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HEALING STAR DREAM
PATH NEWSLETTER
Messenger Minutes -
Volume III,
Issue 24
Ghosts and
Goblins
October 22,
2005
___________
In This Issue
...
I.
Dreampath
Discussion
-
Terror Dreams
II.
Symbols and Scenes
-
Masks & Monsters
III. Threads and Themes -
The
Dynamite Man - Interpretation
IV.
Messenger Mic -
What causes nightmares?
I.
Dreampath Discussion:
Terror
Dreams.
In every
nightmare is a kernel of Truth, waiting to be connected in Time, through
other events in sequence, with our souls. Like a puzzle, immense in its
design and scope, each dream holds a connecting link and piece to who we are
... who we want, most desperately in earnest, to become ... but do not know
how to articulate ... because we are silenced by the language and power of
Fear
We do
everything in our power to run, hide, avoid understanding what our
nightmares mean, because we do not want to get that close to Terror.
Do not want to know what it is that really lurks underneath that landscape.
Or more truthfully, what it says about us. We are grateful to wake up,
look around, sigh a breath of relief and say, Oh, thank God, it was only a
dream and then promptly go back to sleep. Until the next time
when we are chased, tortured, haunted once again by something dark and
sinister, still tugging at our souls
As children, we
learn to mask fear and carry it with us into adulthood
eventually however,
our dreams reveal the traumatic events and sequences we swore we'd never
speak of again
or have long forgotten
not to torture us, but to give us
the platform and tools for healing, and making peace with the monsters, both
real and imagined, we have internalized.
II.
Symbols and Scenes:
Monsters & Masks
"Masks"
are facial covers
to disguise the identity of the wearer, worn traditionally at costume parties
and Halloween balls. Specifically, they are worn as part of a costume,
whose purpose is to hide the true identity of the wearer or to mask the truth.
In a dream, a mask
represents that which is hidden or disguised, and is a request for the dreamer
to unveil the truth, let it be seen.
"Monster"
is defined by
Webster's as an 'animal or plant of abnormal form or structure'; 'a threatening
force'; an animal of strange or terrifying shape, or someone with monstrous qualities - i.e. "a person of
unnatural or extreme ugliness, deformity, wickedness, or cruelty".
When we think of
monsters, we think of fictional creatures in horror shows, or the characters in
books that we have learned as children to fear. So, too,
in our dreams, monsters appear as
'beasts', and too often, human "predators" ... to highlight the 'monstrous'
traits, characteristics, events and circumstances which evoke intense
emotions and primitive "murderous' instincts, more notably rage and terror, so
we can confront the ghosts, integrate these powerful feelings, and get on with the
healing journey.
As a final note -
sometimes, nightmares are a request in time for us to start dealing safely with
traumatic events long suppressed, because they were too overwhelming and
terrifying at the time to cope with - this is often the case in the dream lives
of combat veterans, victims of sadistic crimes, holocaust survivors,
or living witnesses who carry in their souls, the traumatic imprint of the
horrific crimes, events and natural disasters they have observed or experienced.
Such is the
case in the dream interpretation which follows, The Dynamite man.
III. Threads and Themes -
Dream Interpretation
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The Dynamite Man
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I am in an alley.
Narrow. Trapped on all sides by brick walls. Man in a trench
coat with a menacing smile. Evil, mean. Walking toward
me. Can't see his face. Only what he is carrying. A
briefcase. I keep backing up until there is nowhere to go.
He gets closer. Can't breathe. Can't move. Just
as he gets close to me, he throws the briefcase at me and it explodes.
In my face. Just as I am convinced that I am dead, I wake
up. Cold sweat. Swear that he is real. It feels real.
Like I have been there before. Like it really happened.
Then I realize it is only a dream. But a long time before I can
get to sleep again. That terrifying. I've had this dream ever
since I was a kid - what does it mean?
Dream Reading: -
The Dynamite Man
A faceless man with
a menacing smile approaches with an explosive suitcase, Trapping you in a
narrow alley, against brick walls, with no place to escape or go.
Every time you wake up precisely when the suitcase explodes, and report that
you have had this dream since you were a kid.
Question:
Was there ever a time that you recall seeing something like this happen?
The dream keeps repeating in sequence, with the very same details: a
faceless man in a trench coat with a menacing smile and a briefcase that
explodes. I ask because the dream suggests powerful explosive
feelings at force, ones that keep you pinned in, trapped (no place to escape
or hide in a narrow alley, against brick walls ) and you can't see,
(represented by the faceless man), but nonetheless know and experience
intensely, represented by the dynamite in a 'case' - i.e. in 'case' it
explodes when opened up, and released, which highlights the true and
realistic terror: that the same power exists in the dreamer to be as
explosive as the 'man' with the 'menacing smile' and the briefcase.
Answer:
Yes. I have
not thought about this in a long time, and did not remember it until this
dream started waking me up again, but when I was in the first grade, a man
came onto the playground and blew up my elementary school. I was only
six at the time, and don't remember much about it, except that I was
standing in line next to the brick buildings and saw him approach the
principal. He threw her the briefcase and it exploded. It was
now I know, one of the first elementary schools to be blown up.
Summary: The
dream is showing you how to safely remember what happened, so you can
realize that you are no longer six and powerless, but an adult now
with all sorts of abilities to tame and confront that childhood reality, and
honor the memory of it locked in your dreams.
I.e., you are
not trapped. And no longer have to be.
Comments -
This is a dream I had well until my thirties, until I slowly began to
remember the truth, the realistic horror I had witnessed as a child. I
thought then that the whole world was like that and that God just let
everyone get blown up. I must have imagined that the world was not a
very safe place to be in or live after that - or worse, that it meant that I
was like that too! If I ever showed anyone what was inside of me, that it
would cause the world to blow up. Later, and with professional help, I
realized that the dream also captured, held all of that 'rage' for me safely
contained, in that briefcase image, until I could grow up and release it on
my own in safe surroundings. Imagine my surprise to learn that I did
not have the power after all to cause all of that damage. That the
blame was never mine, and that I survived because God had a plan for me.
I think the guilt was the worst of it - believing in some part of me that I
deserved to die with those other children, too. But if I did, then how
could I be here now, to tell about what happened and honor the legacy, their
memories?
Note: This is an excerpt from a dream discussion I know intimately,
because it is my own, and happened. -Travis
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IV. Messenger
Mic
- What
causes nightmares?
A good question.
Not what we think. Although some foods, chemical substances and
certain medications can cause us to hallucinate and have really vivid, intense
and distorted dreams, usually, there is some connection to a past or
current event that triggers nightmares. Not just the event, but more
importantly, the imprint it leaves behind in the emotional, psychological,
spiritual and physical scars we wear.
Until we resolve
the ghosts and understand what these dream monsters represent, the parts buried
and "masked", will continue to be conjured up in powerful and
terrifying dream scenarios -
reminding us to confront our fears, and integrate the dream. When we have
succeeded, we will also know by our dreams, because there is no longer a need
for the nightmare - the holding space if you will, for all of the emotions and
instincts we do not believe we can experience safely, realistically, on our own
- so our dreams provide this outlet for us, until we are strong enough to
incorporate the feelings, honor the dream, and make it a permanent and
integrated part of where we have been, all we have experienced, and who we are
...
Do
you have a question or dream you want interpreted in upcoming editions of
Messenger Minutes?
If so, please send it in an email to dreams@healingstardreampath.com,
and you can see your dream or questions answered here, in Messenger Mic!
Be sure to send
Messenger Minutes on to family and friends
.. and stay tuned to www.healingstardreampath.com
for updated Notes from the Path,
Poetry,
and Dare to Dream Music
Phyllis A. Travis -
Healing Star Dream Path
Faith Revealed in Dreams ...
©2005
Phyllis A Travis
©2003-2005
All Rights Reserved
Healing Star Dream Path
DISCLAIMER
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