18 Jan 2004 @ 14:09, by Craig Lang
I had an interesting experience last night - a dream that I was part of a group outing in the winter wilderness. The group seemed to be in some way, associated with our church. We were staying at a lodge or something similar, which was set way out in the forest. Yet the next day, it seems that we were going to venture out into the woods - I think to do some winter camping. (Note: the temperature as I write this is in the neighborhood of Zero degrees F).
I remember that in the dream, I was very focused on preparing for this adventure. I kept feeling tremendous uncertainty about what to bring, and how to prepare. It was later in the dream that I realized that the trip was led by a friend of mine, who is a retired minister - someone I deeply respect.
What I decided was that this dream symbolized uncertainty in the face of change - somehow of a spiritual nature. A forest or wilderness frequently symbolizes uncertainty, mystery or challenge. The sense of uncertainty very much reinforces this interpretation.
Our life path is taking Gwyn and I in some interesting new directions - some new ventures in life that take us into unfamiliar territory (the woods). The need to prepare, and the sense that I wasn't sure just how to do that, is very telling - as I am not entirely sure where this new path takes us.
What was most interesting was that this dream-outing was associated with spirital activity. And in the end, my comfort was in the fact that the whole thing was led by a deeply trusted spiritual figure. To me this indicated that the change is/will-be spiritual in nature - a new venture related to spiritual activities. Given the nature of recent events in Gwyn's and my life, this would be accurate.
And so the message that I take from the sense of both challenge/uncertainty and of comfort is that it is to important trust in the Spirit. Conscious ego-based preparation can do little when venturing into these new "forests". Only our trust in the guidance of Spirit really works at times like this.
I really don't know if this event is a smaller-scale personal change for us, or if it is a larger-scale challenge which affects many - or perhaps even all of us. But at its core was the sense of travelling deep into the uncharted forest, and the need to rely on God to guide us.
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