Elias Howe and the sewing machine
In 1846, Elias Howe had a problem. He was trying to design a sewing machine to handle mass manufacture. But he was stuck. These were – of course – the days when all sewing was done by hand using a sewing needle: sharp pointy bit at one end, hole for the thread at the other. Howe tried to incorporate the sewing needle into his design, but it wasn’t really working. Then he had a dream.
The answer is blowing in the wind
It’s a common dream. You’re trying to walk but you’re held back by a strong wind. Or by air that feels as thick and sticky as honey. Or perhaps your legs are too heavy to lift, or the surface you’re walking on has turned to glue. Your first quest, when interpreting a dream, is to relate the feeling in the dream to a situation in your life. Where are you feeling held back? What seems
Spoken clues
What is the difference between a thief and a robber? A client dreamed there was an intruder in his house. He couldn’t see him, but he could sense him. “What can you sense about him?” I asked. He closed his eyes, searched for the feeling. “He’s a robber.” At the time, the word ‘robber’ struck me as odd. I was in dream therapist mode, unable to look up the difference between a robber and a
Big fish
“I don’t remember my dreams,” Bella said, “except a snippet last night about some fish being too big for a fish tank.” “Well, that’s a start,” I said. “Those few words alone raise some interesting questions, like what are you trying to squeeze into your life and why doesn’t it fit comfortably? And where do you need more space to be fully alive?” Bella (not her real name), a journalist, was interviewing me for a
A sense of balance
An eternity ago, when I was in my late teens, I had a recurring dream where I struggled to walk through the university campus. It wasn’t one of those glue feet dreams, the ones where your feet are heavy or stuck to the road, or you feel like you’re walking through treacle. I had that recurring dream too. The reason walking was such a struggle in my late-teens dream was because I wore a flat
A colourful message
Interpreting a dream provides powerful personal insight. But it’s doing the dream alchemy that creates the deep internal shifts that can make all the difference to your life. Kat, my guest on episode 277, The Dream Show, recently emailed me to share her experience of doing the dream alchemy on the dream we explored on the podcast. She was also keen to share this with our listeners and readers. (Watch out for Kat’s full story
Door dreams
Gaynor phoned a radio show I was on last week to ask why she dreams about doors that don’t quite fit into their frames. She might close a door but notice there are gaps between the door and the doorjamb, or the door can’t be securely closed. She can’t walk away, in her dreams. It worries her that the doors don’t fit snugly and securely. There’s only a couple of minutes or so to chat
Time out
Last month we spent a couple of weeks in Cambodia, visiting my son and his wife, exploring ancient temples, boating through floating villages, immersing in the local culture, and not doing any work at all. No dream consultations, no writing, no media interviews, no podcasting. Much as I love my work – at heart I am a passionate creative focussed on providing meaningful service through my endeavours – I know the value of rest, recovery,
Animals in Dreams
Putting cats, dogs, horses, neighbourhood birds, and other everyday animals to one side, which of the wilder or more exotic animals have appeared in your dreams? Over many years my dream menagerie has included jaguars, tigers, lion, snakes, various mysterious birds, whales, dolphins, colourful tropical fish, oh, and a tortoise. I’m sure that many of these – and their innumerable cousins – have prowled, slithered, flown, swam, and made their presences known in many of
When you can’t see the forest for the trees
Sometimes we get so bogged down in the small details of a problem that we miss seeing the whole situation. We can’t see the forest for the trees. Or, if you’re British, like me, we can’t see the wood for the trees. Either way, we’re too close to the situation (too close to the trees and all their details) to stand back and see the reality of the big picture. It’s a metaphor fit for