Our Light and Dark SidesOur Shadow side, in our dreams and in our lives, is the counterpart or counterbalance to the Light. We need both to be whole. Shadow, a Jungian term, refers to those parts of ourselves that we wish to bury or disallow or not acknowledge. We unconsciously make invisible or dissociate from the parts that we are embarrassed of, of our hidden or forbidden desires, or even the strengths we have that we have not yet owned or lived up to. Jung tells us that, "People will do anything, no matter how absurd, in order to avoid facing their own souls. One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious." We need to honor and ...
Scary dreams have so much energy! Even the most terrifying nightmares carry creative, healing, and spiritual gifts. When we unwrap our disturbing dreams and nightmares, we understand how these gifts can empower us in our waking life. Many people report anxiety dreams or dreams with distressing content. Nightmares have been on the rise since the outbreak of the pandemic, but the most common themes remain the same as always: that we are trapped, chased or attacked by shadowy men or aggressive animals, or we find ourselves in the midst of an apocalyptic disaster. Let's have a look at why such nightmares come, and how we can work with them to discover any personal meaning they may have for ...
After the question, "What does my dream mean?" the most common question that I get as a dreamworker is, "Can I connect with my departed relatives through my dreams?" Even the most intrepid "dreams-mean-nothing" dreamers ask about this. Last week I was talking with Mia, my hairdresser, about a Dream Salon we are going to do at her hair studio to help get word out about both the power of dreamwork and my book, Modern Dreamwork: New Tools for Decoding Your Soul's Wisdom. Her husband, also a stylist there, overheard us and joined the conversation saying, "I don't dream, and I don't think they mean anything anyhow, but if I did I would want to see my mom again. She died 5 years ago." After ...
Imagine you are walking along minding your own business when, without warning, a tiger with rippling muscles and velvety stripes bounds into your path. You stare in shock into its glowing eyes, and your body kicks into a reaction of fear: adrenaline pumps, your heart jumps, you break into a terrified sweat. The tiger snarls, and you know he's about to spring you. Then, thank goodness, you understand the truth of the situation—you are dreaming! Yes; this is a dream tiger, and no matter what happens next, you know that afterwards you will wake up safely in your bed with no torn flesh, no mauled limbs. Relief flows through you, along with the super-lucid clarity of knowing that you ...