Breakthrough: Dreaming my way to Loving my Life

Exactly what the fish looked like in my dream – delicious-looking, right?

Do you dream? Of course you do! Some people remember their dreams, but others never do.  A good way to remember your dreams, if you want to, is to keep a notebook next to your bed, and to write down anything that comes to mind BEFORE getting out of bed!

In this blog, I discuss two very similar dreams that I had – only a few weeks apart. But while the first shows the despair of being ‘lost’, the second has a more positive direction.

The first dream: Lost in the Highlands

The first dream happened a few weeks ago. I’d been reading Voyager, and so it was no surprise that my dream took place somewhere in Scotland. When I tweeted about my dream, @lidywilks suggested that “Lost in the Highlands” would make a great working title for a new novel. Since I’ve never been there, I guess I’ll have to leave that up to Diana Gabaldon for now!

In this dream, (not yet a novel), I was hiking in the countryside, in Scotland, on a beautiful green hilly path, when I realized that I could not find my way back to my husband and friends, seeing as I had no idea where I was and had only a part of a map. If you knew me, you’d understand how much that would drive me crazy. I like to know where I’m going. I know how to read maps, (yup, back from the boat days), and I hate to get lost.

In my non-dream life: Ultra stressed at work – spilling into home life as well

Like humans all over the work world, I too get super stressed when there are deadlines looming, and too much responsibility piling up on my shoulders. I’d been ‘promoted’ with more hours and more responsibility, but had yet to learn how to delegate tasks or ask for help. It wasn’t an easy time. Who likes to ask for directions when you’re lost?

The second dream: Fishing in the Highlands

Don’t ask me how I ended up again in the Highlands, since now I’m reading Murakami’s 1Q84, (and absolutely loving it, just in case you were wondering), but just yesterday I awoke from a vivid dream where I was there, in those same wooded hills, on a path, next to a stream. Looking into the clear waters of the stream, I saw an abundance of fish, of all shapes and sizes, swimming around. I immediately wished I could go fishing, something I always seem to think of whenever I see fish in the sea! (Such a practical boat girl!)

As if he could read my mind, a fisherman, from across the stream, threw me a net. Although I was unsure of how to use it,  I held it aloft, its shadow dark on the clear stream, and right away, all the fish scattered. Still, I decided to give it a try, and spread the large net into the slow moving stream. Somehow, I was able to drain most of the water around my net, just like in a bathtub. (Another favorite place of mine!)

I waded into the shallow stream, and gathering up the net, saw at first only a few small fish, minnows, really, but as I rolled up the green netting, I found that I’d caught a few more fish – about 7 of them – very plump and edible. I was about to bring them back to the group for the barbecue when I was awakened.

In my non-dream life: Getting things done!

At university, life can get pretty hectic. However, this week, I’d managed to get papers graded, lead a class through the tricky territory of making groups based on content, (rather than based on friendships alone), and connected with both colleagues and students in a very positive way. (True, the Sangria we shared didn’t hurt,either!)  I even handed in the design for my new course on time, and without freaking out about it.

In the Inner relationship focusing course that I’m participating in, we’d done an exercise based on stepping out of your comfort zone on your journey to achieve your goals. My first step had been to step on a stepping stone which sunk a few inches below the water, but that didn’t stop me from feeling good about where I was going. (Gotta get my feet wet, right?)

Dreams as Stepping Stones

Too often, I’d rather be reading than writing, I’d rather be watching series on Netflix than contemplating life. And yet, when I don’t do either of these things, my dreams kick in to give me a little shove in the rear end. C’mon, they say, get your life started already! Don’t waste precious time ‘receiving’ instead of also ‘perceiving’ (in Murakami’s clever terms.) Thank you, dreams, keep up the good work!