the journey within

Dream: I was dancing and punching the air like a boxer. In front of me was my coach who was encouraging me slapping my arms and saying, “you are the unapologetic, and unashamed John Voss”. We started going up a flight of stairs together and he repeated twice (making it a total of 3 times) “You are the unapologetic and unashamed John Voss.” I could see the room on the landing at the top of the stairs. It was a room so large that I could not see the end of it’s dimensions, could only see the far wall in the distance. END

Here are the steps I used for interpretation of this dream.
1. Pray first and often throughout the following steps. After my first time praying all that I sensed was curiosity about the name John Voss.

2. Research. I recommend breaking down your dreams into segments and researching the names, places and objects. Write each of these things down in a list. Pay attention to details. Do not try to understand the meaning of the entire dream at once. I heard the art of dream interpretation described like a piece of jewelry.

Each piece like a pearl that you must isolate and examine first and then you can string them together in an arrangement that makes sense, stringing a bracelet of pearls. Pearls represent wisdom, adding another level of understanding to the analogy. Pray.

3. Give credence to your own understanding of language and relationship with God. What an item might represent in my dream might mean something completely different to you. For example, there is a dog in my dream. I might be afraid of dogs, and for you a dog is like your best friend.

You might also have your own code with God. Stick with the closest possible meaning for the symbology and work outwards, inviting new understanding. There is “unknown woman” frequently in my dreams and I just know this is a representation of the Holy Spirit. Don’t get excited, no I am not saying God is a woman, I am speaking analogies here! Pray.

I begin by entering the name John Voss as well as Victoria, as that is where I lived when I had the dream into my favorite search engine. John Voss launched the smallest ocean-going vessel in 1901 from Victoria BC. He purchased a canoe from a Nuu-chah-nulth (commonly called Nootka)  woman and turned it into a sailing vessel which he named the ‘Tilikum’ first nations word meaning family and friends. He was the first to circumnavigate the world in 3 yrs. He wrote a book about it which I purchased at the Maritime museum. “The Venturesome Adventures of Captain John Voss” I read the book. I prayed.

The coach was my second pearl of understanding. He stood out as the most alive part of the dream. As I prayed I felt that not only did my coach represent the Holy Spirit but, God seemed to be saying that He was instructing me on how to coach myself. Challenge. Stimulate.

Then there was the use of the very specific and repeated injunctions: to be unashamed and unapologetic. Notice that this was said three times?  I am going to write about this on a separate post. Suffice it to say at this time that to say something three times, means that it must be important! You might say something twice for emphasis. Three times? Pay attention!

What was God saying by using this name, John Voss? A boat most would say, represents ministry. What would a ministry  like “John Voss” look like? Bold explorer of spiritual territory, taking the land!?  Also, something that stood out to me was the meaning of the word Tilikum and the fact that Voss had many different first mates with him, he was never alone. Lastly there is the symbolism of going up stairs into a large place. Someone might focus on that.

Last but not least, after interpretation we must seek to apply it. What was God saying and what is my response meant to be?

The final thing you need to consider is what is going on in your life, when you had this dream. When I had this dream I was emerging from a clinical depression. You could say it was indeed my big bad world.

In a fresh, novel way, God was telling me in this dream that I had a future. To be unashamed, unapologetic was akin to taking on the entire world in a canoe; as a John Voss!

One of the biggest ventures in my life would be to overcome shame, but guess what? By saying it three times with emphasis He was telling me, it was a done deal, an established fact.

What hope a dream can give!

I counsel you to treasure your dreams.

The more you do; the more you will have.

Update: I have learned more about the story of John Voss’ purchase of the Tillicum canoe since this writing. Apparently this vessel was purchased unlawfully and shamefully. Mr. Voss used alcohol to take advantage of the Nuu-chah-nulth woman in this story. Her ability to negotiate a fair price for her vessel was purposely compromised. In his own book, ‘The Adventuresome Ventures of Captain John Voss’  Voss admitted that if the ‘Indian Affairs governor had been a witness to the transaction, the would have been jailed. 

I was saddened by this part of the story. It puts a whole new light on this dream. I am going to research the facts of what happened in 1901. I believe in repentance by proxy and this appears to be a need in this situation. Stay tuned.