Some members come to group in the throes of indecision about a major life choice. They don’t know what to choose. I ask them: “What are your dreams saying?” Our conscious minds are often clouded by our unwillingness to face difficult emotions about life choices but not so with dreams. Dreams see everything but their meaning is often disguised. A dream is a metaphor for a person’s emotional state at the time of the dream. This is both a simple and a daunting statement because dreams have a logic all their own. To understand a dream’s meaning, that logic must be mastered.
Roy asked the group’s advice on whether he should end his relationship with his girlfriend. After members gave their opinions, I asked him:” What are your dreams telling you?” Roy reported a dream in which he was sailing a boat during a violent storm. He lost control of the boat and it was dashed against the rocks. I asked the group: “What was the feeling in the dream?” The consensus was that Roy felt fear and apprehension about the relationship. Sandy asked Roy:” Don’t you own a sailboat?”. Roy asked her: “Yeah, why do ask?” Sandy thought the sailboat was a metaphor for the relationship. It was on the rocks. I said:” That’s brilliant. What’s your feeling toward Roy?” Sandy said she felt sympathy. I said: “Sympathy is for funerals”. Sandy said: ” Well, this is like a funeral. Roy’s relationship is dead”. Then Sandy corrected herself, she said:” I feel empathy. I know what’s like to have love relationship end badly”. The others agreed. We all understood. Roy felt relieved; he wasn’t the only one that knew that feeling.
