Years ago when I moved to California I happened to watch a television
program on an independant network. The program was called “Praying Hands”
and was on after midnight on Sundays. The lady that hosted the show seemed
kind of strange and she had a teddy bear named Puddin’ Tame that
she would tell the people to say goodnight to when she signed off.
I’m sure that she paid for and produced the show for public access
tv to express her religious messages. My memories are vague but I
don’t think she was prone to quoting scripture.
Anyway, after watching the program one night I fell asleep
in short order. A few minutes later I dreamt that I was in an old
gothic style house seated at a large round table directly across from
her with about four people between us on either side. Some of the
people were family members and other were faces I knew but didn’t
recognize. The room was dark with a lot of black cloth around; on
the widows, table, and her dress. Then she started to speak while
looking directly at me as a candlabra lit up in the middle of the
table. I didn’t understand what she was saying - whether my mind was
blocked or she was speaking a foreign tongue I’m not sure.
When she started to speak I started to lift out of my chair,
unkowingly at first. By the time I was clearly out of the chair
I was in awe. I was floating in a sitting position. Then I started
to tilt forward and float in an out stretched position. I started
to wonder how come I was the one floating in air since I didn’t
even know how I came to be involved with this group. At the time
I realized that I was directly over the candles I started to spin
around slowly facing each person at the table one at a time. Then
the speed increased while she continued talking and the other
people started to clap lightly. In no time the spinning became
so fast that I started gasping for air. My gasps became panicked.
The last gasp I made was so loud it woke me up just as I was being
flung toward one of the windows.
Even though the dream occurred years ago I still believe that
it has some sort of significance. I did have a different dream
the next week after watching her show in which I started floating
and then was flung through the air to a perilous end at a speed
that approached Mach 1. The setting was different and the details
not so clear execept for the floating and flying portion.
I never had a flying experience in a dream before and haven’t
had one since. I’ve had falling sensations but those are different.
What kind of insight can you offer regarding the dream that I have described?
--Vince, Age 35, Billings, MT, USA
Hi Vince -
It’s an unusual dream, and I’m not sure I really know the answer, but
I’ll offer you some thoughts.
The dream occurred twice, each time after watching this woman’s
show on television. The show is religious in nature, and I think
religion, in all of us, conjures up a host of associations and imaginations.
In western cultures especially, most of us are exposed to religions
that embrace the concept of good and evil, light and darkness,
heaven and hell. There also is a supernatural aspect that is common
to all religions. Let’s face it; religions spend a great deal
of time discussing events and forces that are not “of this world.”
So this leaves us, per force, with the supernatural.
Somewhere in this nebulous web, we all are taught that mysterious
supernatural forces exist around us. Remember the devil? And who hasn’t
watched a scary movie or two to help fuel the imagination?
Your dreams sound vaguely occult - the first one especially
begins as if you are about to attend a seance - and both involve someone
who has supernatural powers. I think your dreams may reflect some of the
thoughts and fears that were aroused by this woman’s show.
(When I say fear, recall that many religions make frequent use of
fear to keep their “worshipers” believing: fear of hell,
fear of damnation, fear of being outcast from heaven, fear of being
judged evil or bad by society and the world). Another aspect of
this dream that is not so positive for yourself is that this woman
in the dream certainly has power over you. She levitates you,
spins you around, and hurtles you through space at tremendous speeds.
Pretty powerful. Psychologically, I would be on the lookout for the
power imbalance represented by the dream. The dream may be showing
you that this woman, or the belief system that she represents -
which in this case is some variant of Christianity - has some measure
of power over you. The question you want to ask yourself is: why?
Why do you choose to give this woman - or the belief system she
represents - power over you?
Without dwelling too long on the merits or costs of being involved
with various religions, I would suggest that whatever this woman
represents it certainly isn’t the most attractive of causes.
It is dark, occult, there is black gauze draped around the room.
More positive spiritual dreams typically involve light, strong
senses of peace and calm, and senses of love and contentment emotionally.
In this sense I would advise you to be wary of whatever this woman -
or her variant of religion - represents. And I would accordingly
take the dream as a caution not to get involved with her or her cause.
You might lose your balance!
REPLY:
Dear Dream Doctor-
Thank you for your insight. At the time I experienced those dreams I
was some what intrigued by that woman. She had an almost hypnotic tone
but seemed a little off her rocker, especially with the teddy bear. I
guess the bear was a tool to lure people to her cause by making her seem
soft and harmless. I had thought about contacting her back then but
decided not to. With your insight I see that not contacting her was a
good thing. Who knows - I might have been lured into another type of
Heaven’s Gate cult. Now I can quit being mystified by those very vivid
images. I will say the floating felt very real and enjoyable until I was
spun out of control.
