Dancing with dreams? Despairing over dreams? Doing dreams? I'm actually cheating a little here and doing the follow-up bits on Wednesday for a dream I had on Tuesday (counting it as Tuesday's prayer time). Anyway, I tend to have a lot of dreams, particularly at important moments of my life or when I don't give myself enough time and space to deal with things during my waking hours. Whether that's similar to the dreamers in the Bible, a feature of hypothyrodism (apparently!) or I just tend to have a better memory, I'm not sure, but today my prayer time was focussed on a dream I had yesterday.
I've found it helpful with a vivid and powerful dream to initially acknowledge its rightful place - it is a feature of my mind trying to work something out, but it doesn't necessarily have to colour my view of the world or my situation. Secondly, I like to try to unpack the dream and work out what it means, by asking God for insight, guidance and direction, then meditating on what I think the dream might mean, following up leads through discussion with friends, spiritual advisors or self-help books (Christian ones rather than New Age). Finally I like to explore the dream further through reflection on my life and my situation (by using the examen for example), meditating using a song on repeat or absorbing the meaning through some other activity, e.g. a walk, some craft or art-work.
There are many things to be wary of in each stage, and it's a sensitive and potentially long process (I spent three hours reflecting on my dream today), but can be extremely beneficial to my soul, the lives of those around me and to peaceful sleep the following nights. It can also be a tremendous tool in developing my prayer life and furthering my faith journey.
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