I awoke from another symbolic dream a few days ago. I was fleeing from fear. A fear with no shape, no specific face or form. It was a compilation of every man’s fear-snakes, gun shots, and dark shadows. A long corridor led me to a door. I ran with heart pounding, beads of sweat racing down my face and an intensity so strong that I felt it in my every being.
The door was a way out. I opened it and slammed it quickly. Although I could still hear the sounds of fear getting close, I suddenly felt safe. I took a brief look around the room to get some bearing of where I was.
It was a cluttered space filled to the brim with everything you could need to survive-a bed, shelves, TV, clothes, etc. I felt warm and comfortable there but it was also stifling. There were just two windows which were frosted so I couldn’t see out of them. I felt claustrophobic and had an immediate urge to leave so I opened the door. As soon as I did, I saw fear lurking in the hallways and the sound of it took my breath away. I closed the door again and woke up panting.
It took me a few minutes in this waking world to feel safe again. And another few to decipher this nightmare of a dream.
I realized that the room was my comfort zone. It was safe. It had everything I needed to survive. It was devoid of fear and it was comfortable there. But there was no room to breathe. I knew the instant that I fled to it that it was safe to stay where I was, but in order to grow and be free, I needed to step outside my comfort zone and face my fears.
The message? My dreams were telling me, “Wake up and get moving! The world is waiting for you to tackle those fears.”
I love how my dreams talk to me, reminding me that no matter how scary they are, choosing to face my fears rather than hide from them is integral to fully living life. In the end, I realized that I didn’t want to choose a safe, but stagnant life. I didn’t just want to survive. I wanted to thrive.
I think we all have dreams (awake and asleep) that define our destinies. What’s key is setting an intention to remember them and prepare for it by keeping a journal nearby. I think that if you’re open to it, your dreams will be the bridge connecting you to the life you’ve been dreaming of, the authentic life you’ve been searching for.
Wednesday, January 20th, 2010, 7:08 pm | 
Facing Fears | 
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January 23, 2010 at 9:20 pm
Thanks for posting this! I keep looking for others that enjoy listening to their dreams, and the process of contemplating the potency of their dreams.
Our “Dreaming Minds” are amazing places. I like to call dreams, “Night School.” A very valuable school, that I feel we as a culture are still just getting used to, and bringing the relevance of this part of our mind into a greater use.
When my dreaming mind really started kicking into high gear fifteen years ago, I had to find a way to store them like movies in my mind, so that I could go back to them and replay them, study them and consider their meanings as my life has moved along.
Good to find a fellow dreamer, and I look forward to reading more about your dreams, and discussions.
January 24, 2010 at 12:05 am
Hi Chris! Have you read any books by Martha Beck? She writes a lot about dreams. I’ve just started to write down my dreams too and it’s interesting to know others like you find meaning and symbolism behind them. Thanks for stopping by and hope you keep reading and dreaming! =)