Our dreams take us into a world of images. Many of these dreams are just "mind dreams" in which our mind reworks and digests the images and impressions of the day, like a cow chewing the cud. But sometimes our dreams take us into a deeper realm within us, into the sacred dimension of our soul. Then the images of our dreams have a different quality and meaning. We may recognize these dreams by their symbolic nature, for example we may find our self in a cathedral, temple or sacred building, we may see a cross, stone, a tree, the sun or moon, or any other image that belongs to the archetypal dimension of our deeper self. Or the dream may evoke a quality of feeling, a numinosity that belongs to the soul. Sometimes these dreams seem "more real than real life." When we encounter such a dream we should know that we have entered the realm of the sacred, that the ground we walk on is holy ground.
Our Western rational culture dismissed the world of symbols as superstition, though recently as we hunger for meaning in our surface lives we have begun to revalue these archetypal images. The popularity of Dan Brown's novels about symbolism speaks to a growing need for the symbolic world. Throughout history other cultures have always carried an awareness of the sacred dimension of images. For example the mystical tradition of Sufism has always known of the importance of symbolic dreams and their images, which may have a spiritual meaning, for example the image of grapes as a symbol of divine knowledge.
In earlier times a dreamer would know to take such a dream to a holy man or shaman, who was trained to read and understand the message from the inner world, its wisdom and meaning. In some indigenous cultures a dream could be for the whole tribe, and could determine where they might hunt, what sacred ceremonies should be enacted, or what healing needed to be done. Today we have mostly lost touch with these traditions and their understanding of the inner world. Instead our culture has celebrated the individual, and now it is for each individual, for each of us, to rediscover the meaning and power of symbols as they are given to us in our dreams.
Traditionally symbolic images form a connection between the outer world of the senses and the inner world of the soul. They are like stepping stones to reconnect us with the divine mystery that is within us. This has always been their sacred function, as is illustrated for example in the symbols of the Catholic mass, the bread and wine, as well as the cup or chalice. Such symbols are like manna that can sustain our daily life with sacred nourishment. When such a symbol comes to us in a dream we need to learn how to hold it in our consciousness throughout the day, to give space to it in our moments of solitude or meditation. We need to welcome the image and let it speak to us, let the dream tell its story. Such symbols are often charged with a certain power or meaning, a quality of feeling that can deeply affect us. Then maybe a week, a month or a year later, we will be given another symbolic dream, another stepping stone to the sacred. Though some dream images may last a lifetime, continually reconnecting us with our inner self.
However, there is a big problem for us today in that we have debased the inner world of images. Just as we have polluted our outer world with our consumerism until the water we drink and the air we breathe is no longer pure, we have also desecrated the inner world. It used to be understood that the world of images was a sacred connection with the the divine, with the realm of our own soul. Instead today we are constantly bombared with advertiser's images that try to manipulate us into unnecessary desires. And recently we have rediscovered the power of using the imagination to work with inner images, but rather than respecting their sacred nature we have learnt how to use (or misuse) their magical potential for materialistic gain--to attract the outer life we want, even the car we may desire. This selling of a "secret" for personal gain is a form of prostitution: the prostitution of our own soul that is polluting the inner world just as we have polluted our outer world.
We are hungry for the sacred, for meaning to return to our lives. And this meaning is waiting within us--the sacred is present in the symbols of our dreams. But first we have to create an inner space that is not corrupted by outer desires, purify ourselves and our intention. In the Native American tradition the individual often had to fast and be purified by a sweat lodge in order to be ready to fully experience the inner world. Any dreamwork, but especially spiritual dreamwork, requires a continual attitude of inner attention and a commitment not to use the energy of the inner for personal gain. Dreams can reconnect us with the sacred but only if we learn how to be receptive and respect their symbols and images.
Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee, Ph.D. www.goldensufi.org
For a longer article on spiritual dreamwork, see "Sufi Dreamwork"
Or listen to "Why Dreams Work"
William C. Chittick, Ph.D.: Islam, God and the Shining Light of Love
Coleman Barks: Rumi's Poetry: 'All Religions, All This Singing, One Song'
My husband wrote a book about dreams it's called, " The Shaman and the Disco and other Dreams of Masculinity: Men, Isolation and Intimacy." It's a nice companion to this piece. Though it was written about Men's dreams it relates to both genders and our innate ability to listen to and analyze our interior selves and to become self-aware.
I especially appreciate Llewellyn's comments on consumer pollution. I've recently heard the term "information obesity" which I think is also apropos in our culture.
It is my personal opinion that many people do not accept/confront their dream experiences because they do not want to admit the possibility that that part of their lives also is real. We cannot live only in our dreams, but if we exclude our dreams, and the world of our dreams, from our waking life, then our waking life is diminished.
The mammalian mind is the product of over 4 billion years of terrestrial evolution, and that evolution is still going on. Who knows what we will be capable of in another few million years, both technologically and cognitively? That is, if we do not first cause our own extinction through the fouling of the biosphere.
This is my story:
One day in the subway in NYC, I happened to be standing next to a young, very beautiful Asian girl, of about 13 years, telling two classmates about a terrifying dream she had had the previous night. Obviously raised in America, because she had no accent, I was alarmed for her, because she did not know this dream went back into her cultural ancestry.
She assumed she was crazy! And I listened, not knowing if I, a complete stranger, should say something.
I finally did step in. I said: this dream means that you are no longer a child. Does that make sense? She thought for a second and said: yes. I then said, always follow the spiritual way. Does that make sense? She said yes.
I prayed that she found her way. Children going through puberty can have distrubing and insightful dreams regarding their inner state. It's too bad we don't have enough adults willing to hear a child's soul -- this soul bearing that can be heard through a dream.
I have had people at work turn to me and say: can I tell you a dream? And I am just so grateful. I don't interpret them but I just ask them what they think. Thank you for this blog.
As a product of my own era, entrenched in the old Newtonian paradigm of proof and empiricism, I am awed by the human capacity to recognize and honor what was once known in a hoary and distant past yet miraculously preserved among indigenous populations. The symbols of dreams help us to make these realizations if we are open-minded enough to accept a different way of being in the world. Being with a dream, holding it without fully understanding or interpreting it may be one of those new ways of being. Thank you again for allowing these very important considerations to the surface.
In the midst of a deep depression once, Mother Teresa came to me in a dream.
In the dream, she pointed to a very ordinary gray cat tending her kittens with the utmost
devotion. Mother Teresa then said to me, when I get very, very depressed, I tend to everything
just as that mother cat tends to her kittens.
I don't have any connection to Mother Teresa, never a fan. And it's so mysterious
how other figures offer help.
I am so grateful to have found a person with such a profound understanding as
Dr. Vaughan-Lee.
Thank you for allowing me the space to post this second comment.
The mind assembles its dreams out of both the familiar and the unfamiliar. Your house in a dream may be a blend of different residences, furniture, even people who 'do not belong there.' Those details have meaning, and may be symbolic, if only within your own experience.
Clearly, the mind is functioning even during sleep, even if dreams are simply the equivalent of defragmenting a computer's hard drive. But the human body rarely does anything without cause (involuntary activities like breathing, heartbeat, digestion, healing) or conscious direction (voluntary movement to manipulate objects, speak, etc.). So it's certainly possible that there's more to dreams than we generally allow.
As Rumi stated, “There is a basket of fresh bread on your head, and yet you go door to door asking for crusts. Knock on your inner door. No other.” We knock on our inner door by honoring our dreams. Not having relationship with our inner world can place us at risk for becoming victim of consumerist mentality. Again, Rumi reminds us, “Don’t walk around with an empty bucket. You have a channel into the ocean and yet you ask water from a little pool.” The little pool is the greed for luxury and materials that many people get caught in.
Payam Ghassemlou Ph.D.
West Hollywood, CA
This article helps the reader to relalize that dream work can help you to have a deeper relationship with yourself and open yourself up to messages from the unconscious. Through writing your dream in a dream journal and understanding it you can have a profound experience honoring your unconscious.