Life as a Waking Dream

Waking Dreams: Are You Paying Attention?

By Laura V. Hyde

Waking dreams are the surreal moments when visuals suddenly flip and feelings become ethereal. When this happens an important message is struggling to release itself from the unconscious. Learn to recognize and hear these undercurrent messages...
~ Diana Kennedy Pike, author of Life as a Waking Dream

The universe is always communicating to us. Coincidence, synchronicity, and waking dreams provide us with meaningful direction on our spiritual paths. Carl Jung, a pioneer in this area once wrote: "Synchronicity is a causal principle of the universe, a law that operates to move human beings toward greater growth in consciousness." Our spiritual awareness expands as we pay attention to everything that happens in our "outer world," or in other words, our daily circumstances. Since we are connected to all things, reality appears to be outside of us, but that's merely an illusion, created by a finite point of view. If you could rise above this plane of consciousness, you would see the world as one molecule of energy, made up of thoughts and feelings. You would see people's thought manifesting into form around them. Beyond the earth plane, there is no internal or external reality--it's all one and it begins within. That's why working with the outer realm; the synchronicity or interpreting the waking dream, can help you awaken more quickly and decrease the amount of struggling and suffering.

For example, a couple of weeks ago, I noticed some spots that kept appearing on the windshield of my car. I kept washing them but they would quickly reappear. Then a few days ago, I decided to wipe the inside of the window and the spots disappeared, for good. What appeared to be outside was actually inside. The windshield is symbolic of our reality; there is no separation between the inner you and your daily experiences.

A Course in Miracles reminds us that God is in constant communication with us, at all times: "Communication, unambiguous and plain as day, remains unlimited for all eternity...Communication is not limited to the small range of channels the world recognizes." When you're ready to receive divine communication via insights, ideas, nighttime dreams, waking dreams, etc., it's as if a portal opens in your mind where Spirit can be heard. Synchronicity and waking dream symbols magnify what your spirit already knows.

Are Symbols Showing Up for You?
So if you see something strange happening, ask yourself, "What does this mean?" The very fact that you're there, witnessing it, means the symbol is yours. It's the external world talking to you. It's the Universe taking you lovingly by the hand and showing you something about yourself.

For example, last week, my daughter, Alexis, was driving home from work one night, when to her dismay, she hit a frog. Upset, she called me and asked for help in interpreting the situation. Interestingly, the day before, she had shared how she was feeling frustrated at work, that she had a lot of responsibility with little authority. She had just written a performance review for an employee who was within her ninety day probationary period, and because the new employee had received several complaints from customers and was unapproachable by her fellow workers, Alexis, for the first time, rated an employee "unsatisfactory."

But when she took the review into her human resource manager for a signature, she told Alexis to change it. Alexis thought, "What's the point of me being a manager if I'm not going to be supported in making decisions?" So, the next night, when she called about the frog incident, I asked her, "What were you thinking and feeling about before you hit the frog?" She became quiet then answered, "I was thinking about how I feel like I'm constantly jumping from task to task, and that I have a lot of responsibility with not enough authority." Bingo! We discussed how frogs often live in ponds, so I asked her, "Are you feeling like you might be a small frog in a big pond?" "Yes, she replied, "In fact, I am that frog!" By paying attention to the signs -- rather than remaining upset about hitting the frog -- Alexis took her power back. The next day she met with the store manager who validated and supported her decision. Instead of allowing the frustration to take over, she re-directed her energies and spoke up for herself. What a powerful lesson.

What will you notice today?
Pay attention; not only with your intellect, but more importantly, with your heart and soul. Listen for God's guidance. Watch for God's Guidance. No one will meet exactly the same people this week that you will meet. No one will have access to exactly the same song lyrics, billboards, or written words. Everything that occurs offers you a silver platter of wisdom. In each moment, Spirit gives us an opportunity to express God's love, and to receive it. Stop for a few moments today and listen and watch. The lessons to be learned are endless and will lead to magnificent results.

Mahatma Gandhi summed it up beautifully when he once declared, "My claim to hear the voice of God is no new claim. Unfortunately, there is no way that I know of proving the claim except through results."