"If you have anything really valuable to contribute to the world, it will come through the expression of your own personality - that single spark of divinity that sets you off and makes you different from every other living creature." - Bruce Barton

As children, we liked to play house, belong to a club, envision being someone we considered our hero. What happened? When did we tuck our imaginative selves back into a dark closet? Once in awhile, when we are cleaning house, we see this imaginative self for a short time. Then we pack it back with the rest of the keepsakes. We tell ourselves it isn't reality.

Who says it isn't reality? What prevents us from bringing our dream out into the open as an active part of our lives?

How can we wear this so it compliments and gives us true inner joy? When we bring it into the light, it cuts out the shadows of doubt and becomes our uniqueness.

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Examining Dreams
by Dusty Reed

Do dreams have any significance in one's life? Some believe they are simply a view of one's travelogue through life. Others believe they are made up of subconscious bits and pieces put together that have little or no implication of actual happenings. Still others rely heavily on dream analysis as an important factor in having a healthier perspective of knowing self.

Dreaming is a natural, universal experience. All of humanity enter into a dream state when they sleep. How one looks upon the dream, however, varies for every individual.

Unfortunately most remain blissfully unaware of their dreams or fail to remember them. Even if one does remember a dream, it is usually dismissed as irrational and unimportant. For those who do place an importance on dreaming, it still remains a mystery.

Studies show that dreams are expressions of the deeper self. Understanding dreams can provide valuable insight that can be used in finding more joy in life and in communication with others. Interpretation includes finding the relevance of the dream in present happenings. A dream gives clues that help sort feelings, make plans for action, and rehearse skills that are needed.

Dreams provide personal guidance to support and offer assistance in walking life's path. Dreams influence choices so they can alter the course of surrounding events. One has the choice of altering the course of personal life events because of the ability to obtain wisdom through dreams.

The search cannot be limited to only those things one would like to know or to areas of consciousness that are pleasant and brightly lit. If wisdom is sought, it cannot be limited. Wisdom may not tell what one wants to hear. The interesting thing about wisdom is that it is always worth hearing. If the challenge is taken, the reward offers a direct doorway into a powerful and luminous dimension of self-understanding and spiritual connection.

Dreams are filled with symbols. What one remembers seeing in a dream may seem insignificant but, as an awareness of dreams is continued, a pattern unfolds that allows interpretation of what is symbolic. There are many books on the market that suggest what the symbolism is for the pictures one sees. For example, driving or riding in a vehicle may mean movement of one's life.

I still remember a dream that was significant for me at the time. In the dream, I was in my car but rolling backward down a hill at a very fast speed and I could not stop the car. It was a bit terrifying but I woke up before I crashed. I later realized that the dream was telling me I was going full speed with too many activities filling my life. They were driving me down… backwards.

The subconscious knows a great deal, whether one cares to consciously know or not. Often times it will reveal something about one's lifestyle to disclose what one's needs are. In dreams it tries to get the point across, whatever that takes.

The symbols that dream books offer may not be applicable to each individual's dreams. It is, therefore, important to decipher for self what the meanings hold.

It is noteworthy to keep paper and pen at bedside to write any fragments of a dream that surface immediately upon awakening. If this practice is to be taken seriously, in order to glean all possible benefits, journaling is included. As moments pass in the awakened world, the concepts of the dream can quickly fade. Practice will make it easier to recall as the mind realizes that remembering is becoming a ritual.

The analyzing can happen without effort. It might happen during quiet time or even at some time when least expected. Quickly jotting down any new awareness, reactions and whatever comes to mind about the dream can give more information to ponder or offer solutions. After an extended time, a week or maybe a month, a pattern might become visible. This is when the "aha's" begin to pop.

The value of learning to listen within to interpret dreams is an experience of personal harmony, well being and joy. Living in step with inner wisdom offers greater meaning and fulfillment.

Seeing the movement through dreams shows how real life situations are typically handled.

Is there activity with every challenge with a confrontation included or do things happen in a passive way? Is there friendship or loneliness? Is laughter, crying, or affection shown? The masks used during the day are gone, and a genuine self is revealed.

Dreams have meaning in relationship to individual experiences and in an interpretation of communication with others. They provide a map to follow upon life's journey. They come from the flickers across the inner mind that can reveal fragments of real life happenings. Examining a dream may tell about feelings in an external situation. The action called for by the dream has the most direct influence for awakening to one's reality. Whether one looks at the messages that come through images in sleep or whether one is viewing a waking experience as a dream, greater wisdom and understanding are available.

Proper dream interpretation offers greater understanding, not by interpretation of someone else's dreams but by working with personal dreams. Dream work helps people know themselves. Like a mirror, it is not only projecting who one is but it also displays what is necessary to be done, what needs to be worked out, and how to then communicate with others.

A dream is a way to build a bridge of reason between individual reality and the reality that is perceived. Dreams knit together the threads of experience and knowledge to create the fabric of conscious existence. Through dreaming one can explore the possibilities of an outcome and have the opportunity to prepare for the future based on the occurrences of the past.

Only the person who has the dream is qualified to interpret it. Much can be learned by taking time to journal and ponder what can be learned from the dream world.

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SALUTATION OF THE DAWN

Listen to the Exhortation of the Dawn!
Look to this Day!
For it is Life, the very Life of Life.
In its brief course lie all the
Verities and Realities of Existence:
* the Bliss of Growth
* the Glory of Action
* the Splendor of Beauty
For Yesterday is but a Dream
And Tomorrow is only a Vision:
But Today well-lived makes
Every Yesterday a Dream of Happiness,
And every Tomorrow a Vision of Hope.
Look well therefore to this Day!
Such is the Salutation of the Dawn! - Sanscrit

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Some sites I recommend:

World of Dreams Re-Examined

Dreams and the Near-Death Experience A connection to the afterlife

Psychic Secrets

Dream Flights

Intuition Network

hOMe Foundation

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It is my joy to share with you that I now have several of my rose drawings available at art.com! (I have changed a few since I first posted.) You can view them at Dusty's Roses
I have also posted a new page with note cards (for sale) with some of my rose drawings. You can check it out by going to Rose Descriptions.

My sister-in-spirit, Sunny, has several of her drawings and photos at art.com, too, at Sunny's Art Work

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And, for anyone who enjoys playing at ebay, lots of goodies (records, colored pencil drawings, books & post cards) are available at Dusty's eBay

You are welcome to forward this newsletter to friends who might be interested! If they would like to subscribe (at no cost), they can write to me at cascade@mahaska.org (with Expansion Encounters as subject). Thanx muchly!

Working toward consideration and to better humanity, we want to encourage free enterprise, free speech. We are Life Now, a spiritual happening on and off the Internet.

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