A New Path -- A Dream Quest Experience *

Andrea Berger, Atlantic University

I embarked on this dream quest full of anticipation and excitement.  Throughout my life dreams have been instrumental in providing me with guidance and helping me solve problems.  Often, while in College, I would go to bed with an unresolved Computer Science or Math assignment and wake up the next morning having dreamed the solution.  Once, we lost our cat and my dream clearly revealed his whereabouts and we were able to find him.  To put the dream quest in perspective, here is a bit of background about myself:  my life is blessed -- from a personal as well as professional point of view.  My family is healthy, my marriage is strong, both my husband and I have good jobs, and our kids are coping well with the teenage years.  I am also taking the time to focus on my spiritual path, which is very important to me, as my mission in life is to be of service to others and help raise consciousness.  Having attended several meditation and healing workshops over the last few years, I feel that I'm making good progress on my spiritual path.  In addition to my full time job as an IT manager at large consumer goods company, last December I opened a non-profit organization called "Association for Consciousness Evolution".  Recently, I also became an accredited Outreach facilitator for the Monroe Institute (TMI) in Virginia, authorized to conduct TMI-accredited meditation workshops.  My graduate studies at Atlantic University are progressing slowly, yet I am pleased to have passed the required written examination last year.  Given that I'm involved in so many activities, I sometimes feel stretched too thin, though I'm trying to pace myself and move forward on all fronts.  I eat healthy (I'm a vegetarian) and try to stay in shape doing aerobics and walking in the park.  I feel I'm in touch with my guidance, who reassures me that I'm on the right track.

Week One:  Focusing on the Quest

I have several interesting dreams during the first week.  Here's one:  I am in a recently constructed building that looks like an Inn with empty rooms.  I make suggestions to the workers on where to place the furniture. A lady is there lying on a mat and I do some energy healing on her.  Her energy is very heavy.   I go outside and see a work colleague walking near the lawn, which is on fire.  I see some rabbits running to safety.  I tell people around me to evacuate, but few seem to pay attention to me or the fire.  

I title this dream "Fires of Change" and in my journal I write "My life is changing as I embark on my new endeavors as a TMI Outreach facilitator and energy healer.  The empty building/rooms symbolize a new beginning, connected to my spiritual/healing activities (as portrayed by the lady that I heal in the dream).  I interpret the fire as 'change' (in my work activities), as well as 'danger'.  The fact that people don't pay attention to me seems to reveal my concern that I may not be taken seriously as a spiritual leader/healer."   

In another dream I find myself driving on a highway, talking to somebody on the phone.  The traffic ahead of me stops abruptly and I have to veer off the highway onto the shoulder to avoid crashing into the car ahead.  This dream symbolizes my concern about my ability to "multi-task"--will I be able to perform well in my regular day-job and also succeed as a spiritual leader/healer?

To top it off, my tai chi instructor tells me that I'm involved in too many activities to be of "real" service to anybody and that, unless I dedicate myself full time to spiritual activities, my intention to be a TMI Outreach facilitator on a part-time basis is just an "altruistic hobby".  I feel hurt by his remarks, as he amplifies my own concerns.

I decide to have a conversation with my all-knowing Higher Self, who got me in this conundrum to begin with:  "You advised me to embark on all these spiritual activities, but now I feel uncertain."   He assures me that I'm on the right path:  "You are well trained in multi-tasking, it's not easy, but you can do it!  Keep your focus and composure.  You have many resources and tools at your disposal, keep listening to guidance.  If you get off track, dust yourself off and get back on track, just like in your car dream.  Do not let other people's words and actions bring your spirit down.  You know what you came here to do and how to do it.  Do not doubt yourself!"  

I decide to formulate my "quest" as follows: "How can I balance my family life, my career and my spiritual activities in a meaningful, rewarding and sustainable way? What can I do to ensure that my activities as spiritual leader will be successful?  Specifically, how can I jumpstart my TMI Outreach workshops?"

My initial "best guess" solution is to stay focused on all three aspects of my life and continue to make progress every day, it's the small steps that count.  Also, I'll be on the lookout for help and guidance (inner and outer).  I decide on a few concrete things to do to bring my TMI Outreach workshops to reality, using my network of resources, asking for help, staying positive.  My initial dream petition is "I'll act according to my 'best guess' solution.  If I still feel uncertain about my path, then dreams, please provide me with further guidance."

Week Two:  Troubleshooting Mistaken Notions

During the second week, I continue to have interesting dreams.  I feel that the "pep-talk" with my Higher Self has helped my confidence and my dreams also reflect it.  Here is one of my dreams:  I am in a room immersed in beautiful white light.  I'm considering to conduct my Hemi-Sync meditation workshops here.  In another room that looks like a church, a spiritual leader (I am this person, but also the "observer") is being interrogated by some officials.  They seem exasperated with him and tell him "You are either stupid, or very sly".  He replies "I am neither--I'm just telling the truth."

This dream tells me to stay truthful to my chosen path, regardless of what others are saying or wanting me to do.  I am pleased that I do not allow myself to be intimidated or insulted by others.  I equate the officials in my dream with my Tai Chi instructor.  His words are still stinging, but I am getting over it.  I also feel encouraged that I will find a good location to conduct my TMI meditation workshops--in my dream it was "a place of white light." 

Throughout the week, I stay focused on my Best Guess, which reminds me of Bob Monroe's "Morning Exercise" Hemi-Sync meditation/affirmation.  I listen to it every morning on my way to work, as it uplifts my spirits and sets the right "tone" to my daily activities:

"This day I am stronger

This day I have greater physical and mental energy

This day I remain calm and relaxed

This day I think more clearly

This day I understand more of what I perceive

This day I have only constructive emotions

This day I feel great

This day I live in service and help to others

This day I assume authority and accept responsibility for myself

This day I perform my intended purpose

This day I am more than my physical body

This day I remember better who I am."

Guided by my daily affirmation and dreams, I start putting my "best guess" into action.  I contact a lady I met at TMI and she agrees to host me in Boston to conduct a TMI Outreach program.  She is well organized and helps me with my marketing materials and advertising.  We set a date for the workshop in July and the preparations are going smoothly.  At work, things are also going well.  My manager gives me good feedback on a recently completed project and tells me about a new assignment that sounds exciting.  At home, things also continue to go well and our family navigates the daily activities smoothly.  I still feel tired at the end of the day and week, but I try to pace myself, and most importantly watch my attitude, staying positive, which has proven time after time as critical to my success. 

I continue to listen carefully to guidance, as reflected in this dream:  I am on a train with some others.  We are agents or spies, each with his/her own mission to fulfill.  I am waiting for instructions/guidance on what my next mission is.  This dream brings to light the fact that I'm leading a "double life", like a spy.  People at work are not aware of my spiritual/healing interests and activities--I am pretending to be the average corporate employee.  Later in the week, I have another dream, which reflects my mission to help others.  In this dream I am protecting a young boy who is walking down a path.  He suddenly slips and rolls downhill towards the street, just as a bus is approaching.  I quickly throw myself on top of him to stop him from rolling, holding on tight to the edge of the pathway.  I feel good to have been of service and the boy's parents are also very happy, though earlier in the dream they had turned down my offer to help because they didn't think their boy required any help, as they were walking next to him.  This dream again points to my concern about not being taken seriously at first by others, in my desire to help.  By engaging in a dialogue with "a troubled image" (in this case, the boy's parents), I find out that I have a tendency to want to do things by myself, not asking for or accepting others' help easily. 

I decide to keep my dream quest the same, but focus more on the second part:  "What can I do to ensure that my activities as spiritual leader will be successful?  Specifically, how can I jumpstart my TMI Outreach workshops?"   I also refine my Best Guess, to focus more on allowing others to help me reach my goal, freely sharing my goals with others and being more receptive in accepting help. 

Week Three:  Searching with New Eyes

I continue to connect with others and set a manifestation in motion for others to reach out to me. Lo and behold, I get an email from TMI putting me in contact with a lady in Romania who's a psychologist there and very interested in Hemi-Sync. She wants to attend my Hemi-Sync Excursion workshop there later this Summer (I had planned to conduct one there in August, as I have strong ties to Romania, having been born and raised there).  This lady also offers to help me advertise this workshop there and recruit participants.  I still feel anxious about my abilities to pull these workshops off, as reflected in this dream:  I'm leading a TMI Outreach Excursion workshop.  I have about 15 participants, but I have a hard time getting started -- I can't get the equipment set up properly, I don't have mats for people, everything is chaotic and people are not happy with me.  This is not the first time I have had such a dream.  Often when I have a big project/presentation I'm supposed to be leading for school or work, I have this type of dream where everything goes wrong.  Over time, I have found that in reality exactly the opposite happens, e.g. the project or presentation goes very well, receives high scores, etc.  So actually, although this dream was frustrating, in hind-sight I feel encouraged that the outcome of my TMI Excursion workshops will be successful.

I continue to follow my action plan and make a connection with the yoga instructor recommended to me by TMI.  She introduces me to the owner of "The Conscious Living Center" here in Cincinnati.  I make an appointment to meet the owner and two of her partners and have a very good visit with them, at the end of which they offer to host me in their center.  We set up two dates for my workshop later in the Fall.  Another lady referred to me by TMI contacts me to offer to distribute my fliers announcing my upcoming Excursion workshops to her business clients and later reports that to her surprise they all were very interested in Hemi-Sync and my workshop.  Things are progressing very nicely and I'm amazed at the amount of synchronicities happening almost daily and at all the help coming my way.  My concerns seem to diminish, as reflected in this dream:  I am at a beach wading through the water close to the shore.  Suddenly a big wave comes towards me and I duck underwater waiting for it to pass, but the water does not recede.  As I run out of air, I decide not to panic, but try to breathe underwater and to my great astonishment I notice that I can!  I feel very delighted about this newfound ability, and after a while I emerge from under water.  I look around and notice that everything is very beautiful.  This dream seems to indicate that I am able to adapt and make the best out of a difficult situation by going with the flow (yielding to the wave) and trying out my hidden talents and abilities, even though at first blush they don't seem to make sense, or go against the conventional wisdom (e.g. breathing underwater).  I revise my quest and petition as follows:  "My purpose is to be of service to others.  I fulfill my goal by listening to guidance, following my intuition, going with the flow, relaxing, trusting that all will be as it should, and allowing others to help me.  If this is not the right path, then dreams please provide me with better guidance."

Week Four:  Taking Stock

Things really come together this week.  I have a very satisfying dream:  I'm in a car that takes off at hyper-speed.  Feels exhilarating.  Later in the dream I'm giving a talk about Hemi-Sync to a group of people.  I introduce myself to the group, telling them how I got to Hemi-Sync and TMI, what the Outreach Excursion workshop is all about, etc.  After the speech I feel very good about my performance, as I thought my presentation was clear and engaging.  The TMI Outreach Director gives me positive feedback after the speech and acknowledges my hard work and dedication.   Looking back at the dream about being a spy from a couple of weeks ago, something comes into focus.  I realize that all these many years I have rarely talked about my spiritual/healing activities at work.  My company is pretty conservative and I do not want my career to be negatively impacted by my spiritual/healing activities, as I am convinced people would think that I have "weird New Age" hobbies.  I now realize that in order to be successful as a spiritual leader and accomplish my mission of being of service to others, I need to be able to talk freely about it.  So I decide to start with my best friend at work, who is a down-to-Earth Republican.  To my delight, not only is she very interested in Hemi-Sync, but she wants to try it out, as she hopes it might help her sleep better.  After a few days she informs me that her insomnia is miraculously gone and the Hemi-Sync CD I gave her enables her to sleep through the night, which she has not been able to do in years.  Armed with this success, I decide to tell more people about my activities, so at a Women's Leadership offsite meeting (attended by all women Directors and above), when we are asked to talk about our interests I open up and tell people about my activities.  Most of the women leaders in attendance are interested in Hemi-Sync and some even order CD's from me (for ADD, Parkinson, concentration/attention).  These two dreams (about the spy and the successful presentation) helped me "come out of the closet" and I felt comfortable talking about Hemi-Sync in front of these ladies.  I also tell them that I conduct 2-day Hemi-Sync workshops, focused on personal development and growth.  One lady from HR comes to me after the meeting and thanks me for coming "out of the closet".  It turns out she is a Lightworker as well, interested in similar spiritual/healing activities as I, wondering what she's doing in the corporate world.  We feel good to have found each other and I believe she will attend my next Hemi-Sync Excursion workshop. 

I feel I'm on the right track now, very confident about my future as a TMI Outreach facilitator and my mission to be of service to others, advancing consciousness.  This following dream captures the essence of my successful dream quest:  I am holding a large 2-ft egg close to me.  Other people are watching with excitement and anticipation.  The egg has life inside and it starts vibrating powerfully.   I can feel its vibration throughout my body and it's exhilarating.  Several cracks appear at the top of the egg and we're all watching with amazement and curiosity, waiting eagerly for the being inside to emerge to life.

I wake up from this dream full of joy and excitement, feeling my physical body vibrating.  I feel that this new being emerging from the shell is the "new me" (in the dream I'm the person helping with the birth, but also the person being birthed).  I'm coming out of my shell!  I feel so happy surrounded by friends, as they witness my transformation and awakening.

This dream quest has been a very fulfilling experience that once again proved to me that dreams are an important part of our guidance -- a valuable communication channel through which we can get in touch with our Higher Self.  Together with meditation and other contemplative activities, dreams can help us solve daily problems, relieve stress, and most importantly, assist us in our journey of spiritual transformation and awakening.

A New Path

I embark on a New Path as Spiritual Leader and Healer

To be of service to others is my goal, evolving consciousness

Amidst fires of change, I free myself of self-imposed limitations

          Going with the flow, like the fire, like the wave, revealing hidden talents

Trusting my guidance and intuition, the ancient wisdom of my dreams

I set my intention in motion, speaking out the Truth

The Universe responds, new and old friends emerge

Helping me give birth to the New Me.

A New Path (short version)

A New Path emerges out of the fires of change and the waves of awakening

I set my intention in motion, and the Universe manifests guidance and friends

Helping me give birth to a New Me.

*For more information about the Dream Quest Experience, click here!