You can interpret your own dreams

A woman agonizing over her career consulted me about her dream. She recently lost her job and was trying to change occupation to lead a stable mid-life. However it was frustrating as she kept failing to find appropriate employment. Under pressure to earn a living, she studied further to attain various licenses and met many people while also considering establishing her own business but having little capital. All of her efforts were in vain.

In her dream, her late grandmother appeared. She didn’t say anything but was wearing fine clothes and had a dignified posture. Next, she was invited to a party thrown by a wealthy family. She thought that she was the only one invited but on arrival, she saw many people there. She decided not to eat anything and left. At the front entrance, there were lots of shoes. She barely found hers.

She added that she saw the family name Heo on the doorplate.

First I asked if there was anyone named Heo who she had met concerning either reemployment or business. She answered in surprise that a woman named Heo persistently proposed they start a business together. Heo owned a big building on a main street, where she visited once and found prosperous.

From that moment, it was not necessary for me to interpret her dream any longer. The woman told me that she could understand it. Although she found Heo to be a rich lady managing a successful business, she was not inclined to accept her proposal because she realized Heo earned money in both good and bad ways. Her instincts told her it was not right.

Her late grandmother symbolizes an image of nobility that she would like to conform to unconsciously. Though she was eking out a living, she didn’t want to live a shameful life. She used to have a close relationship with her late grandmother in her childhood and the woman inherited her lifestyle and customs. I said that her grandmother was a spiritual anchor for her life and she has to pay special attention whenever her grandmother appears in her dreams. Her visit is meant to deliver an important message.

After that, she had another dream, which was about splendid nature. She saw beautiful scenery with a grand mountain range under a vivid blue sky. She interpreted it by herself as a relief of her anxiety. Soon after the dream, she was hired at a reliable company.

Dream interpretation does not require a great deal of education necessary for other Oriental teachings. The latter, especially saju, demands philosophical understanding about yin, yang and the five elements as their basis. And it is considered that people should study further about the logical and rational facts of the universe.

In the meantime, in order to understand what your dreams try to tell you, you should rather concentrate on yourself. To begin with, you may need to consult someone else to ponder what you saw in your dream. However, it is ultimately you who can ask and answer all those questions.

Deficiency, obstacles and death may be a great source of the ability to appreciate more about your destiny. You can think about the blind, for example, how sensitively they feel using their fingers. Many of them become masseurs to heal people. A blind painter even differentiates color by touch. It is not surprising that those with a hearing-impairment can read lips.

To cite a different example, pet dogs can read their owners’ mind. Sometimes, people don’t have to command, complain, or scold to make a pet dog understand. The way they recognize the atmosphere sensuously is far superior to that of humans.

How is it possible to have all these capabilities? It is because either people can’t see, hear or speak. All humans have this ability but we can’t always maximize it. It might be our language, intelligence or education that blurs our capability.

It is scientism that has governed our history and society so far. Ironically, it has contributed to the development of human civilization but at some point it has deterred our spirit and inspiration. In Buddhism, it teaches us not to think and not to discern if we wish to be aware of our full consciousness.

The writer is the president of the Heavenly Garden, a saju research center in Korea, and the author of “Learning Four Pillars.” For further information, visit Janet’s website at www.fourpillarskorea.com or contact her at 010-5414-7461 or email janetshin@hotmail.com. <The Korea Times/Janet Shin>