Driving Off A Cliff

One night recently, I dreamed I was driving my car on a freeway and the road dropped off into a huge void.  I didn’t touch the breaks, but plunged straight off the edge at full speed.  I looked over at the passenger in my car and we both experienced a sense of terror not knowing what would happen when we hit the ground at least fifty feet below. 

As I drove us off the cliff, the ground disappeared leaving what felt like endless space below.  We flew effortlessly through the air.  I resigned myself to the unknown and felt a peace wash over me.  When the vehicle landed softly as though landing on a soft, fluffy pillow I thought, “Hmmmm, that wasn’t so scary, nothing to fear here.”

As Franklin Roosevelt said, “There is nothing to fear except fear itself.” 

In the dream, my passenger and I continued on our journey looking for the way home.  We pulled into a gas station.

“I’m lost and I’d like to buy a map.”  I said to the woman behind the counter. 

She looked at me calmly and replied, “Honey, you’re not lost, you know the way.” 

Here the dream ends and reality begins.  

I’ve been struggling with a decision that feels scary to move forward yet exciting and exhilarating too.  It feels like I’m jumping off a cliff so when I woke from my dream I realized I heard my answer.  It goes like this.

“Diane, trust yourself.  Trust you will discover the way.  The answers live within you.  When you let go of expectations and make room for crazy, wild ideas you invite your inner guide to chime in.  Listen to your dreams.  They are full of wisdom and guidance.  The signposts shine everywhere for you to find them.”

Ah, I love those messages.

Raising a child with autism can create a semi-truck load of fear but I found fear doesn’t work for me or my child or the rest of my family.

I now focus on replacing fear with curiosity and calm trusting I will know the way.  This works so much better.  It may feel scary to look at the entire picture, but when I take it step by step, I don’t get stuck frozen in the fear quite so much.  I’m learning that I can do it, whatever “it” may be.

My husband also adds that the message from my dream could be as simple as, “Don’t drive while sleeping.”   I prefer to think that I choose not to sleep while I'm driving my life.  Connecting with curiosity keeps me awake in the calmest way.

Diane Hunter, mind-body coach and parent of a non-verbal child with autism, helps overwhelmed parents find a sense of peace and a deeper connection with themselves and their child. She’s passionate about teaching the power of non-verbal communication and writes on her blog atwww.afterautism.com. On most days you’ll find her hanging with her two greatest teachers, her two children, and her husband in their home in Los Gatos, C