CLAWS FOR TOENAILS

Bernie from Missouri asked me to figure out what this dream meant:

It’s about my toenails.  I had a dream of looking down at my right foot and instead of regular human toes, they looked like claws.  Like a bird’s claws.  They were hard and scaly and tough.  The left foot was normal.  That’s it.

When I read this, the first thing that came to mind is the phrase, “clawing my way to the top.”

Our brain is divided into two hemispheres of relatively equal size.  The right brain governs the left side of the body.  Its function is abstract, creative, intuitive and wholistic.  The left brain governs the right side of the body, and its function is analytic, rational, scientific and mathematical.

In this dream, it’s the right foot which has the toenail claws.  The suggestion here is that Bernie is entering a cycle of brain use where he’s got to apply his left-brain function in order to succeed in life.

He will be challenged to use his rational mind to deal with challenges and adversities.  For instance, if his boss tells him that the work he’s handed in is crappy, he should remind himself to respond with the left brain.  Don’t rely on abstract ideas to respond to his boss.  He shouldn’t say, “Well, the way you suggested didn’t feel right.  I just couldn’t imagine how it could be right.” 

Rather, it would be more constructive to reply, “I was relying on your thinking that X = 4, but, look, I tested it out, and actually, I think X = 3.”  This is an exaggerated example of how to think “rationally,” but you get the gist of it.

This dream is telling Bernie to leave emotion out of the equation of accomplishing his goals.   I suggest that Bernie is about to enter a phase of his life which will be more difficult than he’s accustomed to.  He might have to “claw” his way to the top, but like all birds who climb higher and higher, he will discover the view from such heights is quite astonishing and beautiful.

Bernie, go for it!  Your psyche is telling you that you’re courageous enough for the journey.  Fly well, dreamer, and honor the message of your dreams!