Dream: My Dead Uncle Returns

Dream: My Dead Uncle Returns

“What if I dream of my dead uncle telling me to come to him in my dream? What does it mean?”

As a member of Quora’s Dreams and Dreaming group, this dream question was emailed to me by another Quora member. It seems like such a simple question, but it is quite complicated and has multiple answers. The tricky part is deciding which one is right for you because our dreams are filled with a dream language that only we can understand.

Here is my answer based on the research for my dream books.

Dreams of the deceased are one of the most exciting and confusing aspects of dreams and dreaming. In the book Dreams That Can Save Your Life, distributed by Simon & Schuster, many of the 30 life-saving dream stores contained visitations from deceased loved ones and family members during times of crisis.
One dreamer in Part VI, Chapter 42 of the book shares two dream stories about deceased loved ones appearing in her dreams during a time of extreme stress. She had Cystic Fibrosis and was undergoing a triple organ transplant.

One dream is about a previous dead lover who appeared to her in her dream.

On September 11, 2001, (9/11) I received a letter officially listing me for a
double lung and liver transplant. This day symbolized a new beginning for me.
From that day on, my struggling shared space with waiting for the phone call
saying my clinic received organs for me. On August 18, 2001, I got a welcomed
visitor in a dream.

Dream: Mario Is With Me.
Mario, the dead friend I hadn’t thought of for so many months, or get a chance
to say a proper goodbye to, stopped by in my dream. We were sitting in a
house in the living room, just talking as we always did, while there was a lot of
activity around us. It appeared as though someone was moving in or out, but
I wasn’t sure. And while we talked, I couldn’t help but wonder why Mario was
here in my dream, sitting right next to me, while being dead.

The moment I started to wake up, I knew Mario was dead, of course, but still
here with me and would protect and take care of me during the transplant. This
feeling was so clear and real, I immediately wrote down my dream.”
The other dream is about a strange man who keeps returning in her dreams. He hides his face and runs away in the pouring rain. His tan raincoat flaps in the wind behind him, which turns out to be a clue as to his identity as the dreamer had never seen this person before.

Dream: The Face of Death?
It was a dark night on an empty street in the city. It had rained, the streets were
still wet, and the light of the streetlights reflected on the puddles. I stood on
the street alone, not sure what I was supposed to do or why I was there, when I spotted a telephone booth. In it was a man standing in a long coat and a hat,
beige fabric reminiscent of 1960s attire. Every time I spotted him, he half-turned,
opened the door of the telephone booth, and started to walk down the street.
Every time I saw him taking off, I knew as long as I could see him, as long as I
didn’t lose him, as long as he didn’t turn around and show me his face, I was safe.

After I was able to talk, I told my mom about this dream, and she knew immediately
who the man was. It was my uncle, her brother. He always wore long coats
and hats in beige. I had never met my uncle, because he died from Hodgkin’s
lymphoma, at the age of 37, 10 days before my birth.

When she relayed the dream to her mother the description of the man and his raincoat led to the realization that the man was the dreamer’s uncle who had died before her birth.

At the time of the dream, the dreamer was on death’s door after having had a three organ transplant. It turns out the Uncle was just checking up on her and trying to reach-out or speak to her using the phone in an old phone booth, a hint that the Uncle was much older and unaware of cell phones.

This is a classic example of a dead relative trying to communicate with the living in a dream.
Are the dead relatives in our dreams real, aspects of ourselves, or just wishful dreaming to see a loved-one one more time?

Often the people we see in our dreams are aspects of ourselves. If this were my dream and I were not terminally ill, I would ask myself what aspects of my uncle I like to integrate into myself and my life. Was he joyful, or perhaps a strong emotional and intellectual fighter?
Although I always encourage people to look for the answers to dreams using their own dream language, sometimes a dream dictionary can be useful, especially when trying to interpret something that may contain a symbol that may be a play on words, like “Cry Uncle.”

Uncles hold an exceptional spot in the family dynamics. They are often Godfathers to children and the person most entrusted with the lives of their brother’s children.
According to a Jungian dream dictionary: to see your uncle in your dream represents some aspect of your family heritage and trait. It also symbolizes new ideas and emerging awareness. Consider the idiom “cry uncle” to mean surrender or admit defeat.

This begs the question, “Is someone asking you to cry Uncle? Who and why?”
In your dream, your Uncle is telling you to come to him.

Maybe your unconscious feels that you should surrender to something that’s going on right now?

Our dreams concerning passed over loved ones can also be what is known as a duality, two things happening at once that contain different meaning.
A dream-duality can speak to two things happening at once, a conflict, or an opposition. It may contain aspects of ourselves in life and the actual dead relative who has come to help us and give us guidance.

Perhaps the conflict is life and death with the dead visiting the living in a dream in order to secure life from a place of death.

What is your life like emotionally right now? Are you stressed? Is this a time of challenge?
When we are in a place of emotional or physical turmoil our dead relatives are often given permission to return to us in our dreams during our darkest hour to help change the darkness into a defining moment. With them they bring celestial light into a dark place; another duality.

Resources: https://www.quora.com/profile/Kathleen-Okeefe-Kanavos
Dreams That Can Save Your Life: Early Warning Signs of Cancer and Other Disease; Findhorn Press/Inner Traditions; distributed by Simon &Schuster (April 17, 2018)
Surviving Cancerland: Intuitive Aspects of Healing; Cypress House; 1 edition (March 28, 2014)
All book quotes are used with permission from the author, Kathleen O’Keefe-Kanavos and Dr. Larry Burk.

Photo credit: Cancerland Poster used with permission by the author.

About the Author: Kathleen (Kat) O’Keefe-Kanavos-three-time cancer survivor whose guided dreams diagnosed her illness as seen on Dr. Oz, NBC News, American Express Open, in Newspapers and magazines, and detailed in her book Surviving Cancerland, and Dreams That Can Save Your Life. She’s a Contributing author to Chicken Soup for the Soul, TV/Radio Host/Producer- Wicked Housewives On Cape Cod™, the Kat Kanavos Show, Internationally Syndicated Columnist in BIZCATALYST360, and Lecturer who promotes patient advocacy and Spiritual guidance. www.KathleenOkeefeKanavos.com

Gratitude: Your Mind-Set Game-Changer (Part 2 of 2)

Gratitude: Your Mind-Set Game-Changer (Part 2 of 2)

“There is nothing more life changing than gratitude. This I know for sure.” ~Oprah Winfrey

Nightmares are blessings in disguise and a call to action. I immediately gave thanks for the Divine intervention. And, that brings me back to here and now, at the hospital —pissed off and panting! “Thank you God for guiding me. I can’t do this alone,” I thought. Then, the power of gratitude flowed into intention which began to manifest results.

“I want an appointment for an MRI and I don’t care if they can give me a false negative. I’d rather sweat through a negative biopsy than have another missed positive mammogram. You have my records on your computer. See who made the last appointment and then make one for me, please!”

The secretary must have pushed a hidden panic button because Dr. Harold appeared.

“I already told you, we don’t write MRI prescriptions here. Who wrote your last one?” he said.

Those words had echoed in my mind as I ran between the lower floor of nuclear medicine to ninth floor oncology to fifth floor surgery, to find who had written the last prescription. Isn’t that why I have medical records? My dream said an MRI is a matter of life and death. So, I’m not leaving until I have that appointment, even if it means lying on the floor of his waiting room and throwing a full-fledged temper tantrum like a two year old brat denied candy.

“I don’t know who wrote the last prescription, nor do I care. I want you to write this one, now, please.”

“Kathy, you are healthy and it’s not hospital policy to give MRIs without a reason.”

Is this déjà vu or have I been transported back in time to the same response five years ago? I need to pinch myself, or better yet pinch Dr. Harold. Instead, armed with gratitude for guidance I step closer for effect. “ I want an MRI. If I hadn’t convinced Dr. Wagner to perform exploratory surgery on me, against hospital policy, I’d be dead now.”

Four months later my MRI results showed stage four breast cancer recurrence.

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I could have sued and won but chose not to. I could have chosen to remain angry but, that would drain my immune system. Anger is debilitating. Instead, I chose to stand in gratitude and immediately said a silent prayer. “Thank you for giving me strength and guidance to self-advocate. Please use me.” I decided to let-go-and-let-God with the statement, “Thy will be done. If I am to die thank you for giving me time to get my house in order. If I am to live, thank you for allowing me to be of service to others. ” With those words of gratitude I could not loose, and that made me a winner, which was reason for more gratitude creating a cyclone of positive energy. That was 12 and 17 years ago. Gratitude is still swirling.

Gratitude is a big part of my daily healing and can be used to pay-it-back or pay-it-forward. My favorite prayer is, “I thank you for all that I am, all that I will be, all that I have, all that I choose to give away, and all that I will receive.” So simple. So powerful!

No matter what you are feeling right now give thanks for it. Breathe in healing gratitude and exhale any limitations. You always have a choice. You can bemoan your lot in life or look for the silver lining and give thanks for the opportunity to rise above your challenges. Every challenge is a stepping stone toward gratitude. Be grateful and give thanks.

Giving thanks means more than a seat at the Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Easter table. It is a daily event that involves taking a momentary break from your fast paced life to put a smile on your face.

faith poster

Gratitude is a mind-set that holds the key to shifting your awareness from an attitude of rejecting and defending to one of acceptance and appreciation in order for more abundance to magically flow.

Studies by Robert A. Emmons PhD, a leading expert on the subject of gratitude, show people who live in a state of pervasive thankfulness experience life differently than people who cheat themselves out of joy by not feeling grateful.

Have you ever noticed how good you feel when you are thankful for something or someone? When present in the moment of gratitude we feel more open, more generous, more connected, more aware and more alive.

Why save that special feeling for a certain day, occasion, or time of the year? Don’t wait for a reason to be thankful, paying it forward and give thanks for anything the Universe may send you in the future. Make it a game. Close your eyes, take a deep breath and give thanks now. Begin a new life of gratitude this moment. Your Spirit-guides and Guardian-angels love to play the Gratitude Game. The rule is simple: The worse the problem the more grateful you must become for receiving inner- guidance to grow from the challenge. You simply can’t lose at the Gratitude Game.

 

BIO: Kathleen (Kat) O’Keefe-Kanavos is an international, multi-award-winning author, contributor to Chicken Soup for the Soul, Internationally Syndicated Columnist, TV/Radio host/producer of Wicked Housewives On Cape Cod. ™and The Kat Kanavos Show. She is a three-time cancer survivor whose dreams diagnosed her illness, is written in medical journals and invited on National Talk Shows like Dr. Oz. Kat lives her life daily in gratitude and grace. Learn more at KathleenOkeefeKanavos.com

 

Gratitude: Your Mind Set Game Changer (Part 1 of 2)

Gratitude: Your Mind Set Game Changer (Part 1 of 2)

By Kathleen O’Keefe-Kanavos

“There is nothing more life changing than gratitude. This I know for sure.” ~Oprah Winfrey

What do you feel at this moment? If it is love, anger, fear or sadness? Be grateful because gratitude is an emotional game-changer and fuel for life that activates your Inner-guidance. As a three-time breast cancer survivor whose precognitive dreams diagnosed illness the medical community missed, gratitude played a huge part in my survival. Gratitude is a game changer.

This is wrong—so wrong! No one should have to fight this hard in a hospital to get the tests they know they need to live. I burst into my doctor’s waiting room for the second time in ten minutes.

“That’s it! I’ve had enough! I don’t want any more run-around!” I hiss at the secretary. Her big blue eyes stare in disbelief. Is she astonished at my anger or my return from the ridiculous quest to find my own medical information?

This is not the way I want to start the week after my healthy mammogram. I had burst into this same office that day too, but then it was out of fear after my unexpected visitor “from the other side.” A monk spirit guide dressed in a brown robe and invisible to everyone except me had appeared at my mammography reading, pointed to a spot on the film, and said, “Tell the doctor to look there.”

“Thank you, God.”I thought, pulled the hospital gown tighter around me and repeated the message to the doctor reading the film. He responded with, “You’re healthy. Go home.”

So I did. But, that nlet-go-let-godight another dream warned me of the real nightmare unfolding again in my life. Who could forget monk Spirit-guides dressed in scary circus clown suits showing you a life threatening problem on a mammogram? “Wake-up!” I screamed.

Nightmares are blessings in disguise and a call to action. I immediately gave thanks for the Divine intervention. And, that brings me back to here and now, at the hospital —pissed off and panting! “Thank you God for guiding me! I can’t do this alone,I thought. Then, the power of gratitude flowed into intention which began to manifest results.

“I want an appointment for an MRI and I don’t care if they can give me a false negative. I’d rather sweat through a negative biopsy than have another missed positive mammogram. You have my records on your computer. See who made the last appointment and then make one for me, please!”

The secretary must have pushed a hidden panic button because Dr. Harold appeared.

“I already told you, we don’t write MRI prescriptions here. Who wrote your last one?” he said.

Those words had echoed in my mind as I ran between the lower floor of nuclear medicine to ninth floor oncology to fifth-floor surgery, to find who had written the last prescription. Isn’t that why I have medical records? My dream said an MRI is a matter of life and death. So, I’m not leaving until I have that appointment, even if it means lying on the floor of his waiting room and throwing a full-fledged temper tantrum like a two-year-old brat denied candy.

…..Join us for part 2 of this article.

BIO: Kathleen (Kat) O’Keefe-Kanavos is an international, multi-award-winning author, contributor to Chicken Soup for the Soul, Internationally Syndicated Columnist, TV/Radio host/producer of Wicked Housewives On Cape Cod. and The Kat Kanavos Show. She is a three-time cancer survivor whose dreams diagnosed her illness, is written in medical journals and invited on National Talk Shows like Dr. Oz. Kat lives her life daily in gratitude and grace. Learn more @ KathleenOkeefeKanavos.com

 

Depression: An Opportune Message from Self

Depression: An Opportune Message from Self

Unfortunately, cancer and depression go together like peanut and butter. As a three-time   cancer survivor, severe bouts of depression presented a choice: take pills to alleviate it, or  face it and figure out what my body and psyche were saying.

cancerland

Depression is often a symptom, not an illness.

Alleviating the symptom may not cure the disorder. I saw my depression as something that would diminish if I faced and cured the cause. This is easier said than done. I considered suicide as a means of escape rather than facing my “ghosts.” However, deciding to see what lessons could be learned from the ghosts of my life was the first step toward a cure.

Looking back on difficult times allows us the opportunity to ask questions previously avoided such as,  “Why was I depressed? How did depression serve me and what did it teach me?” Our mind is incredibly powerful and will create or manifest situations to serve and save us.

Depression and illness can be a way of forcing us to slow down and “look within” at memories (old baggage), events (past and present cycles), people (relationships), and life- styles (habits) that are not to our benefit. Without depression, we may continue to accept whatever life throws at us—settling for less than we needed and/or deserved.

Just because something is thrown at us does not mean we have to catch it, hold, and keep it, including insults or negative relationships. We can choose to duck or move out of the way. And, if we do catch it, we can choose to drop it.Depression made me stop and reassess my life-choices.

I concluded that how people treat me is their Karma, how I respond is mine. 

Not all relationships or situations should be avoided or dropped. And that may be our most important lesson—the quickest way to change someone’s behavior is to change ours first. They must respond differently to the new behavior.

Depression can help us stop and reassess our life-choices.

Illness and depression are the perfect opportunity  to take time out for yourself. It can teach you how to respect, honor, and put yourself first, and to choose to change or walk away from bad habits, relationships, and situations.

Draw new boundaries with which you can live.

A friend once asked me, “How can I just quit my job or walk away from my relationship if that is what is depressing or killing me.”

Responding to her question with another question was the best answer. “Are you worried about letting down your job and relationship or yourself?  Will they survive tomorrow if you are not around? Will you thrive if they are gone? You cannot hold a gift if your hands are full. Put something down.”

Whenever we feel overwhelmed taking a step back can help us reassess our life. One of the first things we can do is “check our  inner baggage,” –the useless stuff we accumulated throughout life. You may be  surprised that you are bogged down with stuff which is not even yours.  Simply drop it.  It’s not yours to keep.

As a caring and loving person, it is so easy to take on other people’s emotional leftovers rather than respecting their right to carry it. By taking on the baggage of others we unintentionally take their learning experience and right to emotional growth away from them.

Old habits are hard to break. Keep working on them. 

We often think  if we carried someone else’s heavy troubles for them it would lighten their load. It doesn’t. It just makes ours heavier. That realization teaches a very difficult lesson—We cannot carry other people’s baggage or walk their path for them. We have to respect their life-lessons… to be learned by them… and our lesson may be to respect and love them enough to let them learn from their mistakes. We can offer them our shoulder but not our back. Let me explain.

There is a big difference between being supportive and being a mule. A supportive person lends a helping hand or a shoulder to cry on. A mule carries the weight of the world on their back while refusing to focus on their own life—this is avoidance. It only takes another challenge to be the straw that breaks their back and sends them spiraling into depression.

Our mind is a beautiful thing.

Experience has taught that we manifest not only what we want but also what we need. Sometimes we need to slow down and reassess our lives.

Depression served me in this capacity.

I didn’t enjoy it and would not choose to go through it again. However, by facing depression rather than suppressing it, I learned from it, used it to change my life, and ultimately survived life-threatening adversity and illness.

Kathleen (Kat) O’Keefe-Kanavos-three time cancer survivor whose dreams diagnosed her illness, TV/Radio Host/Producer of Wicked Housewives On Cape Cod™ ,  Kat KanavosShow , Patheos, Quora, Medium, Internationally Syndicated  Columnist, Nautilus Award-winning Author/Lecturer who promotes patient advocacy and inner guidance. Contributing author to Chicken Soup for the Soul.  www.KathleenOkeefeKanavos.com

No Men Allowed? Only in the Yard.

No Men Allowed? Only in the Yard.

No Men Allowed? Only in the Yard.

The weekly Kat and Sheila show focuses on spirituality in current events and offers Tools for Daily Living. This episodefocuses on:

  • turkey mothers raising their chicks on Kat’s property and there are no men allowed
  • 9/11 in the news and in our hearts
  • your Tarot Card for today and this lifetime
  • the 9/11 tarot card
  • recurrent dream themes

 

Reflections of 9/11

This week we remembered 9/11. It was a week of sorrow and sadness that has been painful for many families and friends across America and the world. However, it is okay to be joyful in the face of grief. It will add a positive vibration that will create balance to the world.

Tarot Card for 9/11 and 9/12

Is Septemer 12th your birthday or that of your best friend, lover or boss? Kat and Sheila discuss 9/12’s The Queen of Wands and the significance of the black cat sitting at her feet looking at the audience. The sunflower in her hand signifies life and is on both the Queen of Clubs playing cards and Queen of Wands Tarot Cards.

 

 

If life is a game of cards have you ever wondered what the Tarot Card is for September 11th.? The card for 9/11 is the King of Wands. The King is facing to the left so his focus is on the past.

 

Dreams:

We may have heard of a Recurrent Dream. But, what does it mean when your dreams are all different but have a recurrent theme? It may mean your inner-guidance or spirit guide is telling you the same thing in different ways to be sure you get the message because it is important. Keep a dream journal beside your bed and write down anything you remember about your dreams to help you figure out the recurring message. Ask your spirit-guides or guardian angels to give you more guidance in the dream to help you understand it. What is the dream theme? What animals, colors or numbers did you see?

Answering these questions will help you connect understand your dreams, connect with inner-guidance and live a more fulfilled life.

Join us every Monday evening 4:00pm PT which is 7 EST for more Spiritual Tools for Everyday Living.

CLICK LINK to WATCH https://www.youtube.com/attribution_link?a=WAQmbTOk6K0&u=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DJ4yGKSyppQc%26feature%3Dshare

 

Picture credit- all pictures are from the Kat and Sheila Show and used with host permission.

 

Kathleen (Kat) O’Keefe-Kanavos is a three time breast cancer survivor whose dreams diagnosed her illness, TV/Radio Host/Producer of Wicked Housewives On Cape Cod™ , Kat Kanavos Show on New Earth International, Patheos, Quora, Medium, and Internationally Syndicated Women’s Voices Magazine HOME & SOUL Columnist, International and Nautilus Award-winning Author/Lecturer who promotes patient advocacy and connecting with inner guidance, contributing author to Chicken Soup for the Soul: Dreams & Premonitions, and Realities of Creation. Kat’s been featured in newspapers, American Express Open, on CBS News, and medical journals. Learn more @ www.KathleenOkeefeKanavos.com