When I think what the word crossroads means, my first thought is about highways. Where I live, there are many ways to get to town, but unlike city driving, once I have passed a particular crossroads, the only way to fix it-- if I took the wrong road-- is turn around.
In the country, the wrong road not only takes me out of my way; but it if it was a dead-end, it won't get me anywhere. Some crossroads are obvious with well-marked, 4-way stop signs, but others go unmarked. It's easy to go right past those without ever knowing. Some crossroads become dangerous when they have two high speed roads intersecting with only one marked. On roads we have not previously traveled, signs are critical.
I am pretty sure the dream wasn't telling me all that about highways but instead wanted me to be aware of crossroads in my own life. For us personally crossroads can mean decisions lie ahead-- perhaps life changing ones. Does my single word mean such a change is approaching for me? Maybe or maybe it's just I'm going past too many crossroads personally without consciously considering my choices. Perhaps it was trying to make me more aware of the little ones like what I am eating, did I exercise, am I treating other people right? Am I really heading down the road I want to be? Or did I get started down one and haven't paid enough attention to the signs along the way?
The important thing with our crossroads is to make sure when we make a turn (or deliberately don't), we know what we did. If it was a mistake, we need to turn around-- unless we realize the error was serendipity and where we are now going was a better choice.
Looking for photographs of crossroads to illustrate for this was unsuccessful . Not only are most of the crossroads near me not picturesque but they also have narrow shoulders with no place to stop for picture taking which gave me an excuse to do a small llustration as part of painting my dreams. This one had the added challenge of no images that went with the dream.
So, I imagined a woman sitting on a bluff. She had beauty and love around her but she is staring at a crossroads in the distance. Is she trying to decide whether to take one of those roads? Does she wonder where they go? Or is she expecting someone to come driving back one of them?
So when you first wake up, is the last thing you get from the dream world sometimes a word?
10 comments:
Just remember any time you are at a cross roads. Hecate is there with you. She is a powerful and loving Goddess and always helps us see the road we should take..
Blessings
Autumn
I don't dream very often and don't remember ever having one about a crossroads. One thing that hit me is that we approach some crossroads by choice while some are forced upon us. I wonder if we have enough info or time to gather that info before having to make a choice, especially with that second type. Sometimes there is no turning around.
SOunds awfully prophetic to me! Do I stop and turn around? or should I keep going towards the unknown, hoping that eventually the road will become straighter and more defined?
Okay it's getting a little freaky how clearly you are articulating certain long-term themes of importance to me. The part about the woman on a bluff with a crossroads in the distance is really close to something I saw in a vision quest years ago.
At the time it left me feeling very lonely and a bit resentful because the woman always seemed to be alone and very hermit-like. Now I understand that it was more of a psychic space she/I inhabited.
Oh when I meditate on the cross road theme in a 'positive' rather than shadow-healing light I love to listen to Eric Clapton's "Let It Grow."
Here in New England we have many spooky odd-armed crossroads. Some I visit regulary.
Yes, I remember waking up to one word once last year. It was "Help" and I recognized the voice. I telephoned her and found out she was recovering from an auto accident that she suffered a few days before. She needed my help on a volunteer project that she directed and I used to help her. I failed to do this rescue. Another time I woke up to a scream from a relative in a far off country. She had neglected to get treatment for a potentially serious infection. I think I have heard calls for help other times as I just wake up but these were less dramatic and have been forgotten. These instances of hearing calls for help might have life changing implications but I did not do anything different as a result. I could spread myself too thin rescuing. This was a very good question "Rain".
I have long been interested in the hynopompic and hynogogic states in dreaming. If anyone is not familiar with thee terms, here's an interesting explanation: http://www.geocities.com/hairybobby2000/dreamhyp.html
When I teach the Progoff method of journal keeping, I alert people to these states as they are considered powerful in the spiritual world. People like you, Dick, say you don't dream often--but you do. You just don't recall. Then I ask people to try to catch the tail of a dream upon awaking--which could be a word.
Love all the crossroads talks. For the past 3 days here in Washington I have gotten majorly lost in the rental car--frustrating, and then I smile and remind myself of the metaphors of being lost on a journey--or being at a crossroads. Thanks for corrobating this, Rain. Love your sketch!
I love the metaphor kind of implicit in this....Of course it could be a "real" actual Roads- Crossroads, but I think you are so right that it is you trying to tell YOU, something about your own life.
I hope all will be revealed for you very soon!
Oh yes...I fogot to say that you are correct about Wendy...she is a blog friend and came from New Zealand for The Emmy's....and this is the first Blog Friend I'me met "in person". It is exciting!
thank you all for your comments. I read them, think about them and as always they add as much to the subject as what I have written.
Hello Rain . . . Just a thought. I see that you are into dream work. I am no expert by any means, but I do know that there is a website called Lucid Crossroads which focuses on the subject of shared dreams and lucid dreaming. Check it out if you get a chance :)
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