Dreams, Reflections & Insights

Welcome to my first ever blog!

I’m so glad you are here.
Come along with me as I share my love of dreams—and some of the fascinating things I’ve discovered along the way.

Dreams have always fascinated me. As a teacher of literature, I spent years exploring metaphor, symbolism and story—looking beneath the words to discover the deeper meaning in poetry, novels and plays. I loved how a simple image or story could open the door to another world. Dreams speak in much the same way. They communicate through images, symbols, metaphors, feelings and stories rather than directly telling us what they mean hence my love of Jungian dream work.

My love of dreams is also reflected in my own astrology chart. My Sun sign is Pisces - associated with deep empathy, a rich imagination and strong intuition. As a mutable water sign traditionally linked with the unseen and the inner world, Pisces naturally moves between the everyday world and the rich realm of dreams. My Sun is trine Neptune in Scorpio adding depth and heightened intuition making it easy to pick up on the unspoken energies and dreams. My North Node, which I think of as my North Star, also in Scorpio, points me towards deep, meaningful transformation and growth.

After more than 20 years of studying astrology, I find it fascinating how beautifully these themes appear in my chart. The threads were always there: a love of story and symbolism, a fascination with the unconscious, a passion for dreams, and a capacity for healing and transformation.

It feels very natural and exciting that they have all come together in my work with dreams. I love the mystery and the wisdom of dreams and that is what I’d love to share with you here.

This is the very first dream I ever wrote down, nearly 40 years ago.

At the time, in my waking life, I had been proposed to by a fine young man whom I loved. But I wasn’t sure whether marriage was the right direction for me at that point in my life, so I sought the guidance of a counsellor who specialized in dream work.

She was wonderful. She later became my teacher, and I owe a huge debt of gratitude to the beautiful Beryl Stephens, who now guides me from higher places. She suggested that I ask my dreams for a sign.

In the dream I was speeding down a highway with this gorgeous man in a red convertible sports car. I was in the driver’s seat, the wind was in my hair, and I felt alive and excited, but—and yes, there was a but—there was a huge truck heading towards me.

I suddenly realized that I was driving on the wrong side of the road, and we were heading towards a massive crash or our death. Then I saw a break in the road ahead. I drove towards it and managed to get onto the right side of the road.

I felt an enormous sense of relief, followed by a deep sadness. While I knew I was in the right place it felt boring; it wasn't as exhilarating or exciting as being on the other side of the road, but in my heart and soul I knew this was where I needed to be.

The dream was showing me that, while the path I was on might have felt exhilarating and exciting, I was travelling in the wrong direction and heading towards a massive crash.

Somewhere deep inside, I already knew this but simply wasn’t ready to face it. My dream found a way to show me what I couldn’t yet consciously see and didn’t want to own.

Looking back nearly 40 years later, I’m struck by how clearly that dream spoke to me. It wasn’t telling me what to do—I was always free to choose. But the message felt unmistakable.

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A Significant Dream at 28

On the day of this dream, I received a letter from my local hospital telling me that I had successfully passed the entrance exams and interview process to begin my nursing training. I was nervous and excited about this new chapter that was about to begin.

In the dream…

I was taken to the local university by a man in a long white robe with a flowing beard. He had a wonderfully wise, Dumbledore-like quality about him—a classic archetypal wisdom figure. He showed me the students walking around the campus and invited me to imagine myself there. I felt excited—but I didn’t believe it was possible for me.

Then he reminded me of a long-forgotten memory…I remembered being fourteen years old and announcing that I wanted to go to university and study teaching. At the time, that option simply wasn’t open to me.

Then the wise old man said:

“I think you’ll be very tired doing nursing with shift work and small children. I think you’ll be much happier doing teaching, but the choice is yours.”

Upon waking the excitement I had felt about nursing quickly faded and the pull towards teaching became incredibly strong. Yet my head was telling me it was impossible.

At that time the financial and practical realities seemed impossible and felt overwhelming. I could feel the conflict inside me: one part of me was alive with excitement at the thought of going to university and becoming a teacher, while another part was filled with fear and doubt about whether it was financially, emotionally and physically possible.

I wish I had known about EFT Tapping back then. It would have given me a gentle way to work with those fears and conflicting emotions rather than feeling so overwhelmed by them.

The following day, I rang the university to ask about the entrance process and discovered that I would need to return to school and complete two more years of high school. Gggrrrr!

I had left school at fifteen to begin a dental nursing apprenticeship, so this felt like a huge undertaking.

Nursing seemed close, practical and achievable. Teaching was years away—and involved a whole lot of time, work and money. It was a tough decision but deep down, the wise part of me knew that teaching was what I truly wanted.

My conscious mind couldn't see how I could possibly make it work. My fears and anxiety were intense yet, within the next 48 hours, I listened to my heart, took the plunge and declined the nursing offer. The following year, I went back to school and a few tumultuous years later, I graduated as a teacher.

Looking back, I can see that the dream offered me something my conscious mind couldn't yet see—another possibility. It didn't make the decision for me. It simply opened a door and invited me to look through it.

I still had to walk through that door. I had to do the work, face the challenges and experience the highs and lows along the way. And I did.

That dream became a massive turning point in my life. It changed not only the direction I took, but the way I learned to listen to and trust my own inner wisdom. I followed the spark of joy and excitement and the beat of my own drum but I still had to navigate the fear, the financial worries, the practical concerns and all the voices—both within me and around me—that told me I couldn’t do it.

I did it but if tapping had been around then I can see now that I could have done it more calmly and gently, less stressfully. Rather than trying to push those feelings away or simply reasoning my way through them, I could have given them space to be felt, processed and gradually softened.