DREAM YOUR LIFE TO WELLNESS IN 6 EASY STEPS

“A dream which is not interpreted is like a letter which is not read.”  ~The Talmud

There is almost always a point in the process of illness where logic, reason, and medical expertise fails. It’s at this point a patient slips through the cracks, sometimes never to  recover.


I survived breast cancer twice that was missed by the medical community and the conventional scientific tests on which they relied. I survived by using something many in the medical field do not even acknowledge as being real—my innate intuition and prophetic dreams.   Listen to them. One day they may save your life, too.


Twice my female intuition and dreams encouraged me to self-advocate a course of cancer testing, treatment and healing, often against hospital policy and the vehement advice of my doctors. That is as lucky as winning the lottery two times in a row. Luck had little to do with it. Devine intervention did. I always worked with my doctors, but never forgot to self-advocate and make the final decisions.

Dream therapy was part of my Integrative Medicine which combined modern scientific treatments like surgery, chemotherapy and radiation with complementary therapies such as dream, meditation and REIKI.  We are far more than id, ego and super ego. We are spirit beings inhabiting a physical body that is experiencing life.  Dreams are doorways. When we are in crisis, those doorways between realms become very active.

 Connecting to and treating spirit through dreams can transform the physical, emotional, and spiritual lives of people living with chronic or life-threatening illness. Dreams used in concert with medical treatment and meditation can alleviate stress; reduce pain, anxiety, and other physical and emotional symptoms; and enhance quality of life. Learn to use your inner power in dreams to heal yourself and your doctors, especially during current times of change in the medical industry.

 Most dreams fall into seven categories that can overlap- Daydreams- you are awake but not focused on a task, Epic-a soap opera or entertaining storybook you pick up and continue nightly while asleep, Lucid-you know you are dreaming and  can control the outcome, Nightmares-who can forget that information! Recurring-because you didn’t “get it” the first time or solve the problem, Healing-emotional or physical information, Prophetic-comes true and can be validated by scientific tests or life events.

 Dream worlds are unique to the dreamer. What frightens one dreamer may enlighten another. A large snake in a dream may scare someone with a fear of snakes but to another it may be the Kundalini- the ultimate rising spiritual wisdom. Therefore, dream dictionaries based on universal archetypes are helpful, but limiting. As dreamers becomes more in tune with their inner-guidance, they will learn their own dream language.


If remembering or understanding  dreams is difficult, these six easy steps will help you develop dream memory and comprehend your unique dream language.

1.) Verbally voice an intention to remember dreams before you sleep. This will train you not to forget and subconsciously open the pathways to your guides and “physician-within.”

2.) Keep a notebook and pencil beside your bed.  Early morning dreams are easier to recall .When you awaken, write anything you remember. If you still have trouble, lie down in the same position you were in when you awoke and try to think back to the dream.

3.) If a dream is still allusive, describe your feelings when you first awoke—happy, sad, frightened or content and write down colors that pop into your memory. Over time, dreams will become longer as you begin to interface with yourself and your guides.

4.) If you are thinking about a deceased family member when you awaken, write their name and description. Chances are good that you saw them. They can give guided information and transform your dream or nightmare into prophetic or healing information. Family members are often given permission to return from the other side to guide us during times of crisis. We don’t just dream about them. We interact with them. They may appear younger or unrecognizable but will say or do something to identify themselves. That is validation. Sometimes validation is not immediate. It may come later from an event that jogs the memory.

    

5.) Give your dream a title, even if it is The Dream I Can’t Remember and categorize it. When some part returns during the day, jot it down on a piece of paper and add it to your dream journal. If you “didn’t get it” right you’ll probably have the dream again—a recurring dream.

6.) Trust but validate. You don’t need to watch or search for validation. If you had a prophetic dream, validation will present itself, possibly in the form of synchronicity; a meaningful coincidence of multiple similar events that are unrelated.

 My validation came in the form of surgery. After multiple mammograms, blood tests, and physical exams over a three month period, I should have been diagnosed with cancer, but wasn’t.  My lump was invisible to the medical community with whom I consulted.  However, my persistent self-advocating after recurring prophetic dreams told me I had cancer and to return to my doctor.  Exploratory surgery found a spot that couldn’t be felt and tests didn’t show existed.   The result was a diagnosis that shocked the medical community and changed my life, forever.

One of my most pressing challenges throughout this ordeal was deciding whom to trust—my doctors and their healthy scientific results, or my dreams and their dire messages. I decided to listen to both! I requested specific medical procedures and cross-checked them against my “guided information.” 

I remember the exact moment I received my validation.  “Pathology didn’t like what they saw when they cut open the tumor,” my surgeon said after closing the privacy curtain behind him.

“So, is it cancer?” I asked, holding onto the hospital gurney to brace myself for the answer I already suspected and feared.

“Yes, I’m sorry. It’s stage two. I’ll be referring you to a specialist, now.”

So my dreams had been right. The doctors and tests were wrong.  With my surgeon’s words, the first shot of my ensuing battle had been fired, and it was not a warning across my bow, it was point-blank into my breast. I glanced down at my painful wound and wept.
 
Thus began my Alice in Wonderland’s decent down the dark rabbit hole of breast cancer. The good news is I survived because I self advocated and believed in my dreams. They proved that we are never alone in our hour of need. Five years later, my dreams saved my life a second time when my stage-four cancer was missed by conventional tests.


 Upon hearing my diagnosis of cancer, I felt devastated, confused and alone. My diagnosis of recurrence was worse because I knew what I would go through, again. Not only was my life threatened, but also my quality of life. This disease leaves no belief system or relationship unchallenged while turning your world upside down and shaking it to its very foundations. My dreams were my saving-grace. They were a direct line to my Higher Power.


 Don’t tell your Higher Power how big your troubles are—tell your troubles how big your Higher power is and believe in the power of dreams—the celestial phone line.  


Throughout both of my treatments, prophetic and guided dreams urged me to be an active participant in my therapy. We seldom get anywhere by standing on the sidelines of the game of Life and Death with crossed fingers waiting for someone else to take action and make the right decisions for us. Life is not a spectator sport.  We are responsible for ourselves. I rolled up my sleeves and jumped back into the game. 


 My physicians and I worked as a team and taught each other important lessons. I learned that dreams do come true and that there is more than one way to skin a cancer.  My doctors learned to respect and listen to their patients.

In my dreams I met my doctor-within named Dr. Jules and my spirit guides who were dressed in brown hooded robes and leather sandals. They taught me that we all have spirit guides/guardian angels. We are their job. And, they take their job seriously.


 Meeting your doctor-within is a wonderful step to dreaming yourself to wellness.

About the author- Kathleen O’Keefe-Kanavos  is a two- time breast cancer survivor who penned SURVIVING CANCERLAND.  www.survivingcancerland  and is represented by Devra Jacobs DancingWord  Literary Agency & Steve Allen Media. Kathleen is a phone counselor for the R.A. BLOCH Cancer Foundation.