Dream drought

On those mornings when my dreams evade me, slipping deeper into the shadows as I greet daylight, it feels as if I've taken off a coat and left it behind somewhere. It's not an uncomfortable feeling, it's just that I'm aware that something is missing.

After all these years of dream work I've come to expect dream droughts as part of a natural cycle of life. Before menopause my dreams would become exceptionally sensory and prolific starting around ovulation through to the beginning of my flow. Menopausal now, I experience a more continuous state of dream recall with periods of abundance around the full and new moon times. I've heard that menopausal women have greater access to states of dreaming and intuition, during "waking" states; that we have a foot in each world - those being the daily/visible realm and the otherworld/unseen realms of spirit and soul.

Anyway, I don't stress over missing my dreams, but instead use those days to look for "life rhymes" as Robert Moss calls them. To my mind, these are magical, playful, synchronicities that the universe lays before me to remind me that life is, after all, but a dream and I am the dreamer. They abound in: conversations, nature, a chance meeting, a paragraph on a page picked at random or a sign (literally) as happened this morning.

As we began our walk today, I mentioned to Candy, "I've got to sign up for the Moss dream workshop at the Omega Institute for October (I've not studied with him in person yet, though I've read his books, used his method, studied with a student of his and taken part in his online Dream Forum). It's been difficult to find a venue nearby; this is the closest I could get. I'm sure it'll be pretty popular so I should do it soon."  And, at that moment as we crossed the street and stepped up from the curb I looked up to see OMEGA splashed across a sign for a hair salon. We had been talking about this before we set out to the street, and had set out our route before leaving the house this morning, so it wasn't a case of subliminal suggestion. It was more like the universe giving me a thumb's up.

Other synchronicities have been popping up during the dream drought:
I celebrated a birthday recently and decided not to have a birthday cake; it didn't seem important. But, the next day I began to have some second thoughts about it.
"It's tradition."
"But I'm not a terribly traditional person."
"It may be bad luck not to have a birthday cake."
"Ah, but that's just a belief that enforces traditional practices. I'm not buying it, besides it's rather childish."
So, I told Rod that there'd be no birthday cake which left him rather disappointed about the cake and me surprisingly, missing not the cake but the ritual of blowing out the candle; not a bunch but of candles, just one.

That very night I opened the book, FATE AND DESTINY to page 27 where I'd left off. As I read down the page I was surprised to find the last paragraph discussing birthday celebrations and that one candle was originally traditionally used. "The single flame symbolized the inner spirit and natural, shining genius that enters the world at the birth of each child." The candle symbolizes the inner flame that burns at the centre of the soul and lights ones path. When you blow out the candle you not only make a wish but...

NEWS FLASH THE PHONE JUST RANG, I'M NOW A GREAT AUNT.
YEA!

...also consider "what the candle of each life burns for. If the candle was blown out it was in order that the rising smoke could carry prayers for the spirit of the celebrant to the heavens above."

cartoon © Nance Thacker 1984

WAIT A MINUTE, SINCE I'M WRITING ABOUT CANDLES AND BIRTHDAY WISHES IT SEEMS ONLY APPROPRIATE THAT I LIGHT A CANDLE , MAKE A WISH AND BLOW IT OUT TO WELCOME BABY GIRL MESSENGER-CARRIERE TO THIS REALM AND GIVE THANKS...

Done.

I'm back now.

Anyway, the next night we bought a slice of cake for me and a custardy dessert for Rod. He presented me with my one-candle-lit cake and as I blew out the fame, sending my prayer for this year out to the heavens, my birthday celebration felt complete. 

I was going to write about more coincidences but actually, none can top the birth announcement happening just as I'm writing about birthday celebration traditions.

Sometimes our dream droughts happen because something magical is occurring right here before our waking eyes. I think you now can catch my drift about how wondrous this stuff/life is; you just have to catch the moments when they arise. Also, I need to sign up for the workshop...

NOTE: I wrote this on Wednesday May 11th but couldn't post it til now cus I was waiting for official announcement from Amaya Rose's parents on FB and then BLOGGER was down for a while. The posting date that shows up is when I finally got it on the site.