Message Conveyed Through Feelings
Dear Readers: My friend, Diane, who is my editor and support person for this column, was visited by this dream on Valentine’s Day. She was so taken by it that it has remained one of her favorites, still evoking awe and delight.
“I am with Nancy in her home. She is having a luncheon and the women are beginning to arrive. I want to help her prepare, so I go into the kitchen. I see two vases of flowers on the table, cream-colored lilies arranged so the stalks flow in a circular direction. They are very exotic. I say, “These are beautiful.” Nancy says, “One of them is yours.” I am thrilled. Suddenly I hear a whale song. I’m excited and lead Nancy to an open window where we look out. We are several stories high and water is completely surrounding the home. A whale, on the surface of the water, has wrapped his huge body around the foundation of the house. We know the whale is there just for us. It continues its song. I am touched to my deepest core and feel blessed by the its presence and enter into a state of being where I can totally commune with the whale.
Some dreams are so filled with depth and mystery that it’s difficult to talk about them; only the feeling and awe can convey its message. Let’s look at some significant symbols in this dream.
It begins in my home where a luncheon is being prepared. My home may represent Diane’s inner-life, the place where self-realization and growth through dreams take place. Preparing a meal for others may symbolize the work we do together on the column, or perhaps, Diane’s own desire to nurture herself.
Flowers are archetypal symbols of gifts of grace and “true self.” Lilies in particular speak of new life and resurrection; the arrangement’s circular form is reminiscent of the mandala, the symbol of wholeness.
In the dream, Diane receives this gift with gratitude and in that moment of receiving, the whale announces itself with a song.
At the window, we see the whale. In her dream, Diane knows this is a great gift; that it’s there just for us.
The house is surrounded by water, the archetypal symbol of the unconscious. From the depths of the unconscious, the whale has come, wrapping its body around the house and singing its song.
Some cultural myths tell of whales assisting people in dream-time journeys. Because they come from the ocean where all creation began, whales are also symbols of great creativity arising from the depths of the subconscious mind. Diane’s dream was a precursor of a period of great creativity in her life.
At the end of the dream, Diane enters into a state of inter-communication with the whale. In this opening of the heart and mind to the whale’s song, she finds communion and receives the great creature’s blessing.
Many so-called “primitive cultures” communicated and gathered information from plants and animals through dreams. This dream may have been an appeal from the natural world, specifically the whale and ocean kingdoms, to beseech humankind to safeguard and value our connection with all life.
Have you had any striking or profound animal dreams? I’d love to use them in a future column.