The dream that found $1,000
I constantly struggle to find ways to explain the remarkable value of dreams
to my friends. Many of them, if the truth be known, cannot understand why
anyone would want to look at their dreams. For me, and others, dream work is
fascinating in its own right as well as -- believe it or not -- having many
practical uses.
Here is a clear example in which dream work solved an urgent, practical
problem. Even my doubting friends, could benefit from this kind of help from
their night life.
The Missing $1,000
Philip and his wife, Helen, come to my groups regularly. For the first year
Philip almost never dreamed. After about a year, he started to dream more
frequently-about two or three times a month.
In his waking life, Philip's mail-order business receives many checks in
varying amounts, mostly less than $50 One day he received so many checks
that they totaled around $1,000. That evening, he went to deposit them but
the ATM was broken and the bank was closed. He took his checks home. The
next day, when he went to look for them, they couldn't be found. Philip had
already endorsed them, so if stolen, the checks could be cashed.
Philip searched the house several times, but nothing. He even cleaned,
creating a pile of general trash as he searched. He was at his wits' end. He
decided he had to ask all these people to stop their checks and he would pay
their bank charges. He would probably not get new checks from some of them.
It was a waking-life nightmare.
Philip's Dream
Philip had a sense that his dreams might know where the envelope could be.
"On the day before the dream, I unintentionally recalled several times while
I was searching how David had told us that dreams can help people solve
practical waking life problems."
That night he had a dream:
I dreamed that I was looking in the mailbox. Only it wasn't really a
mailbox. Funnily enough all the letters along with the trash I had collected
and a crumpled old ATM envelope were stacked neatly and vertically side by
side like books in a bookcase.
When he woke up, Philip started wandering around the house.
"I didn't actually realize there was a place I hadn't searched; at first I
didn't realize anything at all. Instead, I just felt the urge in my early
morning stupor to walk to my office. I looked at the shelf in my bookcase
where I keep spare ATM envelopes."
Philip keeps a quantity of empty ATM envelopes in his office bookcase
because he hates standing at the ATM machine stuffing his checks into the
envelope there. They are neatly stacked and vertical -- as in the dream. One
was far from empty-it was stuffed with the checks.
Philip's dream didn't exactly say "Look in the bookcase where you keep your
empty ATM envelopes," but it conveyed that idea so powerfully that he just
walked over there on autopilot and found his checks.
Philip credits my dream work with saving him $1,000 and a whole lot of
hassle. He wrote to me: "Please share this experience with your readers as a
token of our gratitude to you for the enjoyment and insights your classes
have given us and for your dream-based help with waking life issues."
Summary
Philip's experience is not unusual. Because dreams follow a different logic
from waking life, they seem divorced from waking life but often they are
commenting on it from an unusual perspective. Sometimes that unusual
perspective cuts through and tells you what you need to know.
When you have a problem that has exhausted your daytime skills, pass it over
to your dream self to do the thinking. You can read more about techniques
for using your dreams in this way in my column on Dream Incubation.
Dream Analysis By Telephone
A phone consultation is a great way to begin your exploration of dream work.
It is also perfect when you don't have the time to attend a regular class
but want to discuss a particular dream.
David is available for dream consultations by phone. The current cost is $50
per hour. A typical dream analysis might consist of a 30-45 minute
discussion of the dream and a follow up after the next dream.
David's hours for telephone consultations are Monday through Friday, 10 am
to 7 pm, Pacific Time. To make an appointment, please email him with two or
three times when you are available and your phone number. He will e-mail you
back with an appointment time, payment information and request a
confirmation. David's e-mail address is davidj@dreamreplay.com
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