| Lesson 7 - What was your role in the
dream? |
| An
important aspect of our dreams that's often
overlooked is the nature of our role in the
dream. Are we active or passive, a participant or
an observer? Are we the star of the dream or
merely a background player? The nature of the
role we play in our dreams tells us something of
great importance about the way we are living our
lives. |
| Some people actually watch
their dreams from "off-camera." They
are not a part of the dream at all. They watch it
like a person attending a movie or viewing a TV
show. They are so far away from their feelings
that nothing can touch them, not in their waking
lives, not in their dreams. A surrogate self
plays the central role in the dream. Being
dishonest, secretive, repressed and sedated
produces dreams in which the dreamer has
virtually no role. |
| Much more common are dreams in
which we are passive participants. Someone else
in the dream is at the wheel, in command, making
the crucial decisions. They act and we react. The
most powerful figure in the dream might represent
someone in our waking life - a boss, a parent, a
strong companion. It might also represent an
aspect of our own personality that dominates our
behavior in particular situations. When we
recognize from our dreaming that our True Self is
passive and weak, we can begin to make changes to
empower our True Self. Being more honest in
acknowledging, expressing, and living from our
true feelings brings about this empowerment. |
| Being the star of the dream is
the appropriate role for the dreamer. After all,
every aspect of the dream emanates from the
dreamer's mind. The energy that drives the dream,
the imagination that creates the dream, the
feelings that determine the events of the dream
all spring from the body/mind/spirit of the
dreamer. When we give the power to someone or
something in our dream to frighten us or
intimidate us, we are giving them our
power. It may not be something that we do
voluntarily, but it is something that we
do. Our dreams are our own creation. There is no
other force of nature creating our dreams. We
should be at their center, meeting their
challenges and enjoying their rewards. But to
have dreams such as this we must live honestly
and energetically meeting life's challenges and
intelligently and passionately pursuing life's
rewards. |
| In addition to being a
classroom, our dreams are a rehearsal hall and a
practice field. We can discover new skills and
strengths by becoming more aware in our dreams
and making our dream experiences part of our
lives. A dynamic interaction can be established
by purposefully heightening our dream awareness
and intentionally improving the conduct of our
lives. As we become more actively involved in
choosing how we spend our days, our dreams change
and the role we play in our dreams evolves. |
| |
| Next: Why there's no such thing
as a bad dream. |
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