A Dream That Keeps Resurfacing for Days

A young woman recently asked me to interpret her dream. It was the kind of dream that keeps resurfacing in the mind throughout the day, breaking into a seemingly unrelated stream of consciousness unexpectedly and forcefully.  You know those sorts of dreams that leave you sitting and staring into space with your mouth hanging open, yet if you try to explain it to someone they might offer a lukewarm, polite, “Oh?  That’s interesting.”

This one had stayed with her for several days and it’s been with me for more than a week.  Like a beautiful and complex flower, it reveals a little more of its subtle intricacy with each pass through consciousness,

“I was in my bedroom, not my present bedroom but the bedroom I had as a child growing up. I was lying on the bed looking at the closed door when suddenly it opened and a woman walked into the room. She was beautiful. Dressed all in white, featuring a white, fitted coat, she stood just inside the door looking at me. She was an older woman, but she was beautiful and I was excited and happy to see her. I wanted to embrace her but halfway across the room, seeing the look on her face, I stopped in my tracks. She was regarding me sternly, almost disapproving, disappointed, and reserved. She made no move towards me nor did she move her arms in a welcoming embrace. I felt chagrined, humbled and sad.”

My client wanted to explore who this Woman in White was and what message she brought. The message felt dire, ominous, and forbidding.  She felt unable to let it simply go.

Rare Spirit Guide Visit

My immediate, unfiltered and intuitive reaction was that this Woman in White represented my client’s spirit guide. Before I go any further, I just want to say that I don’t think this often.  I’m not one of those new age crazies who sees spirit guides everywhere.  I don’t even know really what a spirit guide is to be honest.  I believe in their existence but I tend to err on the side of caution when discussing them.  They are so personal, perhaps even more personal than notions of divinity so really how could I know anything about your spirit guide? Certainly it’s very rare indeed that I would have such an immediate and absolute belief that a spirit guide had actually appeared to someone in a dream.

Spirit Guide Came to Tell Client She was Being Harsh

So why this time? The first clue was my client’s deep emotional response to this woman; her feelings of attachment, attraction and love towards this dream character that was a complete stranger to her in her waking life.  The symbolism in the dream itself was also rather splashy. A beautiful and mature woman dressed in white represents a paradox:  white as a symbol of purity, honesty and all potential in combination with maturity, experience and wisdom. The fact that my client was in her childhood bedroom was a further clue; the Woman in White was demonstrating an intimate familiarity with my client, hinting, “I have been with you and have visited you in your most private moments ever since you were a child.”

My client’s feelings of humility and sadness over having disappointed this woman was a big clue to the message she brings.  Going through a difficult time, she was being harsh with herself. Indeed this sensitive young woman was being stern, judgmental, and harshly self-critical. Her spirit guide was pointing out to her that she should feel towards herself the same way that she was feeling towards the Woman in White who had come to her in the dream.  She was being so stern towards herself that her guide couldn’t get close enough to her to comfort and embrace her.

Legendary Connections to White Woman

Having worked through my client’s own personal connection to this Woman in White, I still felt there was more to be revealed.  A feeling that something extraordinary, indeed cosmic, had taken place in this dream led me to delve deeper into collective associations to the Woman in White.  I was excited to learn that there are many legendary, religio-cultural connections to her. There is a Woman in White in Lakota Culture which led to the development of several powerful rituals still practiced today such as the passing of the pipe.  Smoke sharing among the Lakota represents an exchange of energy between the world of humanity and the cosmic spirit.

In Lourdes, France, many visions of the Woman in White have been reported beginning with a young woman in 1858.  Since then many have seen this vision of the Woman in White and although initially skeptical, the Catholic Church now believes these visions to be of the Virgin Mary.  Millions flock to Lourdes every year seeking the healing power of this sacred place.

When we have a dream that just won’t leave us alone, it can help to do this type of research.  It validated for me that my immediate response to this woman’s big dream was bang on and by researching other visions of the Woman in White collectively I was able to unpack her message more fully.

Dreamwork Leads to Sacred Journey

So many ask me about their spirit guides.  Who they are, if they ever walked the earth and when, and of course what direction would they wish them to take to fulfill their life purpose.  Dreams can be the perfect resource for this information particularly those big dreams that capture our waking imagination and consciousness.  Having an interaction with a dream character that you feel a tremendous yet mysterious love for demands your attention.  Don’t let this opportunity pass you by.  It could lead you in directions to places you really want to be.  Shortly after having worked through this dream, this woman booked a passage to Egypt to participate in a special, sacred-site at a sacred-time tour.  Who knows what further explorations will emerge?

To learn more about how to interpret YOUR dreams go to Kathleen’s Dreams Dictionary Online.