Like a lot of Highly Sensitives, I’m a vivid dreamer. Yes, both in my sleep and also in my waking life (I am also an Enneagram number 9). I love that everyone has equal access to dreams. They’re not received based on age, status, education, or wealth. Anyone and everyone can dream. Their messages are a mystery, a game, a tool. I’ve been recording and researching dream interpretation for years. I regularly record mine in a bedside journal because they offer helpful messages that I don’t want to miss.
If you think you rarely dream, it’s likely that you don’t remember them because you’re not in the practice of it. With a little intention, I bet you could remember a few. Try to recall them as soon as you wake up before you roll over, open your eyes, or think about the day. Then write it down as soon as possible. Once you’re fully awake you can try to decode it. If you’re interested in learning more, you can sign up for my Dream Interpretation course on December 10, 2023. We’ll go more in-depth and practice together. Email me at Amelia.Breugem@gmail.com to register.
The method of dream interpretation I use is from Charity Kayembe, called the DAESI Dream Work Method. She uses a “daisy chain format” to help connect the parts of our dreams that hold the most meaning.
DAESI Dream Work Method©
Dream – Summary (one or two paragraphs) of the dream.
Action – In the dream, what was I doing? (Running from something? Ministering? Fighting?) That is the key action.
Emotion – In the dream, how was I feeling? (Excited? Disappointed? Loved?) That is the key emotion.
Setting – In waking life, what issues is my heart processing? (What did I do that day? What was I thinking about when I went to bed and praying for as I fell asleep?) That is the waking world setting.
Interpretation – We match up the dream’s action and emotion with similar actions and emotions in our waking life which show us what area of our life the dream is speaking to, and we journal out God’s message to us through the dream.
My dream last night was a powerful tool to guide me through a restructuring process with my beliefs about money. I’ll withhold the details but try my best to share enough of the storyline so that it makes sense. Then, I’ll summarize the dream using the DAESI method and show you my process for how I use dreams in my day-to-day life as a tool for personal growth.
The Dream
In my dream, I was in bed with one of my exes. We were at a hotel (that also had a restaurant attached). I awoke to the sound of a homeless person’s clock radio playing music outside the window and the sound of them opening my bedroom window so I could hear it. I was irritated by being woken up early. Then my ex started trying to be intimate with me. I pretended to be asleep at first, but he persisted. We both longed for a moment of pleasure, but I ended up refusing him. I felt like he just wanted a quick “fix” and I was his only option, and I preferred to be enjoyed. What I wanted was to be held and have a feeling of emotional connection. I knew he couldn’t give me either. To escape, I suggested we go eat at the restaurant. It was busy, and after we ate, we hurried to pay because there was a long line forming since the lunch rush was ending. He offered to pay for the meal, and then he pulled the car up to the door, so I didn’t have to walk through the parking lot. He was trying to impress me, but I didn’t want to pretend like we were together or married, because we weren’t. We were just using each other because we felt so hungry. I wanted to part ways.
When I decode my dreams, I symbolically view the dream characters as different parts of myself. In this dream, I asked myself, “What part of me is like my ex?" The answer: the part of me that lusts for immediate satisfaction even though it’s not really what I want in the long term. What I long for is security, connection, love, and enjoyment. These two characters symbolize parts of myself that feel physical and emotional emptiness.
Using the DAESI Method
Actions in my dream: touching, sleeping/waking, eating, talking, judging, pretending.
I feel like I “woke up” early… in my 20’s and 30’s with life experiences that changed me profoundly. I learned that church work and marriage were not enough. Since childhood, I’ve believed that working hard leads to being rich and successful which would help me feel secure.
Emotions: irritable, lust/ hunger, not enough, disgust, hurried, lack
What I desire is security, connection, love, and enjoyment. All the things money and success can’t provide.
Setting: hotel room, restaurant, parking lot. All places you stay temporarily.
In my waking life, the holidays with all the added expenses are approaching. A family vacation with flights to California for New Year’s needs to be purchased. Meanwhile, medical bills have been emptying my savings account and I don’t know how it’s all going to work out. My focus has been on what I don’t have instead of what I do. I feel irritated and disgusted that I have legitimate unmet needs. I comfort myself in the short term by dreaming of riches and success to fix it all. But in my gut, I know that long-term success and riches are achieved with self-love and surrender.
Interpretation: I think the main message is to not settle for lesser love. Invest in loving myself, no matter how long it takes. There’s no rush, and no need to compete with others. I can part ways with old habits, and outdated beliefs, and seek a better way.
After my dream analysis, I wrote a letter to try to connect with the conflicting parts of myself. There’s a part of me that wants to fix the problem by taking aligned action, and another part of me wants to wait to be rescued by God. This doesn’t need to be fixed or changed. It just is. What I can offer is to “be with” them. I addressed the letter to “Richie Rich” because I used to watch this cartoon as a child. It’s where the fantasy began that having enough money would solve all my problems. So, I’m naming that part of me that wants to be rich.
Dear Richie Rich,
I’ve been listening to you since my childhood. I wanted to believe that you could save me from all my problems. A fix-all solution. The window is opening now, so I can wake up to the music of life and… homelessness? OK, I get it… home is where the heart is, not in a mansion with a dog named Dollar nor on the streets with no responsibilities or purpose.
I’m beginning to see that I need to wake up to the fact that pretending one thing will fix all my problems is a lie I’m telling myself. I’m willing to get curious about where that belief started. I’m willing to redesign that perception since it no longer helps me level up. I want to create a belief that’s motivated by love and helps me feel secure in who I am- not in what I do, or what I have.
I want to love you and accept you, Richie Rich. But I’m still learning how to love you when you don’t give me what I want… self-security, self-love and to be enjoyed no matter how I behave. You gave me false hope that money could satisfy me. I think it’s time to give you a different job. I’m thankful for the ways you tried to protect me in the past, but I’ve grown up and the old ways don’t work anymore. Instead of motivating me with shame or fear of lack, remind me that abundance is for everyone- just as much as dreams are. We are all equally deserving. Abundance is energy that can take many forms. Grace. Forgiveness. Joy.
Goodbye Richie Rich. I'm giving you a new name: Whollyful.
I look forward to working with you!
- Amelia
Success is loving all the parts of me whether they drown in old patterns or surface something new. My parts will always be committed to survival and I won't shame them for doing all they know to keep me afloat. I can still reach for wholeness, knowing that clarity, peace, and true identity are easier to reach when I can breathe comfortably. As I speak my new life into being, I will take time to rest. I will be gentle. I will explore my options. I will accept and hold onto my beliefs, knowing that a time will come when life experiences and age will change them. Sometimes quickly, other times slowly. I will attempt to not hurry the process. I will do this by being intentional about enjoying the growth process.
Finding security in the fact that I can change.
Feeling appreciation for the parts of me that are always working hard to ensure my success.
Deepening my connection to self (body, mind, and spirit) every time I listen to my dreams, judgments, and perceptions with curiosity instead of anger, sadness, or loneliness in the driver’s seat.
Developing love for the parts of myself that are different or non-compliant.
Choosing compassion as I embody my values, learn from mistakes, and search for divine guidance.
As a co-creator with God, I will compose beauty in my world- my medium is ME.
Composition: the act of combining parts or elements to form a whole.
My goal is to become whole by loving all the parts of myself,
including my past, and the pace at which I grow.
P.S. A good podcast to learn more about how to meet your triggered self with compassion is by Laura Duncan of Triggered and True, episode 12.
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