November Invitation into Your Dreams
Image by Tallulah Fontaine
November is a time when we are heading into the holidays…a time when we are expected to give thanks and be grateful for what we have…a time we find ourselves in the midst of our families…with our myriad memories, traditions and family dynamics. For many this can be a difficult thing to do, an overwhelming expectation, especially if our world, our life, our health, our relationships are less than satisfying. We may be grieving the death of a loved one, loss of a relationship, a job. We may feel alone in the world. Gratitude can be hard to come by in these situations.
In a place where we might want to feel some compassion, some kindness towards ourselves, we can develop an ‘if only’ attitude. If only I had a partner, if only my loved one hadn’t died, if only…if only…if only…then we would be happy and grateful for our life. We keep postponing living and experiencing of our life until some future date when everything comes together. Or we might dismiss our difficult feelings, believing that life is a sliding scale, “Well, others have it worse so I shouldn’t feel badly about my own loss or grief.” We don’t even allow ourselves these painfully tender moments of loneliness. Our dreams won’t let these impoverished ways of thinking…whether we are negative or resigned…go unchallenged. They show us with great directness what role we play and choices we make in our living a fulfilling or unfulfilling life.
Then, as always, it is our choice to look at this aspect of ourselves and work with it or not. How do we find our way through these times…which is life itself? How do we, each in our own given circumstances, find a measure of wholeness? There are really quite a few, including exploring our dreams and the stunningly unique and personal support and teaching they bring each night.
Our dreams know that many of us may struggle with support in the outer world so they show us…help us remember actually…the support we have in the inner world…dream figures who come to us in kindness, love and support. They help us remember this deep eternal connection that we have always had but have forgotten. Being in this inner relationship…feeling the love…we begin to love ourselves…and that is who we become in the outer world.To find the healing and wholeness in our dreams and then in our lives is neither an easy nor a quick fix…but it is a true and thorough one. Here at Natural Dreamwork, we would love to step into your dreams with you, explore together what it is that wants to in relationship with you.
Mary Jo Heyen, M.Ed., was an author, founding member and certified practitioner of Natural Dreamwork until her death in 2022. She had a diverse private practice working with dream clients of all ages and backgrounds. Her practice included her volunteer work with the dreams and visions of those in hospice, their families and grief groups, honoring the gift of their dreams at this most important threshold. Her experiences in this area have been published in The Journal of Palliative Medicine and the 2021 release of her book, Dreaming into the Mystery: Explorations into Being with the Dreams and Visions of the Dying. Mary Jo was a featured teacher as part of the Shift Network’s Dreamwork Summit. Her work with dreams has been published in Dream Time, a publication of the International Association for the Study of Dreams (IASD) and she was also a Regional Representative of the IASD.