What if I don’t dream?
There are many people in the world who have lost their connection to dreaming, and my sessions and classes WILL help you open up that connection again.
We have many tools we can use and ways we can work with you in the absence of dreams. Here are a few examples:
If the last dream you remember was 30 years ago, then to start we might explore that dream.
I take you on guided meditation journeys that work for you in a similar way and help to reawaken the dreaming part of yourself.
These journeys take you to the same place as your night dreams, just in a more conscious and intentional way. They can have extraordinarily profound results on your life.I teach you ways to connect with the synchronicities in life and to be open and aware of signs and symbols that are coming to you in different ways. This opens your awareness up on all levels, waking, sleeping and dreaming.
You can use a memory or an image that comes to you in place of the dream until your dreams come back.
Most important is not to put pressure on yourself. Even lifelong avid dreamers have periods of little to no dream recall. Two vital parts of the process are patience and practice.
What does it mean if I don’t dream?
There are various reasons why someone loses their dreaming, for example:
They are afraid of what a dream might be showing them.
They have a terrifying dream and they ask not to have any dreams or subconsciously block any more dreams from coming.
They experience a trauma of some kind that causes part of their Soul to leave.
A complete absence of dreaming is believed to be a symptom of soul loss. A huge part of dream work is “Soul Retrieval”, where lost parts of soul are found, recovered and reintegrated into your being. This work is enormously powerful.
What is soul loss?
Soul loss can occur if you go through a traumatic experience of any kind. Due to the pain and stress, a part of the soul may leave because it’s just too painful to deal with.
Part of the reason dreamwork is so important is that it enables you to find and retrieve or recover those aspects of your self, of your Soul.
What are the symptoms of soul loss?
Symptoms of soul loss in life include:
chronic fatigue,
emotional numbness,
chronic depression.
You space out a lot.
You really have a very hard time being in the body.
Addictive behaviors of any kind - not just alcohol or drugs or sex, but even workaholism, things we try to stuff into ourselves because there's a hole in us and it needs to be filled so we try to fill it somehow repetitively, obsessively, compulsively.
Low self-esteem,
you're not able to let go of past situations or people who are no longer in your life.
You keep thinking about them with sadness, but you feel unable to do anything about it.
You dissociate a lot.
You feel there are different voices in your head.
You don't know quite who you are.
You have unexplained weight gain. Maybe you put up a layer of fat and flesh between you and the world so you won't be hurt anymore.
You engage in abusive behaviours.
You have perhaps recurring dreams of places you used to be.
Various physical illnesses or imbalances
Things like a healthy lifestyle, changing habits, having counselling, doing work on yourself, these things can help to bring parts of your Soul back spontaneously.
But sometimes you need to consciously call it back or you need of someone to help you, or to call it back for you.
What is a nightmare?
A nightmare is a dream that is so terrifying that you wake up to escape from it, but in doing so, you interrupt it so that it can’t or doesn’t resolve. That’s where a lot of the fear comes from.
As frightening as it sounds, the best thing you can possibly do is reenter the dream space and confront whatever it is that is frightening you, ask it questions, find out what it actually is - because many times the characters and situations in nightmares are not what they seem, and there is usually treasure hidden inside them.
However it does sometimes require confronting something uncomfortable within yourself.
There are safe and empowered ways to reenter nightmares, and we discuss these at length in private or group dreamwork sessions.
As an example, you can take a Power Animal back into the dream with you. You can also take a guide or companion, or someone like me can literally hold your hand and help create a safe space for you to go back in, with strategies and tools to guide and help you safely through the process.
The exception to this is a nightmare that is an actual flashback to a trauma. In this case I would not suggest re-entering the nightmare, as this will cause a lot more distress to the victim, however there are ways in these cases that we can work with gentle and calming imagery to help heal from the trauma and stop the nightmares from happening.
What is a Power Animal?
Do you find that you constantly see, encounter or dream about a particular animal (or several)?
If so, it’s highly likely this is a power animal that is guiding you in some way, or bringing a particular message, energy or “medicine” for you to work with.
Animals can show us where we need to pay attention in our life, to our physical health, our emotional health, our creativity, strength, bravery etc. or highlight something that needs to be addressed in a work or social situation. Really the possibilities are vast and varied as the animal kingdom itself.
You may connect strongly to one animal in particular that will be a constant in your life, but you will also have connections with others, sometimes many others, throughout your life.
An animal may appear just once if you need a particular message, or it may come visiting over and over again.
Sometimes, initial encounters with power animals may be quite frightening, but full of gifts and power.
We do a lot of work with Power Animals in my dreawork groups and sessions.
Why I don’t like dream dictionaries
A dream dictionary can sometimes be helpful as a starting point to explore a symbol or object, However. A dream dictionary does not know you.
It doesn’t know your history, your circumstances, your relationships, your job, your health, where you live or anything else about you.
Given that there are 7 billion people living on this amazing planet we call home, it’s impossible that anyone or anything can offer a general and generic interpretation for every single person who dreams, for example, about riding a bicycle a certain way.
There are far better (and more FUN) ways of learning how to interpret your own dreams and create your own amazing dream dictionary!
Why do I have recurring dreams? What do recurring dreams mean?
You are likely to have recurring dreams if you are not getting a message that you really need to be getting. These dreams are kind of like your mum harassing you to do your chores.
If you ignore them, they’ll keep harassing you, until you get the message and do something about it.
And this is very often for your safety or your survival. These dreams don’t keep coming unless it’s important for you to work them out.
Simple example: The recurring dream where you arrive at the airport and realise you don’t have your passport.
Do a “Reality Check”. Ask yourself - Am I likely to be travelling or is it possible I could have unexpected travel come up? Then check your passport is up to date. Be aware of its whereabouts etc.
This actually happened to me. When I checked my passport, it had expired, and I needed to get it renewed very quickly or I wouldn’t have been going anywhere!
If all is fine with your passport, ask yourself what your passport might represent or symbolise in your life - access to something? etc.
I’ve always worked with my dreams and their guidance. How could you possibly help me?
I don’t care what kind of guru you are. Noone knows everything, and EVERYONE has blind spots where they themselves are concerned.
So if you think you’ve got it all worked out, think again.
Think of everyone you know, and the enormously varied range of experiences, skills, talents, personalities, places of origin, family history and so on and so on. And then multiply that by a whole world full of people you haven’t encountered.
Every one of these individuals can offer their own perceptions, experiences, associations, etc. on pretty much every object, symbol, situation and so on that you could come up with from a dream.
The most prolific and practiced dreamers can benefit from help and guidance. A dream community can offer so much. Always be willing to say “I don’t know” and be open to the mystery.
How can I remember more of my dreams?
Practice!
Keep a journal.
Even if you don’t remember a dream, write down how you feel when you wake up and any thoughts, images, words, songs, insights, ideas etc. that come into your head.
Chances are, they’ve come from your dreaming.
And you’ll start to remember more.
If you have a question that isn’t answered here, contact me. If you would like help working with a particular dream or dream theme, you can book a session below.