Dream Airing
Notes, letters to the editor.
Send to Richard Wilkerson rcwilk@aolcom
featuring WATCH YOUR DREAMS with Nancy Huseby Bloom
Watch Your Dreams with Nancy Huseby Bloom dream@icehouse.net
Nancy has worked with dreams for nearly twenty years and has facilitated dream groups for about 12. She have formal training from the Pacifica Graduate Institute in Santa Barbara, but notes that most of her knowledge of dreams comes from her own studies, her dream groups and working with her own dreams.
She is currently facilitating two groups, has a self-syndicating column, and has written several papers She also works in TV and Radio promoting dream awareness, a calling from the Infinite.
Here she shares with us a few Questions and Answers on Dreams.
Dear Nancy,
I have been having dreams with the same theme for the last month now. In each one I am shot or killed. In one of my dreams I am shot in the leg. In the next one I am shot in the stomach and left for dead. Is this a sign of what will happen in the future? Why do I continue to have these dreams? The situation is different each time but I always end up getting shot. Sheila
Dear Sheila,
These dreams can be explored in several different ways. First of all, had you seen a particularly violent scene in a movie or read a disturbing account of a shooting in the newspaper around the time the dreams started? These images and reports can stay with us, sometimes for years, putting fear in our lives and effecting our dreams.
Being shot may also suggest that you are feeling attacked or victimized in some way. Dreams often revise or exaggerate waking life situations so that verbal abuse in the form of sarcasm or criticism can be converted by the psyche into a vicious and sudden physical assault. Being shot in the legs may be a sign you are feeling trapped or unable to move. Being shot in the heart or chest suggests a broken heart, whereas a head injury would signal the destruction of ideas or clear thinking.
You shared with me on the telephone that you have had a good marriage and happy family life, but that your husband has become increasingly jealous and recently commented that he would "shoot you" if you ever had an affair. You may not have felt threatened when your husband actually said those words but your psyche may have taken it as a serious warning. Reckless comments can become a source of deep anxiety and fear.
Jealously can be a serious problem in relationships so it might be wise to seek out someone who can help you with this problem.
On a personal level are you changing or in a transition right now? Death in dreams is often about the dying away of old parts of ourselves, such as outmoded beliefs, attitudes and ways of being. The old must die to make way for the development of new life, ideas or creativity.
Sometimes our own death in dreams is an indication of a desire to escape from life and all of its responsibilities or to punish ourselves in some way. Most of the time, these desires are totally unconscious and the dreams fulfill our wishes so we don t feel the need to do it in our waking life.
Your question to me was, Is this a sign of what will happen in the future? It eases my mind that each dream is a different situation and in a different location. If it were my dream I would concentrate more on the other issues I have presented, while still being aware of where I am and my surroundings.
Keep a dream journal to help you chart the course of your dreams. Date each entry and be sure to include a sentence or two describing any important conversations or interactions with family or friends and your feelings that day. Be sure to write down all dreams, not just the shooting dreams, as they will provide more clues.
If these dreams continue, it would be wise to speak with a trusted friend, minister or counselor.
Week of August 16
Dear Nancy,
I keep a journal and have explored my dreams for years. I am pretty content with my life but too busy with work and the care of my elderly parents. I recently took on another job, which I am adjusting to, but I m feeling stressed out and could use a break. I loved this dream. Diana
I am at a woman's home with my two grown daughters. She is serving us lunch. She has fixed large plates of elaborate, gourmet finger foods but a small bowl of thick vegetable soup is set at my place at the table. The bowl is pretty and very full but I wonder why I am getting something different and less elegant. I walk over to a wooden box and see a beautifully colored bird that is close to death and my heart goes out to him. I pick him up carefully. He is wild and afraid of me. I hold him close to my heart to give him comfort and support while I look for food for him. I feed him and he gets stronger. I put him in a cupboard so he can explore. He loves that so I put him in a drawer to explore there. He is very friendly now and I pick him up and set him on my shoulder. He says, "Tch, tch, tch, ahh....." twice, and pats my cheek lovingly with his wing. I feel an incredible love for him. He is going to live in my pocket so he can come out and explore anytime he wants.
Dear Diana,
What a beautiful dream! Let's begin by exploring the images of the food being served.
Food often symbolizes nourishment of the mental, emotional, physical or spiritual self. This scene suggests that you feel you are receiving nourishment but others around you are getting a more beautiful and grand experience. Do you find yourself comparing your life with others? Do you feel your daughter's lives are more upscale and elegant than yours?
The health and condition of dream animals always gives us deep insight into our own mental or emotional health. Birds are often symbols of freedom but right now your life seems to be restricted to work and the care of your parents.
You shared with me that you love to travel and experience new places but had to forego that pleasure this year. This little dying bird, this part of you that longs to fly and explore, needs to be cared for and nourished. The care and attention you give to him you give to that part of yourself.
Your dream suggests that he would be happy exploring even small, common places. Can you find a bit of extra time for yourself each day and perhaps a couple of hours each weekend? Sometimes just allowing time for taking walks, finding new and interesting things in your own neighborhood or pursuing a new creative outlet can be enough.
You have nurtured and revived this little bird and now he lives in your pocket. A pocket is a place for safekeeping but also a place to hide things. I would caution you not to forget about him again. Your wandering and adventurous spirit needs care and nurturing.
Only when we care for ourselves can we truly care for others. I would hope you have a dream soon where he is carrying you aloft on his back.
Nancy Huseby Bloom dream@icehouse.net
Subj: JungNet: Sad News... Date: 98-07-19 17:21:23 EDT From: nautis@webcom.com (Matthew Clapp) To: JUNGNET@UGA.CC.UGA.EDU Dear Friends and Colleagues,
It is with deep regret that I inform you of the passing of Edward F. Edinger. He died on July 17 after some months of ill-health. He was 76 years old.
There will be a memorial service, date to be announced, at the C.G. Jung Institute, 10349 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90064. (Tel. 310-556-1193; fax 310-556-2290; web site http://home.earthlink.net/~junginla/ ). Instead of flowers, donations welcome to the journal Psychological Perspectives (same address).
We mourn the loss of a great man, whose writings in the service of Jungian psychology are known world-wide. We are proud to have published 10 of his books, and greatful(sic) to have 2 more in hand, available next year.
Meanwhile, we invite you to send us brief appreciations of Dr. Edinger's work, to be included in a special edition of our newsletter, Jung at Heart. If you are so inclined, please send by September 1.
-Sincerely, Daryl Sharp.
Obituary: http://home.earthlink.net/~junginla/edinger.htm
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From Patricia Kampmeier patkamp@pacbell.net
I am *Still* collecting dreams for a book!
of fish, worms, wolves, cats and salamanders, and also numinous dreams of any kind. Series of any of these would be especially interesting. Please tell your dream(s) and then a little about what that symbol means for you. If you wish to show the work you have done, including drawings, to arrive at that meaning(s),that would be great, too, though not necessary. Several meanings for a particular symbol are OK, since dreams are many-layered. I would also like to know how old you were when you had each dream.
You can email me patkamp@pacbell.net
or use the online form www.dreamgate.com/dream/kampmeier/
Thanks, Pat
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Electric Dreams Cover - For you to download!
Electric Dreams would like to thank Artist Bryan A. Smith bryan@thinkpiece.com www.thinkpiece.com
If you are interested in learning more about the artist, and viewing his more of his work, you are invited to visit his site at:
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Thats all for this issue.