You’re Working Through Some Guilt

Dear Nancy: I am a single mother with two girls. I am in a great relationship and my boyfriend and I are considering marriage and children. My stepbrother just got married because his girlfriend is expecting a child. I can’t seem to figure out this dream. - Vickie

My 4-year-old daughter and I are walking home but I’m not sure which house is ours. We go into a house that resembles ours and it turns out to be my stepbrother’s house. As we leave, I notice a basket of eggs outside the door. I know these eggs represent my stepbrother’s children. Three of the eggs are broken and I realize that my daughter broke them. I go inside and tell my stepbrother’s wife the eggs are broken. We are both sobbing and I beg her to forgive me.

Dear Vickie: Through the dream work we did on the telephone, it was apparent that the dream was addressing some unresolved grief over an abortion earlier in your life.

Your 4-year-old daughter symbolizes you at a younger age, when the abortion took place. The eggs represent the fetus and the fact that they are outside the house in the dream suggests that they are not being cared for or accepted.

In the end, you are crying and begging for forgiveness. I would suggest, Vickie, that you work on forgiving yourself. We never really let go of the past completely, but we can heal the pain so we can go on to a better future.

This dream was probably evoked by your discussion of getting married and having more children with your boyfriend. Also, the fact that your stepbrother and his wife chose to stay together and have their child could be bringing up the past for you.

Tips for readers: Dialoguing with dream images and characters is a tool that is invaluable in dream work. It can also be frightening in that it requires a degree of openness and willingness to listen that may feel threatening to our domineering egos.

Choose the character or symbol in the dream that you are most attracted to or repelled by, the one that evokes the most emotional energy for you.

Ask yourself if you are open enough to receive information from this symbol. Do you have sufficient courage and commitment to your journey of self-knowledge to enter this process?

Now, in a quiet, meditative state, go back into the dream and begin wherever it seems appropriate. You may want to ask the symbol why it is there. “What are you doing in my dream? Why are you hostile, crying, running, afraid, giving me this gift, pointing to this image, etc.?”

Let the conversation flow. Be persistent. If the dream image doesn’t have an answer, ask the question in another way.

Questioning the answers you receive is appropriate. Agree when that is appropriate.

Be sure to jot down notes as you go. It is easy to forget valuable information when you are in this relaxed state.

Through this type of dream work we are able to connect with different parts of our personalities. By letting these symbols and images speak for themselves, they come to life and are no longer hidden away from our conscious world. This is our chance to let our own soul speak to us. When we listen, we can know our deepest selves.

, DataTimes MEMO: Nancy Huseby Bloom has studied dreams for 16 years. Dreams may be sent to her c/o The Spokesman-Review, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210-1615, or fax, (509) 459-5098. Please send a short summary of the circumstances in your life and include your name, address and phone number. Due to the volume of mail, Nancy is not able to use every dream. If your dream is not chosen for this column, you can have a personal phone consultation for $30 per dream. Dream work for use in this column is free.