Dream Healing: Steps Toward Wholeness
by Angie Choi

Dreams can aid us in healing any "dis-ease" in our lives whether our pain is physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual. Dreams come from deep within us, from our subconscious reality, which is every bit as real as our waking, conscious one. The most complete yet unused resource, dreams consistently propel us toward wholeness. Whatever we have not integrated such as fragments of ourselves or our shadow side reveal themselves in our dreams in order to be healed.

Our dreams are also intimately connected to our bodies. Who has not incorporated a physical need such as going to the bathroom into their dreams, or had abnormal dreams by eating certain foods or eating late at night? Dream researchers have proved that our physiological patterns such as brain waves change while we are dreaming. The connection between our dreams and our bodies definitely exists, but most people have not looked into their dreams as another way of understanding their bodies.

Over the years of my personal dream work and observations, I have learned that our dreams are keys to unlock the divine blueprint of our bodies. What this means is that every experience we have ever had in our waking life has left a physical impression upon our body, our physiological building. Some of our life experiences have made us feel connected and others have left us feeling alone, alienated, or separated. In fact, ever since we were born, we experienced the Great Separation and life can be understood as a process of becoming whole again. Time and experience cause wear and tear on our buildings and this gradual deterioration eventually compromises the buildingšs structure and foundation resulting in illness. If a person has felt alone and separated for the majority of his or her life, this fragmentation codes in the body and over time changes it. For some, the separation may manifest as literal heartache, weight problems, strokes, or asthma. For others it may become a cancer, hepatitis, or AIDS. In order to decode our bodies and unlock multiple doors of life experience, we must work with our dreams, the ultimate code busters. For in our dreams, the original divine blueprint of wholeness is revealed.

My personal example of dream healing is profound and revelatory. Three years ago, my health was at an all time low. Various illnesses and chronic poor health had been a source of pain for fifteen years. I suffered from an ulcer, chronic constipation, a damaged liver, hot flashes, chronic fatigue, severe acne, voices, headaches, and depression. In 1996, I embarked on a journey of alternative therapies and traveled in an abundant dream world every night. I began to remember my dreams consistently after not having remembered a dream clearly in years. I started to piece together messages from my subconscious and as the months passed, I wrote them down sporadically. One night, I reread the few written dreams I had and noticed remarkable patterns in certain elements as well as one significant recurring dream. I grew intrigued by the similarities and vowed to start a dream journal. Little did I know this process would ultimately be the key factor in recovering my health.

One night, I asked the question "how can I best heal my body?" I had become empowered to heal myself through the various alternative, natural medicine I had tried and thus had the courage to believe in myself. When I dreamed that night, I received the most beautiful rejoinder. "Consciousness and enzymes," three written words floating against the backdrop of the starry, black universe is what I saw in my dream. I immediately awoke due to my electrifying excitement at receiving such a literal answer to my question. I quickly wrote the dream down and fell back asleep with faith and hope renewed.

In the morning, I reread the dream and knew exactly what it was telling me. I had been meditating inconsistently until then and "consciousness" was definitely telling me to be more consistent. I began meditating twice daily. "Enzymes" however, were more challenging, as I knew very little about them. I began researching them and when I came across chlorella, I had an inexplicable inner knowingness that chlorella was what I should take. My illnesses, rapidly departed for good and I felt stronger and happier than ever before.

In 1998, I concocted viral meningitis and experienced the most horrific, debilitating, painful month of my entire life. This experience influenced my dream work profoundly because shortly after another month of full recovery, I began to simply "know" how to make myself more whole. One night, only a week after full recovery, I had a dream, which flashed like an emergency bulletin on television. It even had the emergency tonal introduction followed by a banner, which read, "Emergency! Emergency! Get up and put your feet in 70 degree water immediately!" Even though I was very sleepy, I immediately woke up and did as I was instructed at 2:00 AM. What a sight I was sitting there with my feet in a pot of water, but to this day, I know acting on this dream saved me from another relapse into meningitis. Since that time, I have had awe-inspiring healing dreams such as back operation dreams, dreams in which rods of pure light were inserted into my eyes and hands, and dreams of God healing me with pure light and love.

While we don't always receive literal dream prescriptions and interventions as in the above examples, even our strangest, incomprehensible dreams use our physiological bodies as a bridge between the subconscious and conscious worlds. Our breath is what connects us to this physical world. Breath is the physical manifestation of our spirit and breath is what sustains the body. Therefore, our breath senses any physical impression upon our bodies, as breath may not be able to travel freely to blocked physical areas. These blocked areas emit an imbalance of energy. These blocks, or layering of physical impressions exist due to some fragmentation which we experienced somewhere in our lifetime, most often repeatedly reinforced. When we sleep and our breathing becomes regulated and consistent, the sensing of our blocks increases and starts the process of the dream, which has one mission: bring about our wholeness. This is the healing dream.

Whether a dream is taken literally or not, working with the dream to learn of key fragmentation issues, dreamself behavior, and emotional expressions or inexpressions is a must in recovering the divine physiological blueprint. Whether you practice and approach dreamwork psychologically, physically, emotionally, or spiritually you can be sure it is having a deep impact on your body. Also, each dream can be understood in the larger framework of bringing about wholeness and more fluid breathing in the body.

How then can we begin working with our dreams for optimal health and wholeness? Whether you never remember your dreams and insist you donšt dream or you dream prolifically, the following six steps will help you pay attention to your own dream healing.

The first step is intention. Simply say to yourself aloud or silently that you desire to understand your dreams. As you go about your daily routine, remind yourself of your intention periodically. You could even write your intention on an index card and keep it in your pocket or place it in a visible location throughout the day. The important rule to remember is to set your intention and then affirm it repeatedly.

The second step is cleansing. You can prepare your body for better reception through your diet. Try to eat smaller meals throughout the day rather than a big lunch and dinner. Refrain from stimulants such as nicotine, caffeine, alcohol, sugar, etc. Do not eat late at night for this activates your body's digestive system and influences or directs your dream to the digestive areas of your body and issues coded into your digestive area such as self-esteem, power, relationships, money, etc.

The third step is concentration. Before sleeping, take several deep breaths before lying down. Focus solely on your breath and quiet the chatter of your mind. You can even visualize your mind emptying out while inhaling and exhaling. Connect with your body as you breathe by expanding your diaphragm during the inhalation and contracting it on the exhalation.

The fourth step is faith. Ask a question about your situation such as "How can I best be healed?" or "Why am I ill?" Your question will be answered in your dreams, and it will provide you with what you are ready to comprehend. So if you feel that you don't understand after the first night, keep working with your dreams because you will learn at your own pace. The more open you are to it, the faster and clearer the response.

The fifth step is reflection. Lie in bed for a few seconds before rising. Try to remember your dream while still in the transitional stage between dreaming and being fully awake. If nothing comes to you, turn to one side or try different body positions. Your body has a memory which your conscious mind doesn't. With practice, you will notice a remarkable difference in your facility to remember.

The sixth step is practice. Write down your dreams as soon as you arise. Leave a pen, notebook, drawing pad, or a tape recorder by your bedside. Choose the medium of expression which is most natural for you. If you enjoy writing, choose the notebook, if you prefer talking, the tape recorder may be more appropriate for you. Recording your dreams is a critical step for it will allow you to chronicle the messages from your subconscious and proceed with your dream work. Be sure to describe how you feel about your dream, for emotions provide unequivocal clues.

Dream healing works for all types of illnesses even the "I've lost all hope" cases. After you read through your dreams, look at what your dreamself is doing or not doing in the dream. Look at what kinds of issues come up such as abandonment, rejection, departing, etc. as well as their accompanying emotions. Don't get hung up on the objects and symbols in your dream. They enhance the dream but shouldn't be blown out of proportion. Then, ask yourself how this dream is answering your original incubated question. As these issues are presented to you, your awareness of how you react to them in your waking life will increase and change. Actively work at creating the type of outcomes you desire in your dreams.

If you reacted passively in a dream when you wanted to be aggressive, work on changing into being more aggressive in your waking life. Your dream is revealing what you need in order to be whole. Over time, you may find a reversal of the wear and tear on your building and a remodeling occurring in its place. You may also find that the ulcer that has been plaguing you is healing itself. This is the healing power of dreams.

Copyright 1999 Angie Choi

Angie Choi is a practicing dream intuitive and hypnotherapist in San Francisco, CA. She sees private clients and provides workshops on dreamwork and hypnotherapy. You can hear her on Tuesdays on KEST 1450 AM anytime from 8:00AM to 10:00 AM in the Bay Area.

Angie Choi, Dream Intuitive, CHT
dreamhealing@earthlink.net
Dream Healing 415-933-7326
www.dreamhealing.com

Issue Three Features
Issue 3 - Page 1

Spirit-to-Spirit
Sundance
The Cake is Ready

Health Share
Dream Healing: Six Steps Toward Wholeness
The First Commandment

Parenting/Relationships
Transformations

Features
Denial
Individuality
Sticks and Stones

For the Record
I Will Still...

On the Spot...
with Rachel Hartman

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