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Example Dream From Course Workbook

Dream: The Shadow

I have a dream I would like to submit. This dream occurred about 8years ago...but I can still remember it as if it were last night.

At the start of the dream I am walking alone through a forest down a winding but traveled path. Suddenly I am aware that I am no longer alone. I can feel someone just over my left shoulder. I cannot see this person, rather it is more of a shadow, but I am aware that it is a male presence. A little further down the trail I come upon a man lying next to the path. I bend down and discover he is dead. This doesn't seem to bother me much at all. I continue on (with this presence) and come to a covered bridge. I'm afraid to go in at first but feel "encouraged" to move forward. As I enter the bridge it suddenly turns into a hall or house (log cabin), wooden walls, etc. The room is filled beyond capacity with people. Everyone is having a lot of fun. Laughing, joking, etc. I join in. After what seems like many hours someone looks over at me and says, "we have to go now". Then everyone disappears! I'm suddenly alone and very sad. Crying actually. Then the dream ends.

As I said this was around 7-8 years ago and it is still crystal clear. I have always wondered what it could have meant! It may also be interesting to note that my father had passed away about 3 years before. I have been told this could have something to do with it! Any help would be appreciated!

Interpretation

It is very important to say that this dream is five years old! Never put too much stock into an old dream because you and your life can have changed so much in the intervening time that the dream is telling you about something that is no longer significant.

Before putting it all together I'll just list the symbols that fall into the same categories.

Elimination system: forest,  winding path, trail, log cabin, wooden walls, filled beyond capacity
Gift of counseling: bridge, walking alone, everyone disappears, I'm suddenly alone

When you know the subject matter is the digestive & elimination system, with the exception of just a few symbols,  the interpretation almost falls off the page. Let's take a look. You start off walking through a forest down a winding but traveled path. This is the intestines - the only winding path in your body - so we have to relate everything in the dream from here on to it's significance to your elimination system. Next you feel this shadow over your left shoulder. In classic textbook style this is your shadow self - but what does that mean? Your shadow self is comprised of all the baggage you have picked up through the course of your life. It is literally a weight on your shoulders and shows up on your left shoulder to signify that this weight was picked up in the past. But let's stick with your words and we ask what has this shadow from the past got to do with the colon? The answer, although unpleasant, is easy. This dream is like you taking an x-ray image of your intestines. If a doctor were to say that he sees a shadow in your x-ray you would want further tests done. The good news is that a dream comes with the diagnosis and all the further tests that are needed. We know that the shadow is linked to a negative event(s) in the past so let's continue on.

Further down the trail you find a dead man. From what you said earlier we can directly link this dead man to the death of your father. This is the shadow from the past. You then say that it doesn't seem to bother you much at all. When taken out of the dream world and into our reality this means that you were extremely upset over the death of your father. So much so, that three years later this dream is saying that this event is still affecting you today and is having a detrimental effect on your health. But why the colon? The colon is an extremely sensitive organ and gets knotted and twisted with shock and stress. Think about it. If you are calling to the hospital to visit an ill relative and the doctor stops you at the door to tell you bad news - what happens to your stomach? We say to ourselves that it is our stomach but it is in fact the colon that registers these shocks. These knots can then restrict the passage of food through the colon. Our psychological state affects our physical state. We refuse to let something be eliminated from our lives - so our body follows suit and wont eliminate refuse.

What can you do? This dream is a WARNING. It is not saying that you have cancer of the intestine but it is saying that if you stay the way you are (remember this is 5 years ago!) you are heading for it. The better news is that dreams not only come with the diagnosis and specific events which lead to it - they also come with expert advice on what change needs to be made to avoid the danger. Just look at the phrases that come up in the rest of the dream. These are messages directly from your soul or God if you will. But don't think of your soul as something out there. It is you! The real you. Our lessons in life are designed to put us in touch with this inner part of ourselves. What is the message? These are your words remember - I'm just pointing them out for you.

• continue on

• feel "encouraged"

• move forward

• Everyone is having a lot of fun.

• Laughing, joking, etc.

• join in.

• Crying.

I haven't changed or edited any of those phrases. I just took them directly from your dream as you told it to me. You are being told to continue on, feel encouraged and move forward. Life is about having fun and you are being told to join in. Laugh and cry. Cry over your father's death. It's not only allowed but is very healing. But then remember to laugh too - continue on.

Other symbols in this part of the dream are about the colon again but there is no need to into them again. I'll just take the parts we have not covered yet. Your fears in life and feeling of isolation are pointed out as what is being addressed. Again in your own words you say I'm afraid and I'm suddenly alone. It's like you tell yourself there is no point in getting into life and having fun because in the end everyone will disappear (or die) and you'll be alone again - just like you were at the start of the dream. Five years on I can't say what you are like because you have not given me a recent dream but I can say that this is a perfectly normal reaction in people and counselors are very skilled with dealing with this. In your dream you are being encouraged to cross a covered bridge. If you look-up bridge in my tutorial section you will see that it indicates counseling. So in the dream you are being encouraged to go through counseling. This appears for two reasons. The first is for the reason I already covered - counselors are skilled with helping you deal with this problem. The second reason is that you yourself would make a good counselor and I want to cover this a bit more.

You are being encouraged into counseling so that you have first hand experience of the benefits of it. This is the final step in your training to being a counselor yourself. Life has taught you the rest. That is why it shows up in your dream. If you looked up bridge earlier you would also have seen that a history of isolation within the family (in the real world) is a trait of a counselor. The feeling of isolation actually covers most aspects of life and you feel that you are on the outside looking in on others having fun in life. Even when included you don't feel you are part of the group. This is how life trains a counselor. You see things from a different perspective than others. All your life you will most likely have had people seek you out when they had problems they needed help with - but you wouldn't have known why that happened. The reason is that we all know each other on a soul level. The soul in trouble 'knows' you can help and so the people come. If you encourage this gift you have by becoming a counselor you will have found your place in life.

Well that's it. I hope this helps you and I hope you write back and tell me that you are already working in the counseling field. Please do comment. Given that the dream is 5 years old your comments will be more in depth.