Sometimes a Cigar

What is the connection between your dreams and your waking life, present and future? Do dreams really come true and what is their meaning? Can the dream books interpret your dreams accurately?

  We all wonder about dreams and most of us have experienced them in one form or another. Dream guides and experts tell us to monitor our dreams, keep a journal and look for patterns from one dream to another. In this way we can begin to interpret our dreams and correlate them with what we are experiencing in our waking life.

Dreams can be tricky and often elusive and misleading. But all of them are subject to interpretation. The books are not definitive and because we are trying to explain the subjective in objective terms, there is a vast margin for error and misinterpretation.

Some of the better books are based on research. Subjects keep track of their dreams and the researchers correlate the results with current or past events in a subject's life. So if fifty people are dreaming about flying and they have similar life experiences then a statement about dreaming can be made. I pulled three dream books from my library and looked up flying and I can see why reading these books and applying what is written to your own experience can be difficult and most frustrating.

The Unexplained Store!

Dreams I believe, are a close personal experience that is created for you, by you, and is in itself an interpretation of your thoughts, not the other way around. They are manifestations of a life in a different realm of existence which may or may not have anything to do with your waking state other than you remember some of it. They are also an opportunity for you to create a connection or meaning to them or not.

Because we are creative beings, our creations only have personal significance and that changes the more we think about them as we recreate our creations differently. Thinking about a thing is like adding another ingredient to the recipe, it becomes something different.

There are people who are very passionate about their lives. They are passionate about their futures and where they see themselves, and they dream about it. It is a constant companion during their waking hours as well. So these thoughts spill over into their dreams. They dream of the future and they see things and these things are manifested into their waking experience. So passion may be the grease that moves things along. If one is passionate about a thing, then they are totally into it, it is a state of being that excludes anything else. It is the passion that has life, not the person, it is the idea being born that takes precedence over ones own personal being. Thoughts are in fact life - things are the manifestation of thought. You are the result of a thought and it is your thoughts about your life that are real, not you.

Dreaming may or may not have any significance in your life, and does it really matter? I believe that some of us are here as observers and not participators. Personally I don't dream about my future. I have always been a loner although I am always involved with people in one way or another. I became an author eight years ago, and I am now a published international author of books, articles and websites. I have never dreamed about my future. I have a desire to be a recognized, accomplished international author, and I have set that as my goal. I have a new future in site, but I have to constantly remind myself of it. I don't see into the future and I don't dream about it, even though it comes naturally for me and therefore a part of who I am. I have the connections, the expertise and the desire, but not the dreams.

With all the people I have around me, I stand alone, an observer and possibly a portal - the one that holds the door open, a beacon with no hands. Or a light that shows the way, but not the driver.

There is no meaning to life other than the meaning you give it. Dreams have no meaning unless you think they do. And again, as Freud put it, "sometimes a cigar is just a cigar." Sometimes things are - just because!

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/spirituality-articles/sometimes-a-cigar-278551.html

Author: Roy E. Klienwachter

About the Author:

Roy E. Klienwachter is a resident of British Columbia, Canada. A published author, a student of NLP, New Age Light Worker, Teacher and Phenomenologist. Roy's books and articles are thought provoking, and designed to empower your imagination, and take you to places you would never have thought of.

Claim your copy of Roy's new book at: http://www.yourlifewasnevermeanttobeastruggle.com

Visit Roy at: http://www.klienwachter.com

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Psalm 126 reads as follows from the New Oxford Annotated Bible:

When the Lord rescued the fortunes of Zion, we were like those that dream,

Then our mouth was filled with laughter,

And our tongue with shouts of joy,

Then it was said among the nations,

“The Lord has done great things for them"

The Lord has done great things for us,

And we rejoiced,

Restore our fortunes, O Lord,

Like the watercourses in the Negeb,

May those who sow in tears,

Reap with shouts of joy,

Those who go weeping,

Bearing the seed for sowing,

Shall come home with shouts of joy,

Carrying their sheaves.

Restoration is a matter of seeking in prayer and this psalm contains that specific request, for the restoration of fortunes.

Here the Lord has done great things isolated to where it could be seen that they were done for specific people. Granted it could have been all the earth and this is very possible, but in this case, it was great things that came upon specific individuals to where it could be seen by those outside of a circle individuals who nevertheless were observers who were able to see what had happened.

We don’t know what is going on with people for sure, but it can be seen that some people seem to at least on the surface and at least for now really do have good fortune that can be seen and observed by others. These great things, or good fortunes were both visible to those who received them and also to those who were onlookers.  To both the ones under the blessings and the onlookers, the actions of the Lord were visible. Neither group was in the dark as to what happened both as those within the underlay of what had happened and the outside observers looking on could also keenly surmise what had happened.

The fortunes of these individuals came under the purview of the Lord. In those times ,when this psalm was written, things like harvests were very dependent on what happened in nature and that was considered well beyond the control of the farmers expertise. All he could do would be to sow, and whatever happened from there, depended on fortune. The farmer did have his part, he did sow, but the reaping if it was to happen, was not under his control enough to where he could say yes, this is what can and will happen.

Today, with scientific advancements, there is a lot more that can interject into a crop and what happens to a seeded field than what would be involved back then. But even with current advancements, there are still lots of deference to fortune even into today's advanced environment as weather patterns are still beyond the control of the modern farmer. Symbolically then, you could personally advance your education, your position in your field, your expertise and way of doing things, and still you would be at a point of depending on fortune and whether the hand of the Lord is having favor upon you and new science has not been able to factor out fortune or the lack thereof. Those mentioned here in this psalm, were able to discern great things and discern that these great things were of the Lord’s doing. Today, with lot’s of overlays, possibly obscuring just what is great things from the Lord and what is just part of a seeming common advancement in science and the accumlated common knowledge makes this discernment process perhaps more difficult but the information explosion can indeed camouflage that a situation may and does break down as to the whether the Lord will restore fortunes.

Here in this psalm, those who were weeping, went out with basically nothing, except for having a plan to sow something new. They did go out there, despite their troubles and their distresses. They did not have what they needed or wanted when they went out on a seeming search. They had their dreams, but little more than a sowers chance against large and looming uncertainties.

The first verse of this psalm is important. It says,

“When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream." Basically, what this verse is saying, as the Lord’s restoration took place, their personal dreams came true. This verse is important as often in literature and the arts there is the idea of the dream come true, and it says it right here in the very first verse of this psalm.

It had been seen that some people did live with hopes of their dream being realized but it might have be so far reaching to them and their personal circumstances that it was not practical to dream or it was best to let their dreams submerge and be hidden from view.

This verse shows that deep down people do have dreams, even if they don’t admit of them, even to themselves.  Their dreams could be buried under the surface of resentments on and over what has gone wrong and what has seemingly been lost.

Verse 2 says, “Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy."

These dreams, which have now resurfaced as a reality, did in fact have a lot to do with happiness, joyfulness and outright laughter or being on the light side of things as when the dreams did come true, the result was a state of joy and happiness.

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People do become so guarded, that they might lose sight of what they really do dream of and for. In any event, these verses show that the Lord is cognizant of our dreams and restoration itself is on the side of dreams coming true on an individual basis. As the shadows of troubles have come by, one thing to ask the Lord for in prayer is to help you to revisit what your dreams really are and how to fill into their invitation. The ultimate turnaround was accomplished by the Lord and this turnaround involved fulfillment and realization of dreams.

Verse 4 is very interesting as it says,
" Restore our fortunes, O Lord, like the watercourses in the Negeb."

Here the Negeb, which was considered the south from Judah, was an area that had great abundance of land and crops, a period of difficulties and was promised restoration in the prophetic book of Jeremiah. These waterways must have dried up to an extent and then were restored by the Lord.

Whatever the Lord did for the waterways of Negeb, was the example in this psalm of great things the Lord has done, that were widely seen and observed by the outer world.

It is interesting that this example of a “great thing" done by the Lord and involving restoration deals with flow and restoration of flow of the waterways.

Symbolically, a lot of what we might ask for in prayer could constitute flow. I could for example ask for wealth, or rephrase and ask for a steady flow of wealth or a great and consistently great flow of wealth. I could ask for healing or rephrase and ask for healing to flow.  Anything I could possibly ask for could be put into the context of having it restored into a flow.

Here in Negeb, which according to historians at one point contained 29 cities, the Lord restored the watercourses. It wasn’t just one stream or river, but a series of streams that were involved. Within restoration, we are relying on the Lord to overlook any number of channels or rivulets and flows that are needed. Indeed, we might lack visibility as to what these channels and flows even are as we can't necessarily see all that might be involved in an issue. Even for example, if you were to swim in the ocean, there might be several undercurrents right below the surface all of which can not necessarily be seen.  It is true that we have low visibility when it comes to a lot of things and to obtain views we need to be graced towards these views and part of the grace of an answered prayer might be a view we could obtain.  But indeed any number of things may need to be flowing properly for us. The Lord’s restorative actions were parceled to Negeb. The restoration was specific in nature, kind and locale. The Lord's answer for wanted restoration was focused and contained flow in this psalm.

The individuals at the end of this psalm went out weeping. They were on the other side of their dreams, and before this reality had taken hold the possibilities of their dreams ever coming true was way in the distance and truly out of reach. Not only did their dreams come true, they were able to come home with their dream, meaning they could settle into their dream and live it out on the home front. The stepped into their drive and lived it. It wasn’t just illusory or fleeting, as the dream took hold and the reality of it could be called home.  The Lord came to an in between place for them and took them to the side of their dreams and we can see how great Biblical figures were often in that place where things were in between. They were in between in that they had their hopes and dreams and that place was only seeable and visible in their imaginings. The Lord came into that in between place and got them through to the wanted place with his restorative powers to the fruition of their dreams.  The Lord came into whatever was between them and their dreams and got them past the obstacles that might have otherwise been insurmountable to the place of their dreams.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/christianity-articles/restoring-dreams-and-psalm-126-922209.html

Symbolic objects in our dreams have intrigued us since ancient times. The symbolism in both tribal lore and legends, and stories in the Bible, is related to the symbolism of dreams. I seek here only to give a little taste of this fascinating subject; by discussing TREES and TRUMPETS.

Most psychological terms like projection, complex, system and symbol are absent from the Bible, for the simple reason that they were absent from most ancient languages. Likewise they are absent from the myths and legends of tribal peoples. When the ancients needed to talk of such things, they had to turn to metaphor and symbolism. That was not so hard to do. Our dreams are full of symbolic imagery, alchemical colors and mythical creatures that seem to be a synthesis of life-forms that we know. A basic tenet of Jungian psychology is that these symbols are held in the collective subconscious are are available to all of us at the subconscious level.

The Bible mentions TREE some 160 times, and in the majority of these instances tree is symbolic. Olive, fig, oak, green and dry trees are mentioned requently. Trees often symbolize spiritual processes, and are often seen as a link between heavenly activities and earthly activities. The fruit of a tree often symbolizes the end result or the bottom line of the process. The processes symbolized are not necessarily morally good ones. For instance, GREEN tree is typically associated with idolatrous or otherwise sinful processes. Fig tree is mentioned not only in regards to figs as food, but as in material prosperity in general. In Norse mythology the YGGDRASIL or World Tree is associated with the process of creating, and eventually destroying, the world; although it is believed that it itself will survive that destruction. Yggdrasil connects the world of gods, of the giants, of mankind, and Niflheim, the world of the dead. It is morally neutral; creatures both good and bad are nourished, sheltered and facilitated by it.

Trees in dreams tend to have similar symbolism. A dry tree can represent a constant, or unchanging process; but this can also mean a stagnant or essentially dead one. A green tree can represent a growing, maturing process, but possibly a morally questionable one. Of course the tree you see in a dream may be just like one you are familiar with in waking life; or may be a synthesis of several you know in waking life; or it may arise from the universal imagery of the collective subconscious.

Trumpets in the Bible are of course often to announce heavenly events or interventions, as they do in folklore and tribal legends. The events are not necessarily morally good, as in the usurping Sheba (2 Sam. 20:1-20). Psychologically the trumpet symbolizes the point of no return; when events have come to an unstoppable momentum and inevitable conclusion. So it is in Norse mythology with Gjallarhorn, Heimdall's 'trumpet', (which was a long serpentine horn; it did'nt look much like a trumpet).

Mythicalism - a philosophy put forth by Santayana - holds that events and relationships in our lives are the re-enactment of tribal legends, and/or of Bible stories. The symbols in these legends and stories can combine in a great many ways. For instance the story of Joshua and Jericho is one of walls - the setting of boundaries - and of the process of tearing down those walls - the dissolving of boundaries. Just as in astrology where Virgo - the boundary creator - and Pisces - the boundary dissolver - are opposites; so in our lives there has come, or will come, a time that conflicting parts of ourselves will try to build and strengthen boundaries, and dissolve those boundaries. The trumpets in the Bible story suggest that the time will come when we have passed a point of no return. Several things in the story occur in quantities of seven: trumpets, number of times marched about the city, etc.: these bring the symbolic qualities of the number seven; it will be a time of completion, of rest, with its ever- present danger of stagnation. The harlot in the biblical story suggests a situation where what we think as morally wrong will be, in this case, right.

Using dreams to understand our life patterns

Jungian psychology combines with the philosophy of mythicalism, championed by Santayana, which maintains that patterns of our lives and relationships are in effect re-enactments of ancient cultural and tribal legends, translated into the scenarios of our modern age. In coaching, clients explore parts of themselves, using the archetypal interactions of Biblical stories and of cultural-tribal lore and legends as points of reference. This is the value of dream work in coaching, because even though the substance of our dreams seems to have no relationship to the events of our day-to-day lives; through the symbolism of dreams which is also the symbolism of tribal lore and of Bible stories, they do.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/self-improvement-articles/how-dream-symbols-help-us-understand-ancient-legends-721213.html

Author: Dave Smart

About the Author:

Dave Smart, the lead coach for Transcendence Coaching and Mentoring, has had extensive education and experience in coaching, and as an initiate in certain mystery schools he has studied the legends and symbolism of various tribal societies. "Legends quite similar to one another often pop up in cultures separated continents apart", he says. If you find recurring incidents being the "story of your life" and want to change that; then coaching, dream work, and learning about how these incidents tie in to tribal legends, is for you. Check out TCM's website: http://www.transcendencecoach.com

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