Dreams and Opportunities by Rev. Dr. Danny Spears
I’ll be honest. Until recently, I’ve never paid a lot of attention to my dreams. That is, other than to wake up at times after a particularly bizarre dream, wonder what the heck THAT was all about, and then promise myself to never again consume whatever it was I consumed right before bedtime that night.
A few months ago, however, I had a dream which stirred a personal awakening.
I was walking in a building with a huge indoor pool. The pool was filled with a diverse group of people having a great time, and I was enjoying watching them while taking my walk.
The next thing I knew I was in the water—and I was in way over my head. Apparently it was an L-shaped pool; I wasn’t watching where I was walking, and of course I stepped right into the very deep section of the pool.
I was surprisingly calm, reminding myself I know how to swim. But I was suspended somewhere between the surface and the bottom of the pool; and for some weird reason it felt as though I was wearing more layers of clothing now than when I first involuntarily entered the pool.
Still feeling no panic, I thought to myself, “Wow; it looks like I’m going to die.” And then the thought, “Not today!” burst into my mind. Suddenly I was able to effortlessly kick my legs, rise and break the surface of the water.
As I climbed the ladder to exit the pool, I thought, “Well, this is embarrassing; but who cares? I’m alive!” When I looked around, however, apparently no one even noticed what, for me, was a humiliating—and potentially life-threatening–episode.
I was still soaking wet, of course; yet now I wore different, lightweight clothing. As I turned to leave, I looked back for a moment; and I saw my old clothing ever-so-slowly sinking into the depths of the pool. I briefly thought about trying to retrieve these items, and then thought to myself, “No; I don’t need those anymore.” And suddenly I noticed it—my new lightweight clothes were completely dry!
Soon after I awoke from my dream, the message “You have an opportunity” came to me loud and clear. So loud and clear, as a matter of fact, that I startled myself by saying it out loud. Both the dream and the message were a first for me. And I have to admit the whole episode was a bit strange for me.
Not long after that night, as I entered a time of transition in my life, I remembered this dream and message; and I began to meditate and journal more in an attempt to dig deeper into the possible meanings of all this “stuff.”
It wasn’t—and still isn’t—always easy. After all, the deeper you dig, the more you uncover—and sometimes you wish perhaps you hadn’t dug so deep. In fact, like falling in that pool and eventually climbing out fully-clothed, sometimes the revelations are downright humiliating. And guess what? Just like my dream, most of the time no one notices but us.
The good news is, as a result of my explorations, I’m beginning to wear a new, lighter—and less self-judgmental–consciousness. I’ve learned there are some things I’ve allowed to keep me in a state of suspension by holding onto them long past their usefulness. These behaviors, ideas and beliefs aren’t “bad”—in fact I probably needed them at some points in my life in order to survive.
The point is, I no longer need these particular items—and I am slowly releasing them without judgment—watching them ever-so-slowly sink from my life, making room for something new and even better to manifest in my life.
The best news of all is—as hard as it is sometimes–as I release what is no longer serving me, I’m learning that not only do I now have one opportunity, several amazing opportunities are slowly beginning to manifest in my life.
For this, and for so much more, I am truly grateful.
Namaste.