Healthy Changes Reflected In Dreams

Dear Nancy: This last year has been both difficult and rewarding for me. I have been re-evaluating my marriage and asking for change. I am looking at my own behaviors and inner needs as opposed to being totally focused on my husband and children. This is new for me and I know it is a necessary step in my life. This dream was incredibly profound for me. Paula

I am in a small room dimly lit by candles. There are a few other women there, my age or older. We are standing around a large, round stainless steel vat. I look into the vat and see a baby floating near the bottom. I know she is a girl. I suddenly know we women are midwives and are here to help the baby through her birth. I look into the vat again and notice the baby hasn’t moved. I want to touch her, but I know the other women don’t want me to disturb her. Suddenly the baby kicks her legs and I realize she’s fine. I am thrilled! As I watch, she begins to float upward. One of the midwives says, “It is time.” Together we reach into the water and gently lift her to my naked shoulder. She is beautiful and perfect and I can feel her warm, wet body next to mine. I gently pat her on the back, and looking at the other women, I feel completely surrounded by love and support.

Dear Paula:

This was a beautiful dream filled with rich, archetypal images. The small room lit by candles gives the impression of a womb like environment. The candles bring light to the room, adding to the sacred ceremony.

The round stainless steel vat is synonymous with the silver chalice or Holy Grail and is another symbol of the womb. The chalice, a very feminine symbol of the Self, is giving birth to new life.

This new life is a result of the work you have done to your inner self. It may be you have grown to a new stage in your development.

Babies appear in our dreams when, through inner growth, new aspects of Self come into being, new ideas and new attitudes. Your baby is whole and perfect, a sign these inner changes in the psyche are good and healthy.

Tips for readers: By working with our dreams, we can become aware of major shifts and growth taking place in our lives. Our dreams give us direct access to the issues, pain, longing and creativity within us.

What may be only a slight sensation of discomfort on the conscious level may be revealed in a dream as a great longing for outer change. Our dreams tend to exaggerate our feeling so we will “get the message” and make the appropriate changes.

There are also dreams of reward in which the work has been done on inner levels and the dreamer receives a gift of some kind. These are usually very beautiful and profound dreams.

This column is intended as entertainment. But psychologists who work with clients’ dreams say that dreams can hold a tremendous amount of significance; a particularly disturbing or repetitive dream may indicate the need to see a therapist.

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