Dreamwork and the Magic of Sharing...

I awoke today with a hazy sense of a full night of active dreaming. Because I had ignored all of the dream recall tips I offer in my Introduction To Dreamwork classes, only a strange snippet of the story remained. Even so, this snippet – this dangling thread – stayed with me, tickling my consciousness yet revealing nothing.

A while later, when my late-sleeper husband finally decided to join the morning, I found myself drawn to share the snippet.

I am preparing to leave on important travels. There is a lovely woman willing to take on my cat, Gracie, but I am very hesitant about it because Gracie is very old and near the end of life. I feel guilty about leaving her behind and worry about how she will fare without me. I say my goodbyes and someone else notes that I don't seem as concerned about another cat, Smokey. I explain that he is young and hasn't been with me as long. I feel bonded with him too, but believe he will have less difficulty with the transition.

There are a few more nuances that I recall, but that is the nutshell version. In waking life these are two of our five cats. Gracie is our oldest at twenty something years (in other words, ancient by cat life standards) and Smokey is the youngest and the newest edition to our pride.

So, I'm simply sharing this with my husband and the magic happens. Somewhere in the telling, a clear realization emerges and a message reveals itself to me. I believe this dream was a barometer reading of sorts, showing me that in certain matters on my path, while I am ready to move forward (travel) there are still patterns/habits/issues/former-ways-of-being lingering. That, in and of itself, is not troublesome to me as I know growth is spiraling, and there will always be a next layer of what is ripe and ready for healing or transformation.

Rather, I believe the gift for me is in the reminder about that which we have carried the longest and become the most familiar being what we are most reluctant to walk away from. You might be thinking, "well...duh". Yeah, yeah, I know this is pretty obvious, but in the hustle and bustle of my daily life THIS is what I needed to hear right now.

Of course there is more to the story and it's personal and it's complex and it's mine. This is another terrific thing about sharing dreams in dreamwork. The sharing is not for you (the listener). The goal is not for you to understand, but for the dreamer to get what they need.

Get it? Got it? Good!

Better than good – it's Awesome!

Dreamwork is an awesome and powerful practice. It's power can be increased and further infused by the sharing component, which I was further reminded about today. My dream example may seem trivial or small – I can assure you it is not.

Your dreams are a resource – are you utilizing this treasure to gain insight on your path?