CHAPTER 1

Introduction: Going Within

How many of us live on the surface of life—going to work, doing our dailychores, interacting with co-workers, neighbors and family without beingaware of what really matters most to us? Are we functioning on the samelevel we did a decade ago or have we matured and grown emotionally,mentally, psychologically, and spiritually? Is there any way we can learnmore about ourselves without going to a psychiatrist or psychologist? Theanswer to the last question is "yes." We can learn a lot about ourselves bystudying our dreams.

Our dreams come from a deep "inner knowing" within ourselves,the essential Self, the part of us that can connect our physical, mental,and spiritual bodies with the Divine Source, bringing into consciousnessinformation and intuitive knowing that can help us grow and realize ourfull potential to become the "whole" persons we are meant to be.

Do we really want to know more about ourselves? I thought I did as Ibegan a serious study of dreamwork. In one of my dreams early in 1992

I Decide Against Going Deep into Dark, Foreboding Woods

I am walking and come upon an area that is a meadowsurrounded by woods. I think the area is beautiful andI walk some distance into the woods. If I were to gobeyond a certain point it would become very dark andforeboding because it is too far from the opening whereit is light. So I turn around, feeling it would be toodangerous to go farther, and head towards the opening.

Although I was not aware of this consciously at that time, the dreamrevealed I was fearful of delving too deeply into the unconscious. In thelanguage of dreams, a collection of trees—the woods—often is a dreamsymbol representing one's unconscious. The term symbol refers to a tangibleobject or concept that stands for or suggests a deeper or more complexreality.

During the next seven years I attended many workshops and seminarsled by nationally and internationally known dreamworkers and also readextensively. I wanted to become proficient in understanding dreams andto be able to help others explore their dreams.

Then in 1999 I had two dreams that showed I still had an unconsciousfear of going within myself. These dreams spoke directly of going within.They used the metaphor of caves and going deep into the ground torepresent going into the unconscious.

The Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung tells us in Memories, Dreams, Reflectionsof the important dream he had of discovering a deep cave below the cellarof his house. For him, the cave represented a deep level of the unconsciousand "the dream became for [him] a guiding image...."

Exploration of a cave (the unconscious) can lead to greater self-knowledge.The first of these two dreams of mine pointed to going withinsomething as part of my education. Even though I was in my sixties atthe time, the dream used the image of going off to boarding school orcollege.

We're Expected to Go into a Deep Underground Place on Our Own

I am being taken off to a strange boarding school orcollege by someone, perhaps my father. We enter a smallbuilding out in the middle of nowhere, which is to bemy dorm. We go into a room that I will share withanother girl. I wonder how I will get to classes. I don'thave a car and this dorm is not anywhere near any otherbuildings. My father walks out, somewhat in a hurry,leaving me to my own devices. I notice that he seems tobe fighting back tears—as if he hates to have to leave mein this situation.

I am not sure how we are to have our meals. Perhapswe have a little kitchen. I have hardly had time to eatwhen an unidentified man appears. He is to take us toour "class." We are not taken to any classroom building.Instead, we are outside in the wilds and are led throughrough terrain. At one point I discover what appears tobe the entrance to something deep in the ground. I havethe feeling we are expected to go into this on our own. Istand by the entrance wondering what I should do. I'mfearful and reluctant to go...