You may call me a dreamer

Years ago I belonged to a Dream Circle led by a female shaman and spiritual director. This was during a period of my life when I dreamt a lot. It had taken me a long time in therapy to get over my skepticism and the stereotype of 'lie on the couch and tell me your dreams.' Eventually I got used to talking about my dreams, to accept that there were no right or wrong interpretations and that it wasn't up to others to tell me what they meant. I came to understand common themes and threads in my nightworld and that dreams were one tool to help me make peace with my past and problem solve my present.

I know this may sound rather new-agey and mystical, but it was fascinating, helpful and connecting. In the circle, there were maybe 10 active church-going women of varied ages who were interested in supporting one another even as we came to know ourselves better. We wanted to learn how to develop tools to help us understand what life throws at us while we sleep. 

We were trying to deal with problems or situations in our personal, professional and/or spiritual lives. One was struggling with infertility, one with feeling limited as a stay-at-home mom. One had been keeping dream journals for decades and talked about having vivid and often violent dreams her whole life. Most of us, however, were novices at this. All of us were just trying to get through each day in the best way and looked forward to our Monday evenings together as we explored this very personal aspect of our humanness. 

You have probably had the experience of waking up with the thought, "Boy, what a dream!" and within two minutes, it's a vague memory and you can't remember why you thought it was interesting or important. So, we learned to record everything as soon as you wake up. We learned to not judge and to listen very carefully as someone read what they wrote to describe the dream, the images, actions and feelings. We learned to say, "If that were my dream, I think it would mean this for me...."

At that time, I dreamt a lot about bathrooms and about Richard Nixon. Not necessarily together, but, yes, sometimes. Bathrooms in my dreams usually mean exposure and Nixon, betrayal. This topic came to mind because I recently watched Pentatonix Imagine online. They do a wonderful and moving rendition of the John Lennon song and I suggest you google, click, watch and listen to the end. Also, Nixon reappeared the other night.

Perhaps you, too, have repeating images or dreams and they niggle at the corner of your psyche or brain. Think about exploring what they might mean, but remember, sometimes a bathroom is just a bathroom.

Marilyn