How a Simple Dream Can Change Your Life

Dreams can be something of an enigma, can’t they? Dreams are at times harmless, at other times weird beyond measure. Whether you believe in their psychic undertones or not, you’ve got to admit that every now and then a simple dream can change your life, fortuitously knocking you out of your habitual existence.

I know because it happened to me. But first, a note about dreams.

Let’s face it, sometimes dreams are just wacky. To psychoanalyze them would create so much anxiety that we’d need therapy requiring further psychoanalyzation.

That’s just not helpful. As such, we let them go by the wayside because there aren’t enough hours in the day to devote to such things.

Be that as it may, a dream can change your life because a dream can contain insights you don’t need a degree to decipher or implement. These insights can be quite helpful, offering ideas, answers, and solutions to problems. If you take action on those ideas and solutions, the dream can effectively change your life.

Concerning what I now refer to as my Catalyst Dream (CD for short), you could argue that I called the dream upon myself with all the life contemplation I’ve been up to lately. Sadly, with annoying predictability and in full self-critical fashion, I haven’t been impressed with the fruits of my contemplation.

DREAMS PROVIDE OPPORTUNITY

Dreams do this in the form of change, and I needed a change. A drastic change, a push. In other words, I needed something to kick my butt out of a slump and into gear. My life-changing dream did just that, but more on that later.

Don’t get me wrong, I have plans, albeit some better than others. That’s what brainstorming is for, after all (although my over-active brain is always stormy and should forever carry a raincoat).

Nevertheless, I have a million thousand ideas but currently lack the ability to act on any of them.

Am I overwhelmed? Yes.
Am I stressed? Yes.
Tired Much? Yes.
Could I use a teacher, mentor, guide? Yes, but my grandmother passed away long ago.

So here I am, full of life and possibility but unable to make a move. My feet and soul, stuck in the proverbial muck.

Then, with serendipitous aplomb, I had a dream that graciously loosened me out of the muck.

THE DREAM THAT CHANGED IT ALL

It was one of those vivid, panicky dreams where colors intensify, emotions are raw, and your senses sharpen. In the dream, I found myself desperately having to get somewhere, but I didn’t know where?

I was walking inside a baseball complex in Georgia. The baseball complex isn’t odd because I’ve spent 15 years of my life as a baseball mom. However, I don’t live in Georgia and in the dream, all the fields were empty. That was strange.

Walking among tall grasses, the complex seemed deserted for some time, yet the baseball fields themselves were in pristine condition. I stopped at one of them, interlaced my fingers through the chain-link fence, and stared at it.

Like a scene from the movie Inception, I began daydreaming within the dream about the years my son used to play ball. I could visualize him on the field catching, hitting, throwing. I stood there for some time consumed with bittersweet memories before the vision faded and I walked away.

The scene changed suddenly and the pathway morphed into a wooded trail in the middle of a forest and it was getting dark. Distressed, I found myself alone in the woods. I looked back, but the baseball fields had disappeared.

A lonely trail behind me. A lonely trail before me. Black mountains looming all around. I did what any normal person would do. I freaked out and started running!

Panicked, I first tried to go in the direction I came, looking for breadcrumbs to find my way back. But there was nothing. I decided to stop going backward.

MOVING FORWARD IS A GAME CHANGER

Unfortunately, forward went deeper into the forest and I didn’t want to go there. I was afraid to continue but I knew it was the right direction.

My conviction didn’t do a damn thing to calm my fears, however, and as I ran, my anxiety grew to a fever pitch. But comfort was not to be found.

Searching for signs of rescue, on the verge of giving up (it’s always darkest before the dawn), I heard voices. I turned in their direction and saw, of all things, a diner! There, at the foot of a mountain, stood an old-fashioned diner. What the…?!

On either side of the diner was a road. Reminiscent of Monty Hall’s game show Let’s Make A Deal, I could choose either road, or I could choose the diner.

Another decision?! Funny enough, in the dream I didn’t hesitate to make one. I chose civilization figuring there would at least be people there that could help.

The diner was packed with loud, boisterous customers, but there were no friendly faces. Their cagey gaze held a certain amount of suspicion and I knew I didn’t belong. My first thought was to cocoon myself in the bathroom.

Squeezing through customers to get to the restroom, I noticed a man staring at me. His grizzly countenance startled me but just as I was about to run away again, I noticed a blackboard sign directly above his head with one word written upon it.

GOAM? HOW CAN THAT CHANGE MY LIFE?

There was no “Daily Special” written on the board or a “Please Wait To Be Seated” directive. There was only one strange, little word I’ve never seen before, demanding attention with its haughty capital letters, underlines, and exclamation points.

I went to the bathroom anyway. I washed my face but I couldn’t get the sign and that word (if it was a word) out of my head.

GOAM? What did it mean? Someone, Somewhere was trying to tell me Something. Of course, it was a message. But of what?

I looked at myself in the mirror and took a deep breath. Strangely enough, as I exhaled, my panic went with it. Just like that, as quick as an End Game snap!

Another deep, fortifying breath, and I was suddenly filled with strength and purpose. I don’t know where the surety came from, weird things happen like that in dreams.

I walked out of the bathroom to find the mood in the diner completely changed. No one was staring at me funny. The diner itself seemed brighter as well. It was downright cheerful and welcoming. But I wasn’t hungry and I no longer required anyone’s help.

Shoulders back, spine straight, I walked out of the diner, taking a good, long look at the GOAM sign on my way out.

NO LONGER AFRAID

Not only that, but I was happy and dare I say, determined. It’d been a long time since I felt armed with my own spirit.

This time I did walk in the direction I came, but it no longer felt as if I were going backward. It was the same route, yet somehow different.

The baseball fields came back into view within moments, my husband standing in the distance waving me toward him. When I approached him, he asked me, “Where were you?”

“I was lost,” I answered. “But I found my way back,” and then I woke up.

GIRL ON A MISSION

I know we’re not supposed to do this first thing in the morning, but as soon as I woke up I grabbed my phone to Google the heck out of “GOAM”. I got: Girl On A Mission.

WHAT!? I’d never heard the acronym before. I wanted to wake my husband up right away, but thought better of it, both for his sleepy benefit and my proprietary one.

This is how a dream can change your life. I’ve just received a message reminding me I am a Girl On A Mission, and it’s pretty darn cool. I wanted to savor it a while all by myself.

Savoring inevitably includes dissection. GOAM is the message, and I show you how I implement it here.

But I received the message in the Catalyst Dream, God’s CD to Me. You have to understand the dream so that the dream can change your life, right?

This is what I learned:

SELF-REFLECTION IS NECESSARY

My son is about to move out with his girlfriend. My daughter is about to graduate from high school. I have elderly parents to take care of, etc. My life is in flux. I get it.

Self-reflection is expected and necessary before closing a chapter, but I’ve been so caught up with making sure my families’ needs are taken care of that I neglected my own. The dream provided time to pause, take a breath, process, and regroup.

SOMETIMES YOU’RE ON YOUR OWN

I’m a superstar at seeking help. I read a lot, research, and hoard all sorts of information.

• Tutorials? check
• Courses? check
• Phone a friend? check, check, check (one for each friend)

But even that can be excessive. At some point, you’ve got to take action all on your own with the tools you have at hand, or you’re never going to get anywhere. You might actually start slipping backward and that’s a no, no.

I also believe there were no friendly faces in the diner because my subconscious was telling me that I have to take care of my situation on my own. No more lifelines.

I’m no expert, but that’s my interpretation.

YOU’VE GOT TO MAKE A MOVE

And moving backward usually isn’t the way. Its OK to be overwhelmed but sooner or later you’ve got to make a decision and move forward.

If you make a mistake, so what. All you have to do is Modify on the Fly.

The dream’s threatening theme made it easy for me to make a decision, any decision! In real life, I ask myself too many questions, second-guessing all of them.

Ironically, I’m reminded to take my own advice in The 385 Guide to a Happy Life, Tip No. 8: Don’t Get Caught in Analysis Paralysis.

As a matter of fact, if you fall prey to Analysis Paralysis, or if you’re simply stuck in a rut have no dreams to help you out, please download our free handbook, “11 Solid Techniques to Get Out of a Rut and Find Purpose Again“. There you’ll find 22 pages chock-full of motivating ideas and concrete steps to get you Unstuck today!

DECISIONS, DECISIONS

Do I have a lot of decisions to make right now? Yes, that’s not surprising. The fact that I’m massively inundated with a deluge of decisions is surprising.

I thought I could handle it all, and I ultimately can. But I have to tackle each item in its own time. I’ve been trying to keep too many balls up in the air simultaneously. A self-destructive tactic.

The diner, with its thousand-item menu, is clearly indicative of too many choices to have to choose from. The fact that the diner was itself a choice of three is more proof of the inundation I’ve been feeling, whether I was consciously aware of it or not.

RUN TOWARD, NOT FROM

I have this tendency when I am overwhelmed or stressed to run away from it. Which is understandable up to a certain point.

The dream reminded me that I have to run toward my issues, handle them SINGULARLY, then move on to the next one. Breathing room in between, of course.

THE GRIZZLY GUY

Who was he? Was he God? The court of public opinion? Or was it a personification of all my hoarded self-help tools?

My money’s on a mix of all three. His stern demeanor was another clue to look within me. A subconscious, self-imposed moment of tough love.

THE TAKEAWAY

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No lie, the dream left me in awe. I was able to have the dream, decipher its meaning, and walk away with a whole new perspective on life within minutes. I hadn’t been able to do this consciously for months prior.

I then put the lessons learned into action which I talk about in my next post, How to Jump-Start Your Life with GOAM. That’s how a dream can change your life.

Again, I’m not an expert in dream interpretation, but there’s no need to deny my own interpretation.

The GOAM dream allowed me to place my dilemmas in a straight line. I had to walk that line from beginning to end, for it to reveal my foibles.

The dream was able to show me where I was going wrong and once the wool was pulled from my over eyes, the path was clear.

The GOAM dream helped me get out of my own way, perhaps it can help you too.

Have you ever had a dream that changed your life?
Are you interested in Dream Interpretation?
Please feel free to share your comments below.
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If you’re interested in learning more about dream interpretation, the following items will get you well on your way.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Be Well,