THE DEVIL IN ME

This dream has many layers so let’s start with our approach to making sense of it.  First, this is a recurring dream that began around the time the dreamer was six years old and continues today.  The dreamer tells us she is Catholic and loves God so we have a general idea of her spiritual belief system.  Her spiritual beliefs play an important role in this dream so we will be exploring belief systems, as we did in last week’s interpretation.

The components of the dream are similar, however, the objects change (sometimes a tree, birdhouse, trash or spray paint).  This reflects a slight variation in the dreamer’s thinking.  We are going to work with the symbols the dreamer gives us in the dream she submitted.  She also describes becoming lucid in some of her dreams as well as experiencing night terrors throughout her adult life.  This will be addressed in the following section.

Remember, this dream occurred when the dreamer was six.  The road symbolizes the dreamer’s direction in life.  At such a young age the direction of her life was dependent upon what she was being taught by the people around her.  Other people’s attitudes, beliefs and actions were influencing how she behaved and what she thought and felt.  This is true for all people.  How an individual responds to external stimuli depends on who the person is as a soul and their permanent understandings.  This is why children can grow up in the same family, have the “same” experience and have vastly different perspectives.  In this case, the dreamer knows that her religious beliefs are influencing her because she describes it as part of the dream.  More on this below.

The dream continues as she notices an object, in this case a can of spray paint.  The can is indicative of a thought or idea that captures her attention while she is awake.  She is discovering her mind through the choices she is making and the effects they cause in her waking life.  The dreamer is willful (makes conscious choices) and this shows in the action of the dream.  Moving the can in the dream indicates the use of will and imagination.  So, in her six-year-old world an idea has captured her attention, is stimulating her imagination and she is choosing to do something with it.  However, the imaging gets out of control and she reacts fearfully (I then become afraid and think that maybe it is the devil or something demonic in me.)  There is a realm of good and bad that the dreamer believes in and she is becoming aware that her choices, (I look at the object and think, “I bet I can make it move with my mind.“) have led her astray.  In other words she has made a wrong choice, from her perspective.  Following is an excerpt from The Dreamer’s Dictionary by Dr. Barbara Condron and gives thoughts to consider regarding a devil in a dream.

“What am I afraid of?  Do I feel like there are forces in my life beyond my control and understanding?  Identify what these are.  Dispel your fears of the unknown by bringing them into the light of your awareness.  Be willing to admit your intentions, changing those which are dishonorable and destructive to Self and others to those which are truthful and constructive to Self and others.”

Please note that all dreams are about the dreamer’s conscious mind perspective.  The dream itself is feedback from the dreamer’s inner, subconscious self to the outer waking mind.  From a soul point of view there is no wrong or right, only learning.  In the physical world there are parameters that serve a purpose.   Spiritual beliefs show what will lead to soul awareness and spiritual development as well as the kind of thinking and choice that prolongs entrapment.

The most revealing action of the dream is at the end when the dreamer is unable to control the can and it sprays her in the face.  A face in a dream symbolizes how the dreamer identifies herself.  If this were to happen in waking life it would be uncomfortable at least, certainly disorienting and even potentially harmful.  These are the kinds of effects that the dreamer has set into motion, of her own accord.  She is the one who initiated the thought that the can move in the first place.  The dreamer has done this to herself.  Thought is cause is a Truth that exists regardless of age, race or religion.

To sum up the meaning of this dream, we would say the dreamer was captivated by a certain idea that she accepted and then fueled with her imagination.  When her imaginings got the best of her she reacted by thinking that something was wrong with her and this affected her identity.  In other words, her beliefs have distorted her perception of her true identity, her real Self.  This has continued throughout her life.  The key to freedom comes in opening her mind to the benefit of religious and spiritual beliefs because their sole purpose is pave the way to knowing the whole Self.