Dream interpretation results: Barbara’s news, episode 48

Here’s an update from Barbara, my guest on podcast episode 48, The Dream Show.

Barbara is a painter. In the past, she had devoted herself full time to her art, but five years ago she had taken a job to bring in a secure income. She had chosen a relatively stress-free job so that she would be free, in her spare time, to pursue her passion – her painting. But the truth was, she hadn’t really done much painting in those five years.

When she came onto the show as a guest, Barbara had just put her home up for sale with the intention of buying a bigger home with space to paint. She thought it was space that had been limiting her painting.

These facts emerged during Barbara’s dream interpretation, but then, as we explored her dream, we identified what was really stopping her from painting.

Barbara had an unconscious belief that to be a painter meant to be poor and, worse, to feel unsupported. This had been her experience when she was painting full time. Feeling unsupported emotionally had been the toughest part. You can hear how this unconscious belief was discovered when you listen to the original podcast.

So no matter how rationally Barbara was approaching her dilemma – getting a stress-free job to cover income, and selling her small home so that she could buy something bigger with more space for painting – her unconscious mind was powerfully in control, ‘protecting’ her from painting to ‘save’ her from being poor and feeling unsupported.

Once Barbara could see this – and much more – in her dream, she could relate to it. She wanted to get back to painting again, but wanted to be rich (well, not poor!) and to feel supported and nourished emotionally. So we created a dream alchemy practice for Barbara to do, to reprogram that unconscious belief that was stopping her from really getting into her painting.

The universe – and alchemy – works in unexpected ways to produce the desired results!

This week (14 weeks after the podcast) Barbara reported:

“I’m now painting heaps. My earlier attempt to sell my place as a solution failed miserably, so the universe definitely did not want me to follow that path. Staying where I am means I don’t need to worry  too much about money or work, whereas getting another mortgage would have meant a heavier financial burden.  I’m in a position now where I may even be able to work part time (which I’ve always wished for) and have more time to paint.

I ended up getting rid of some of my furniture and moving stuff around my very small flat and have made a permanent spot to paint and that has worked well for me.  If you remember, in my dream I was moving furniture so that was the solution all along!”

So, Barbara’s first result is that she is now painting ‘heaps’ without being poor. To an outsider, this is the result of her house not selling, but we know differently, don’t we? Doing the alchemy created an inner change that reflected in an outer change. Also, if she had simply not been able to sell her house (but had not had her dream interpreted or done the alchemy), she would have felt stuck in her small home, unable to paint due to lack of space. After all, that was why she had set out to sell her house in the first place: to get more space to paint. The alchemy changed Barbara’s view of her home and she saw the painting space that had been there all along.

So that covers the ‘painting without being poor’ aspect of Barbara’s results.

How was the ‘painting while feeling emotionally supported’ aspect manifested?

You may remember, in episode 48, that Barbara was trying to move away from her mother in her dream. We discussed this and identified that Barbara needed to move away from a belief or attitude portrayed by her mother – Barbara’s inner mother voice, learned from her mum. Barbara continued, in her update this week:

“Also, in the dream you may remember that I was moving as far away from my mother as possible, and the whole real estate scenario really highlighted strongly our different values: she was very keen for me to find a nice renovated place whereas I simply wanted space to paint and to be closer to the city (and work) so as to make my life more convenient.

Now she is ‘advising but not telling me what to do’ – that I should renovate the kitchen etc in my current unit which was never the original intent – so as much as I love her, we are completely different in the way we approach life.  When the whole real estate thing was going pear-shaped my attitude was ‘it’s just not meant to be’, whereas her attitude was ‘don’t give up, things are never easy, you have to persist, life is hard ra ra ra’, whereas my attitude is ‘if doors don’t open you’re on the wrong path’.  I don’t think either of us are necessarily right or wrong, just very different.”

Maybe Barbara always knew that her attitudes were different from her mother’s, but until she had the dream interpreted and did the alchemy she was still unconsciously influenced by her mother’s attitudes. After the alchemy, Barbara gave herself the emotional support she needed, and made good, nurturing decisions for herself.

And that’s why she’s now painting “heaps”, enjoying her space, feeling financially and emotionally supported, and even considering going part time at work. Congratulations Barbara!

Listen to the original episode in which Barbara and I discuss her dream.

You might also enjoy