KAJAMA.COM NEWSLETTER

December 26, 2022, through January 1, 2023

With the exception of Mercury turning retrograde on Thursday, this week should unfold in easy and flowing ways. Monday's Aquarius Moon could cause some electronic or communication glitches as it joins forces with Mercury, but keep in mind this is designed to get our attention and alert us to where change might be needed. (For example, if you got a new iPhone for Christmas and it's not working right, might be time to take it back to the store for an exchange!) In fact, if you do have any gifts you are looking to exchange, this is the week to take care of that as Mercury prepares to go backward, ideally Thursday or Friday under the Aries Moon. New Year's Eve and the first day of 2023 unfold under a Taurus Moon, offering us a grounded and loving position from which to kick off the start of a new year. New Year Resolutions will be a snap under this determined sign, as we prepare to greet 2023 with better health, more financial security, and tangible progress towards our new dreams. Happy New Year to everyone!

The 5 Most Common Recurring Dreams, by Michael Lennox

(Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal.)

When I ask people about their dreams, many times they will recount experiences of crazy landscapes where anything can happen (and probably will). But more often than not, what I hear about is the regularly recurring, repetitive dream that has haunted the dreamer their entire life; I hear over and over again from people that they "always dream of ______" (fill in the blank). It is not that these people have no dream imagination; it is much more about the effectiveness of the dream process as a tool for helping the mind achieve balance.

As an example, say you are someone who has a recurring dream of driving a car up a hill. The hill is steep. You keep going, only to get to the point where finally you are at such an incline your car can no longer move forward; you begin to slide backward, out of control. The feeling is terrifying as you completely lose control while the car careens backward, and you are left panicked and useless as you plummet to what is certain death. And then, of course, you wake up.

You dream this dream frequently, perhaps monthly, and have done so for years. This is simply a function of your mind's dynamic response to this particular image: it is perfectly suited to accurately express the various stresses of your individual life. It hardly matters what it is in your waking life that inspires the dream. An argument with a friend or a large credit card bill that you are worried about paying on time could both illicit the very same dream. Both waking-life circumstances are clearly very different in nature, but the dream that helps your restore your psychic balance is the same.

Recurring dreams are not necessarily the most common dreams that people have, but they are the ones that are most readily remembered and frequently talked about when I do workshops. I assume that this is because of the fact that they recur, keeping them in the forefront of the mind of dreamers. And this is, of course, what the underlying purpose of a recurring dream actually is. If a dream comes again and again, it is attempting to do something very specific: it is trying to get your attention.

Stress is a constant companion to us in the Western world. We are born into it, and for most of us, it is a way of approaching life that has become a macabre sort of paradox as an actual tool for getting through life. Presented with obligations and obstacles, we have grown to believe that the ensuing stress itself is what helps us to effectively meet those obligations and overcome those obstacles. This is, of course, a magnificent lie that is not only tragic in its utter fallacy; it is a misconception that is fatal. Stress kills.

There are all kinds of beneficial and scientifically proven stress combatants, from exercise, meditation, medication, yoga, breath work; the list goes on and on. However, there is one prominent, organic tool for reducing stress that is built into the human mechanism, one that is—without a doubt—the most effective one there is: dreaming.

The stress an individual experiences throughout their lives changes. The stressful areas of life that are causing anxiety will change as you age and move through various circumstances and stages of life. What will not always be different, however, is the way in which the unconscious mind will use dreams to regulate that stress and reduce it to non-lethal levels, allowing you to wake up each morning and do it all over again.

Because the human mind is economical, it will often turn to a recognizable image that has worked in the past to convey certain emotional states. We experience this in the form of a recurring dream. These are those pervasive dreams that trouble us from time to time, such as being chased, falling, or being naked in public, to name a few common ones. These are not usually filled with elaborate plots and characterizations, but are rather simplistic with a familiar theme.

Here are the five most common, stress-related, recurring dreams:

1. 1. Being Chased: A person who regularly dreams of being chased will likely not have much detail beyond the act of running from the enemy, who is often unknown to them. Then unknown enemies are remembered as frightening and usually leave the dreamer with residual anxiety. This common dream serves an important purpose when our waking life presents us with scary life experiences. A person under excessive stress might experience this dream image in order to process the unconscious fears that come up as the result of chaos in their lives. Their ability to survive the danger or panic present in the dream may actually be helping them navigate their daytime obstacles. It is in living out the raw blast of unbridled fear in their dreams that allows them to wake up feeling a sense of balance that without the dream would leave them emotionally ragged.

1. 1. Falling: Falling is actually the only fear with which we are naturally born. Everything else we come to fear are notions we add to the mix, but gravity is a very real thing that we must contend with; disrespect its laws and it can be fatal. We spend our entire lifetime controlling our environments in an attempt to protect ourselves from the dangers of gravity. Extend that out a bit and you can see that we also attempt to control all sorts of things in anticipation of perceived dangers, some that exist and most that are imagined. Falling in a dream is to feel out of control. You never know when or where you're going to land, and it's not the fall that kills you, it's the sudden stop. This dream will come when you are feeling that you have no control over some circumstance in your life.

1. 1. Back To School: The dream of returning unprepared to a high school setting also falls into the category of helping with daily stress and chaos. It will often recur when one is not feeling ready or prepared for whatever life is presenting. At a moment where the ability to perform is under scrutiny, a person might dream of being back in high school and unprepared for a test. Any dream that points out this sort of vulnerability is helping to balance out underlying feelings of inadequacy, insecurity, or overwhelming responsibility. Since it was in high school that we were first faced with accountability, the same need to prove ourselves in adult life may spark such a dream.

1. 1. Apocalypse: The world coming to an end seems like an awful thing. However, behind this frightening and destructive scenario there is a built-in redemptive quality just beyond the devastation: there will be a new world that emerges in the future. All change includes some element of the death-rebirth cycle; something must be sacrificed in order for something new to emerge. In this way, any image that involves this principle is actually a positive expression about change being at hand. An apocalypse implies that the entire world is coming to an end and is a symbolic expression of so much change all at once, it feels as if everything you know is shifting and transforming. Change is scary.

1. 1. Tsunami: Water connects to our emotional nature and the unconscious mind, whereas land represents the conscious. A tsunami is an enormous wave that is completely unavoidable, and that surges up from the depths and destroys everything in its path. Emotions can act in the same way, rising up from the unconscious parts of ourselves of which we are not typically aware. They overwhelm us. Many people engage in complex inner avoidance mechanisms that will, eventually, cease to work. It is this fear of being overwhelmed by emotional content that is being expressed in a dream of a pending tsunami.

1. Bonus: Teeth And just for good measure, I'm going to throw in one of my favorite, though less ubiquitous, recurring dream images: the one where your teeth crumble, disintegrate, or simply fall out of your mouth. Your teeth accomplish several things. Firstly, they aid in digestion by preparing the nutrition in your food to be absorbed by your body. In this way, they relate to self-care and nurturing. Secondly, when you reveal them in a smile, you draw people to you. In this way, they are related to attracting love. Conversely, if you reveal your teeth in a snarl, you can protect yourself through aggression. Nurturance, love, and protection: without these things, life would feel pretty unsafe—and you would naturally feel quite insecure. This is a dream sparked by moments of insecurity and is usually helping you navigate through a moment when life is causing you to doubt yourself.

So the next time you have any one of these dreams, ask yourself where in your life might you be experiencing the stress that may have caused it. Your dreams are trying to tell you something; the more you pay attention, the more they can reveal. The most important thing to remember is that as disturbing as these dreams can be, they are happening for your benefit. You do, after all, survive the terrifying onslaught to wake up and do it all over again.

Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal. Copyright Llewellyn Worldwide, 2015. All rights reserved.

Is there any basis for the idea that spiritual change and renewal occurs every seven years? Are there any other timely cycles that govern our journeys through life? Please advise. Thank you!

Jeanne

Susyn:

According to science, the human body renews itself every seven years. This timeframe can also be applied to spiritual renewal.

There are many different cycles that govern our journeys through life, and one of the easiest ways to recognize them is by studying astrology.

To begin, letís consider the cycles that are most apparent. The months of the year, the four seasons, and birthdays can all be seen as times of change that are dictated and defined by the planets in our solar system.

When you note the physical changes that occur during these phases, you can also see how they affect you emotionally and spiritually. For example, the monthly cycles of the new and full Moons are known to have a big effect on us. The new Moon addresses beginnings, fresh starts and renewal, while the full Moon activates a cycle of release and closure. Because the Moon rules emotions, its cycles govern emotional changes.

The Sun marks the seasons of a year based on its position. We tend to live very differently in the winter than we do in the spring time, and similar changes can be seen throughout the different seasons.

Venus and Mercury create change in one-year cycles that are directly related to our passions and ideals. Awareness of what these planets are up to can help us recognize the change and renewal they create. For example, Mercury travels backwards three times a year, and during these phases, we are primed to review and change various aspects of our lives.

Depending on a particular planetís nature, when it travels through a sign connected with spiritual matters, spiritual renewal occurs. If the planet is moving through a personal development sign of the Zodiac, weíll be focused on self-care and personal growth.

The cycles of Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto also affect on our lives in various times and ways. While Mars (movement) and Jupiter (expansion and education) create change and renewal in two-year cycles, the outer planets involve larger timeframes. Saturn brings renewal every eight years, while Uranus, Neptune and Pluto cycles can vary from 12 to 24 years based on their orbits.

Astrological readings are one way to keep track of which area of your life is in transformation and renewal. You can also get daily updates on what cycles are in effect through my horoscopes here at Kajama.

*****

Astrea:

When I was growing up, science taught us that our skin, hair, nails, and other parts of the body that grow and have to be maintained are renewed every seven years. Whether that's true or not, it's probably not the same when it comes to our spiritual growth because some people learn faster than others, and some just never learn. Each Path to Enlightenment is as individual as the person who walks it.

In Nature, cycles tend to be more predictable. Summer follows spring, fall follows summer, winter follows fall, and then it's spring again. Within the natural Wheel of the Year, we all have our own separate cycles, which can be much less predictable as far as time periods are concerned. One person may renew their commitment to their spiritual growth every few years, while another may do it once every ten years. Some people never realize that they're growing at all, and some just fail to grow.

As Global Warming has reduced the time between our seasons and made them more extreme as time goes by, it seems that people on the path to Enlightenment find that cycles of change have sped up as well. Perhaps we don't have the luxury of as much time as we used to, so we are trying to gain more Spiritual Knowledge in less time than ever before.

I think most of us feel more pressure to get it than we did before because the Light workers are trying to figure out how to keep the Earth from dying. At this point, renewal in seven years sounds like a big chunk of time.

Our summers are hotter. Our winters are brutal. Spring and fall come and go faster. Light workers feel the need to come up with solutions in less and less time because time is running out on us and we know it.

Humans follow the Natural Order whether we plan to do it or not, so it's smart to think that we are evolving in tandem with the Universe. Soon the Crystal and Indigo Children will come into adulthood in great numbers and be able to solve some of these problems.

Of course, each of their paths is as different as those of the other humans on the planet, so each individual has to find his or her own way at his or her own pace.

All of this comes down to my advice for you, which is to honor your own schedule regarding your own growth, and avoid measuring your progress by any sort of standardized cycle.

Astrea:

Many times in life we hear, "You will always have what you NEED, but not necessarily what you WANT." Your spirit must have needed to experience the feeling of leaving your human body, and the suggestion in the next chapter of Sylvia Brown's book was all it took to get you there.

Even though you hadn't read it yet, your SOUL recognized the title of that chapter as something it had been seeking, and your soul, knowing that you had that reference to read after your experience, got with it and out you went!

While I don't usually recommend her books, Sylvia Brown has a wide reaching and powerful effect on lots of people. A Gemini like you would be able to relate easily to her writing and put it to good use. Synchronicity - you gotta love it!

I like your description of "getting caught." That's exactly what it feels like, isn't it? One minute you're free and hovering above the room, and the next minute, ZAP! back down into your corporeal form you go!

As a little kid, I loved that "feeling of return." With practice, most of the time we can control that event, but sometimes, when our physical ears hear a distracting noise or something else occurs to knock us back into reality, back we go. With practice you will be able to control your return better.

I find it interesting that you were visiting your mother-in-law and not someone in your own genetic family. Evidently, you and your husband got married for reasons that are even deeper than love. His family's interest in "psychic stuff" will nurture your children in such matters and help them to grow into their own abilities.

You'll never have to be concerned that when your daughter visits them, she'll be discouraged from exploring her own psychic life and power. My parents encouraged me to develop my psychic senses in a time when it wasn't nice to even discuss such things in public. Heck, it's STILL not considered a great topic at the dinner table in some families!

Your kids will get to talk about it ALL and ask questions and read and study. This is going to give them such an edge in life! Talk with your husband about how you want to present this to your kiddos, so that you are united in your approach and ready to tell them their experiences are all natural and okay.

A word or two of warning: Geminis often have difficulty staying grounded in REAL LIFE. Don't get so strung out on your ASTRAL life that you neglect what you're doing here on Earth.

You are at the beginning of a long journey to learn where your power really lies. Try to be patient with this process and take your time.