DreamWork

Why should we learn this language? That is a typical question for the part of our mind that will never understand the language of dreams. But then, that part of our mind is not designed for that. Questions of “why” are for the linear and causal mind, which is oriented in time. But dreams are timeless. Here, two different worlds collide.

Dreams are ships carrying precious cargo across the nocturnal sea of consciousness. Consciousness is timeless and boundless. We are all consciousness that transcends this one earthly life. And we are all carefully accompanied on this journey, whether we realize it or not. What accompanies us nudges and pushes us along, if possible, every day. Being ready and open to this is a decision. We are not receptive to these nudges when we are angry, frustrated, and immersed in the madness of everyday life.

But the night – when things quiet down – provides a helping hand for these nudges in the form of dreams. So these nudges travel like ships carrying precious cargo on the nighttime sea of consciousness. Whatever coast they come from, or whatever we call their home port, it is the cargo that interests us here. It is extremely helpful and valuable to us. Experience shows this to be true.

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There is a guide on how to guide these ships into our own port, moor them there, and salvage the precious cargo. You will learn what helps in this process, but also what robs the cargo of its unique value. This guide is the essence of over 30 years of dream work in this life and more in other lives. The wisdom of dream work is ancient.

The first step in dream work is your decision to be ready to learn the language of your dreams. Being ready for this signals openness and trust. Your inner counterpart will recognize this. If you decide to try, you will do just that: you will try. Trying to do something and being ready for something are not the same thing. Make your decision known to your inner counterpart. Saying your decision out loud supports you with a noticeably clearer and stronger energy than if you just think it.

There are 3 important transitions in the process of dream work:

In the evening, place a pen and paper within reach next to your bed. Tell yourself that you will remember your dreams. Look forward to being gifted with a dream. This sets a beacon visible from afar for the ships of the night. When you realize a dream, wake up gently with your eyes closed. Stay lying down exactly as you are. Give the dream time to unfold again. Wander through it repeatedly to remember it vividly. You may need to open and close your eyes repeatedly to bring the dream into your waking life.

Only open your eyes when you feel ready to write it down. Write it down before you think about anything else. Stay curious and observant. When writing down the dream, something often gets added. Just observe. Let the words flow as they come. Realize that new connections may emerge as you write. They are part of the process. Write down what you see, feel, sense, and smell. Or draw it. Be attentive to what happens inside you as you write.

You have guided the ship into port by transporting the dream into waking consciousness. By writing it down, you moored the ship at the pier. And now? What’s next? You may have a vague idea of what the dream means or what it is about. But you don’t know for sure. You haven’t quite salvaged the cargo yet. There’s a treasure chest on board, still closed. Before you open it, you need to know that you can open it only once for the first time. If you miss the magic there, it’s irretrievably lost!

To understand the opening of the treasure chest, let’s take a look at the peculiarities of dreams. Dreams have many levels; they are complex. Complex means not analyzable. Our everyday linear mind analyzes, which is good for many things, but certainly not for integrating dreams. Dreams speak the language of the heart, of feelings, and of experiencing. The following helpful question in dream work leads us on this track:

Your dream images can be completely independent of your experiencing. You may have images of war and experience yourself walking through the scene laughing and happy. Or you may have an image of a resting dachshund that causes you to panic. Anything is possible. The key is not the war scene or the dachshund, but what it does to you.

In the current quality of time, we are learning that we are energetic and multidimensional beings. We perceive this through feelings and bodily sensations. Our analytical mind has no access to these parts of our being. “What does it do to you?” asks about your experience, your feelings, and your bodily sensations. Classification comes later. Wanting to classify too early interrupts the flow of your experience, your feelings, and your sensations.

If you interrupt this flow when you first open the treasure chest, the magic, the scent, and the resulting inner impulses will dissipate unnoticed. Opening the treasure chest is the moment when you share your dream with someone for the very first time. That’s when the essential happens. When you share it with someone for the second time, at best you can just remember the magic, and only if you experienced it the first time.

They make us more whole. Sharing a dream and hearing one shared is a great present. To allow this, you create space and hold that space. In this space the flow of experience, feelings, and sensations takes place. The linear mind has no place here. Neither in telling nor in listening. It interrupts the flow. And thus dispels the magic, because it has no access to it.

We are much more than our linear minds. We are consciousness. The linear mind is not consciousness, but a tool of it. We learn to use this tool from the beginning of our lives and give it back again at the end of it. Dreams are a language of our inner counterparts, which are also consciousness. We experience, perceive, and feel this. The linear mind stands in the way here.

Creating and holding space in listening

A practical guide for both listening and sharing: You breathe, sense your body, and pay attention to what is happening in the room. Above all, you are a witness to what is happening. You leave your everyday mind with its ideas and opinions where it is. Where in the dream being shared does it touch you? What jumps out at you? What does it do to you? You just listen and observe yourself, your counterpart, and your surroundings. Sometimes the sun shines through the window, a police siren wails, or the jackhammer next door falls silent. Perhaps images, feelings, or physical sensations arise. Just continue to be a witness until your counterpart has finished sharing the dream. And even then, continue to hold the space. Until your counterpart is ready and asks a question. Then listen, to your counterpart and to yourself. Share what it does to you. Ask the questions that arise naturally from within you.

Trust your intuitions. What it does to you is more important than any interpretation in your mind. Play with the dream. Connect your insights. Try out different scenarios. Learn the language of your home port and its incoming ships. It is unique. Sometimes a leaky rowboat in a makeshift box has the Library of Alexandria on board. Anything is possible.

With experience, you will become more confident in working with dreams. Not all dreams are equally important. It takes time to learn the language. Stay relaxed about everything that remains incomprehensible. Be happy about everything you understand. Send your questions out to sea; the next ship is sure to come. Maintain your harbor for all arriving freighters, boats, and yachts. Unloaded chests sometimes only make sense later.

All port towns around the world have one thing in common: they are located by the sea. But each town has developed its port in its own unique way. Follow these tracks. Enjoy the journey there and don’t forget to catch the sea breeze! Working on the port of your dreams enriches your life.