Dream Catcher
By admin on Jun 5, 2008 in FEATURED GUEST on Quantum Radio, Featured Guest on Quantum Radio
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A woman’s experience with cycles and change is said to be as natural as breathing. Though both are often out of awareness, such cycles can be life altering if blocked or obstructed. To be in opposition or out of synch with one’s energy is a source of emotional confusion. At times, a low-level form of grief can settle in. It doesn’t necessarily have to be gender specific. Many of us grieve for the time when life was clear, made sense, or fueled our essence. Out of synch, everyone experiences a longing for life’s return. Add the natural stressors of living, and balance can become a distant memory. Clinical depression affects about 19 million Americans annually. About 5-10 percent of women will experience at least one major depressive episode during their adult life.
Depth psychology teaches that our external life is nothing more than a mirror image of what is going on internally. As we lose ourselves to external demands and depression, our inner life screams for us to return. This is most evident in dream activity. Like a long distance call from the divine, the more intense the dream, the louder the ring. The soul’s desire is for us to pick up the receiver. When we do, a birthing process begins that mirrors gestation, labor, and delivery. Although it is somewhat different for men, the dream below is a wonderful example of how the soul orchestrates our inner life:
I’m in a forest overgrown with bushes and weeds, with snakes you can hear but not see. Trying to find my way through, afraid to step, I cannot see the forest floor. Each time I think I’ve found a safe place to step, leaves and debris move beneath me. When this happens, I take a step backwards. It was as if the snakes were trying to get me to go towards the rocks. Every time I tried to go another way, the forest floor would move. I could hear them so plainly.
Coming out of the forest, hundreds of snakes start to come at me, making me go towards a cave. It’s dark except for slits of light through an opening in the rocks. There seems to be an imaginary line the snakes won’t cross. I’m inches away from this warm and soothing opening. I’m scared so I focus on the warmth. I cannot take my eyes from it. The closer I get to the cave, the less I’m afraid. The light is so warm and comforting. I tried to go through the opening in the rocks but could not. The light was bright but the opening was so small. I tried to push to make it larger and tried to get through. Finally, I could see what was on the other side. The light there was so bright. I pushed through the opening and the light covered my face. I never thought I would feel such warmth again. I was crying when I woke up.
The forest is this dreamer’s Innerscape or unconscious— while the snakes represent a life force that is sensed but not seen. When she moves forward, her experiences and past debris make her step in reverse. Her energy dictates she move in a specific direction, towards reality and life. If she tries to go another way, fear and lost confidence prevail. Once she becomes conscious and out of the forest, an enormous amount of life force is available. This brings awareness or—an opening. Though it seems like a dark time, the potential for clarity or light is comforting. The soul informs that there is actually a boundary where the threat of life experiences can no longer harm her. This dreamer is about to experience a rebirth in her waking life.
People yearn for time to themselves, not having to be anything for anyone else. This means rest, restoration, and settling into a rhythm. It allows them to sort out feelings and untangle from everyone else’s. The human experience is ever changing. Establishing a relationship with our inner life allows an understanding of the emotions that come with transition. Inherently tied to this body wisdom is a divine gift of death and rebirth. To deny it— is a source of dis-ease for many.
Ernie Vecchio is a Licensed Counseling Psychologist and author at innerscape@depthwork.com. Visit his website at www.innerscape.org or listen to him at www.blogtalkradio.com/True-Kindness. Coming soon: The Soul’s Intent: An Interview with the Divine.
By Ernie Vecchio
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