Troubled Sleep...Restless Gods!

Troubled sleep...restless gods conjures an image of restless, sleepless nights, twisting and turning late into the night and into the early hours of the morning. No relief in sight for those wrestling with demons within and unresolved conflicts without. Troubled sleep signals a need for willingness to make the descent into dark realms and listen to the voices of the gods!

When we resist hearing what we need to hear, typically not wanting to make critical life changes, then we may suffer from troubled sleep. The mind can't rest and drift into the healing waters of sleep. A recent article in the New York Times tried to make a case for sleeping in chunks of time rather than long stretches. I wonder why we so badly would want to avoid the intimacy with soul that comes as we sleep for long stretches, popular research and media attempting to convince us to be skittish with soul, dart in and out, a sort of wham bang mentality with psyche.

Restful sleep draws into the arms of Morpheus, god of soothing and settling and dreams. As we let ourselves fall under the power of sleep, then Morpheus comes with symbols and images that waken us to new levels of consciousness. Wrestling with the gods is human; but, it's also best to realize that the gods are the gods and we are but humans, needful of letting go and letting sleep come and dreams come and the gods speak!

The Eyes of God

Dreams are the eyes of God states a central maxim of depth psychology. I've come to understand that when we see through the eyes of the Dreamer then we cut to the chase regarding situations, relationships, ourselves. Dreams don't lie. A man, some years ago, told me that he dreamt of climbing a staircase that ascended to the heavens. There he discovered that "going up happened as I went within. I listened to my dreams and they showed me the way forward in my life. It brought changes that were frightening but necessary." He couldn't see his way through via the ego consciousness of daily life; instead he came to understand that dreaming permitted him to see through the eyes of God.

Dark Goddess, Black Wolf

"In every kind of dream I am a black wolf...." So goes the provocative poem by Tina Chang entitled The Future is an Animal. It was shared with me by my daughter, Katherine, also a poet. The effect of it has lingered as images of transition and transformation emanate from each verse, reminding me that destiny is ever unfolding and that "the path goes on and on." God as intimate soul, as dark goddess, black wolf, deep calling unto deep, we awaken each day to the mysteries that the day will bring and in those mysteries discover that the psyche, "the mind is a miraculous ember."  http://poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/23114

Dark Goddess and Dreams

Dreams of a dark goddess seem to be prolific in the sleep of sincere seekers. One after another I hear of folks wondering why a nightmare of the goddess awakens them. We so easily fall into an ego rut of wanting things to remain the same, to keep the status quo, especially regarding our spiritual outlook. Dreams of the dark goddess beckon us into an interiority and depth of consideration regarding old ways that may have worked for us in the past and no longer do so. Darkness within dreams signals potential for illumination and entrance into mystery.

God as Intimate Soul

I've been reflecting on the concept of God as intimate soul. William James, father of American psychology and pioneer in psychology and spirituality, proposed this idea as a way of expressing a more personal and practical understanding of what organized religion has described essentially as an outer religious reality. Something so far off and away cannot be as close or real as that which lies within the human soul, in fact is one and the same experience as soul herself. Yes, I did say soul herself because the soul is exquisitely feminine. Sensitivity, depth, and multiple shades and nuances characterize soulfulness and a soulful way of life. We might even say that God is a She and that She lies in deep and mysterious realms within the human psyche!