The Hard Way or The Easy Way

A number of years ago, I was at a metaphysical fair near Columbus, Ohio. As I stood by a booth, a young woman who approached the booth asked me what I did. I told her that I worked with dreams as one metaphysical activity. She snorted in derision: “Dreams, nobody cares about dreams.” 

I politely asked her what she did. She said she was waiting to have a reading, and went on to extol the amazing abilities of the psychic with whom she had scheduled a reading.

I think I can safely say that this young woman viewed dreams as nebulous and too much work to be worth her time and effort. She wanted answers now and believed she could get them from the psychic or intuitive, as some like to be called. 

The sad truth is that even if the psychic provided the answers she sought, she was unlikely to accept or understand them unless they met with her conscious approval. If she heard news that pleased her, she would probably extol the advice to all her friends. If she did not agree with or like the information provided, she would most likely dismiss it as irrelevant and think the psychic just was unable to read her.

We hear what we want to hear and filter out everything else. One of the great values in working with dreams is the gradual opening of one’s eyes to see broader truths about oneself. There is a special joy in reaching that aha moment when we discover a truth for ourselves. Perhaps family or friends have told us the same thing for years, but it doesn’t really register until we discover it for ourselves.

I have read that research with young children shows they will often heed advice or direction from their own dreams more readily than from their parents. 

The discovery of truths through one’s dreams can be a magical moment. There is no shortcut to enlightenment. The work must be done, whether it is through dreams or some other way. Those who seek a simpler, easier way are only delaying the inevitable that must ultimately be faced.

So I ask the question: Is dream work the hard way or really the easy way? 

I think that most of us at some point in our lives have faced adverse consequences of a decision we wish we had not made. We can’t take back the decision, but we can learn a better way going forward. The better way is to tune into our inner self for guidance with the decision. This can be done through meditation and working with dreams. 

One insightful dream can save you all the grief of a poor decision that sometimes can adversely color your life for years. I consider learning to use guidance from dreams the easy way. For me, the hard way is experiencing the effects of a bad decision that could easily have been avoided.