What exactly does that mean with regard to our night-time dreams? I’ve been having some powerful dreams lately. This morning I was dreaming about a dear friend I met in Taiwan over 20 years ago when I was teaching English there. I was young, in the closet, and in love. He was a dear, straight friend, and the object of my longing. The content of my dream was a replay of an old fantasy. Is that a dream I would choose to follow? Not literally. It doesn’t serve me to fantasize about a changed past. I recognize now that what I was really craving was connection, and my life is abundantly full of that now. I did get a valuable insight though. I woke up with more clarity and perspective regarding that time in my life. This is an example of a dream I don’t choose to follow, but did glean a message from.
The night before I dreamed of a high school reunion. Everyone got 5 minutes to get up and tell everyone about their present life. Everyone had notes and was nervous, which seemed comical to me. Finally someone entered with a defiant tone and spoke his mind. I asked him a couple of revealing questions, and the energy of the room shifted dramatically from one of nervousness and performance to relaxation and authentic connection.
I walked up to a high school classmate and invited him into a deep conversation. It wasn’t about our roles or our history, it was about what was emerging in our lives that’s deeply important to us, and about how we’re bringing ourselves forth. It was about connecting on a deep level and revealing our underlying truths.
This dream speaks deeply to my vision. My vision revolves around having deep, revealing, connecting conversations with people in which a clearing is created for our deeper truths to emerge. This vision is showing up all over my life, especially in my interactions with friends and acquaintances.
Now that is a dream worth following! I’m going to call that old classmate and invite him to have that conversation.
love,
Todd.
