What if everything we've been taught about dreams is wrong? Not wrong in the sense of factually incorrect, but wrong in approach or in spirit. Wrong in the very way we hold them.
I recently had a conversation with Grace Boda—a spiritual guide, coach and dream work pioneer who's been working with dreams for over 40 years—and it shifted something fundamental in how I now see not just dreams, but life itself.
Grace doesn't treat dreams like riddles to decode or problems to solve. She sees them as direct reflections of our own consciousness, unburdened by the limitations of waking life. A space where awareness can play freely and reveal deep truths about who we are or where we are. This distinction matters more than you might think.
Two Ways of Being
Grace introduced us to a concept that is hard to ignore and that immediately resonated: there are two fundamental ways we engage with the world.
The Mastery-Seeking Mind is our rational ego. It craves control, certainty, proof. It wants to analyze everything - dreams included. It wants to decode them, manipulate them to serve its agenda. It asks: What does this mean? How can I use this?
The Mystery-Seeking Mind is drawn to the unknown. It's willing to participate with what we don't control. It approaches dreams not to dissect them, but to be with them. To be in a way transformed by them. It asks: What is this teaching me? What am I being invited into?
We might need both to navigate daily life—paying bills, making decisions, showing up. But true depth? That comes from fostering a partnership and an engagement between the two.
Why We Don't Remember
A few people tell me they don't dream. Or if they do, they can't remember their dreams. Grace's response? Simple and profound:
The amount of honor and respect we bring to our dreams is reciprocated.
If we dismiss dreams as "our brain taking out the trash," they stop showing up for us. But if we approach them with reverence—even just a little—they respond.
Her practice is beautifully simple: upon waking, quickly capture any fragment of your dream. A voice memo. A few scribbled words. Before your rational mind takes over and says "that was nothing."
A Lifelong Journey
Grace's spiritual journey began at age six with an experience of expanded awareness—perceiving everything as scintillating light, feeling connected to all that is. Overwhelming, yes. But also igniting.
Since then, her practice has been about:
Deconstructing false identities—the ego, the "lint" we pick up from being human
Contacting her true self—practicing being in touch with what's actually real
Staying curious about the "other"—the characters in dreams most different from her waking self, because they hold the deepest wisdom
She says something that stays with me: while inner work cultivates a "worthy vessel," the degree to which consciousness opens is also "a matter of grace."
What This Means
I'm sharing this because it connects to everything I've been learning about saying yes to magic, about listening to inner voices, about stepping into spaces where wonder lives.
Dreams are one of those spaces. But so is life—if we approach it with the mystery-seeking mind instead of always grasping for control.
What if we stopped trying to master everything and started participating with what we don't understand? What if we let ourselves be transformed by the relationship instead of always trying to be in charge of it?
That shift—from mastery to mystery—changes everything.
And it starts with something as simple as honoring what shows up in the night, whispering truths we're finally quiet enough to hear.
Have you had a dream that stayed with you? One you couldn't shake? I'd love to hear about it!
With much Aloha,
Olga @YelloBirdie
P.S. To listen to the full podcast conversation with Grace Boda click here
P.P.S. If you with connect with Grace and her fascinating work, visit click here.