it led to my life calling. Heavy stuff, huh?

Since I've started my program, I've dithered as to where exactly it will lead me. Particularly in such a multidisciplinary field as conflict resolution, the number of options (and potential dead-ends) have been confusing to say the least.  

But the other night I had a dream I was alone and in search of a river I could sail away on. It wasn't unlike walking alone in a wasteland, with jeering groups of people and a barren landscape. Suddenly, an elderly Native American couple appeared, sitting on the ground and bundled in furs. The crone is the only one who spoke. She said, "When you're looking for a river, don't forget to look behind you."  I woke up very suddenly and knew almost immediately what she meant.  

In searching for a path after my program ends, I had neglected to remember my reasons for applying in the first place. The next day I read the letter of intent I sent to Columbia last fall and realized that although I had forgotten about it, my passion and purpose hadn't actually changed. 

Both dreams make it sound like I'm "in touch", which isn't very accurate.  However, I do feel I am more in touch than I was before I started tentatively down this path into dream appreciation.  Very far from being a Sue Monk Kidd (really, you should read at least one of her nonfiction books to get an idea of what I'm talking about) I at least feel that I am slightly more self-aware now than I was before.

After all, knowing you are on the right path for you is priceless.  

Any thoughts from you, my friends, on dreams? Have you had any similar experiences? What do you think about dreams?