Dreams

[backtothefuture]

Hi,
I had a question about dreams, but I am not sure I am in the right spot. So please put this where it should be if it need be.:biggrinbounce:

I have suffered with terrible nightmares for almost my entire life. Some of them, I can wake up and relax and just say, its a dream and go back to sleep. But some, like what I had last night, leave me kind of drained for the day.
I was wondering, (I know Amie you have mentioned the Work with Byron Katie) not sure if I spelled her name right. If I kind of did that with some of my dreams, if it would help? I have started asking myself some of the questions, the problem being I don't remember hardly any of my childhood, so trying to figure out what is true and what isn't is kind of hard for me. I know underneath the dream is my fear of abandonment. But I have that at least out on the plate now to work with. Just don't know what to do next.
I guess what I am asking, is, has anyone ever done the "Work" to help with dreams?
Thanks,
Nancy

[Amie]

Talk about slow!! I just now saw this thread! How does that happen?!
I have never done "The Work" on dreams.. hadn't thought about it - I just might :).

For the larger part of my life, I've suffered from "night terrors". Basically, they're bad dreams that don't happen during REM, they happen before the brain completely severs from consciousness. Therefore they are perceived as real. Things can be felt, heard, and sometimes people open their eyes and intermingle reality and dream.

Accompanying them for me is "sleep paralysis". While I experience the terrors, I can't move a muscle though I can think to myself. I can think to try and open an eye, move a finger, make a sound, and it doesn't come. I know one person who experiences them that can work out a moan to wake their spouse.

I have them few and far between now because I did find a way to 'treat' them. I'll tell you what I know. Dreams, imo, can be our inner soul speaking to us - some are just jumbled up stuffs. Bad dreams, are our fears, anxieties, etc manifested. To listen to what they say can often mean to face tough things that have created those things in us. To listen also means that there is no longer a reason for the message to be sent = less bad dreams. I've found a way to listen (when I choose to) that works for me and it really has made them slow down a great deal. It has worked for some other folks as well. I wouldn't preach it as gospel though, I'm sure that people are different, you know?

Anyhow, write down the dream, say it out loud, or tell someone about it. Sort of like in elementary school, pick out the subjects -- what things stood out. If there was a car accident because a spaceship hovered in front of your red car and you vividly remember "spaceship", "wreck", and even the car and it being red, those would be your subjects.

Then imagine that an alien from another planet was sitting across from you. The alien has no idea what a car is, what red is, what a spaceship is (to you), or what a wreck is. The challenge is that you have to get very detailed. Using words familiar to earth won't help the alien understand.
Some people might describe tornado as "an unseeable spinning wind that jumbles everything up" and some might describe it "a bringer of doom" (of course "doom" is a bit general).

The next step is to look for familiarity in your subjects. The first description for "tornado" could have to do with feeling insecure and out of control. This could be rooted even in undealt with childhood issues. Usually the other subjects in your dream can help you determine that.
The next description for "tornado" could have to do with anxiety or guilt depending on how the person would define "doom".

I can help you through this until you get the hang of it if you want - either here or in private. If it works for you then that's fantastic. If it doesn't, there's no loss, right?

Amie