I could possibly have a nightmare - From Comments

[Tony Crisp]

Anonymous


I had a dream during an afternoon nap that I was on a green field, someone walked past who offended me and my life, so I defended it by telling them about my personal achievements that make me great. Then I lay down on this green lawn and suddenly realised that I am dreaming and I am inside my mind then I thought very quickly of what to think of because I realised I could possibly have a nightmare within it, so I thought of being in water. I closed my eyes and I was inside water, thinking of nothing, but just listening to the sound of water which was slightly uncomfortable, but very refreshing and relaxing because the tiiiiiny discomfort kept me focused and controlling my mind. Then someone knocked on my door and I had to wake up, so I did.

What could that experience mean for me?

[Tony Crisp]

Anonymous – You appear to be in the process of waking up to what dreams are and what their possibilities are. But you have only taken small steps and need more understanding.

“I realised I could possibly have a nightmare.” That was a misconception based on waking fears, for whenever we dream its images are not like real life, because a dream is nothing like outer life where things could hurt you, but is an image like on a cinema screen that even if a gun is pointed at you and fired it can do no damage – except if you run in fear. For all the things that scare you are simply your own fears projected onto the screen of your sleeping mind.

A little Kuwaiti boy survived the Iraqi invasion of his country and was living without his father, a prisoner of war. But a recurring nightmare, of Saddam Hussein stabbing his brother to death, was prolonging the trauma.

One night he had a different dream: This time he carried the knife, becoming a hero who kills his nemesis. The emotional weight he carried disappeared. Altering recurring nightmares may hold a key to recovery for many victims of trauma, says Dr. Deidre Barrett, a professor of behavioral medicine and hypnotherapy at Harvard Medical School. Barrett spent a month in Kuwait City after the Gulf War training other therapists to treat post-traumatic stress disorder.  She says, “Just changing something in the dream gives people such a sense of mastery in controlling things.” See http://dreamhawk.com/dream-dictionary/masters-of-nightmares/ - http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/secrets-power-dreaming/

Because you were slightly aware it enabled you to change your dream to a non threatening situation. But because all the people, animals, places you see in your dreams, are simply your own feelings, fears, hopes and wonder projected onto the screen of your sleeping mind as images, it was silly to avoid facing your own fears, because facing them would transform your life.

Also controlling your mind is a sign that you are frightened of your own self. Perhaps see http://dreamhawk.com/approaches-to-being/lifes-little-secrets/ - http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/integration-meeting-oneself/

Tony