My snarky response to the question, “Why R Dreams So Strange?”

Last updated on: May 11, 2013 at 7:03 am by Kelly Sullivan Walden

My snarky response to the question, “Why R Dreams So Strange?” 2013-05-08T13:17:15-06:00 Kelly Sullivan Walden

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“Though we appear to be sleeping, there is an inner wakefulness that directs the dream…that will eventually startle us back to the truth of who we are.”

~Rumi

The SADDLE formula came to me one day during a live interview in response to a series of questions being asked by a radio show host. The questions he asked I must have heard a thousand times…but something snarky (I’m not normally snarky) bit its way through me. The interview went something line this:

Host: “Why don’t dreams make sense? Why are they so strange and weird? If they really do have important messages for us, then why don’t they just spell it out so we can understand them?”

Me: “It sounds as though you think your dreams should behave like a domesticated house pet—like they are something cute and fluffy that should sit, stay, or roll over when you snap your fingers. What if your dreams are wilder than that? What if they are more like a fire-breathing dragon than a docile house pet? Your dreams won’t be tamed like your dog. If you truly want a relationship with your dreams, then treat them like the powerful dragon (like the “Ikran” in James Cameron’s movie, ‘Avatar’) they truly are!

Give up the expectation that your dream’s meaning will come down and meet you on the ground floor. Instead, be willing to rise to a higher level; learn to speak its language; follow its lead; and go where it leads. In essence, if you show your dreams the respect they deserve, conduct your life in such a way as to accommodate its needs (proper attention, sleep, diet, and adherence to your intuitive-soul-dream messages), you will in effect raise your consciousness to a higher vibration, As you do this, your dreams will become your greatest ally. They will invite you to SADDLE up and have the ride of your life…night after night. And as a byproduct of this practice, you will become more confident, fearless, intuitive, insightful, shamanic, powerful, and a force to be reckoned with… in all your daily affairs…and beyond.”

The host of the radio show looked scorched, but I think he got it. He’s asked me back as a regular guest, so I think my snarkiness didn’t singe him too much!

Now, let’s see it we can approach our wild, emotional dreams with a hint of logic, for the purpose of decoding our dreams.

Step one is to write down your dream in narrative form, on a blank sheet of paper or in your journal. Once you are done with that, write the word SADDLE across the top of a blank page:

S A DD L E

Beneath each letter fill in the information that relates to your dream as follows:

Symbol—What are the major symbols in your dream?
Association—What are your associations with these symbols?
Dream Dictionary—Cross reference it with a book of symbols or a dream dictionary (i.e., I Had The Strangest Dream…the Dreamer’s Dictionary for the 21st Century) to see if it can fill in the gaps to give you a broader, more archetypal understanding.
Life—Is there any part of your dream that seems to directly tie into what is happening lately in waking life?
Emotions—What are the major feelings/emotions/energies present in your dream?

Once you’ve written this down, read it all together, one column at a time, beginning with the ‘S’ column, working your way to the A, to the DD, to the L, and ending with the E column. At this point you will most likely be getting some clarity about what message your dream is trying to send. Take note of the inevitable ahas that come from doing this.

For example, this is how Olivia interpreted her dream:

I need to learn to disembark (switch gears) from fun to work mode. I need to end this cycle I’ve been stuck in and it’s time for change, regarding taking care of everyone else (i.e. my mother) and leaving myself out to dry. Perhaps if I could learn to cruise a bit more in my life, and take (even just a little time) to enjoy myself I could still get all the earthbound things that need to get done, while not sacrificing my own purse-onal power. Maybe then I’d enjoy life more…and who knows…maybe have the energy (of a puppy) to get more of the practical things done.

If it were yours, what would you think this dream was telling you?

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Excerpted from It’s All In Your Dreams (Conari Press). Once you buy your copy, click here to receive $4,000 worth of fr*ee dreamy gifts throughout the month of May.

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Join the conversation! Post your dream on Dreams Cloud, then tweet it using #DreamChallenge.

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