Dreams-Paying Attention To The Sleeping Story

“…there are two gates through which dreams reach us. Those that come through the Ivory Gate cheat us with empty promises that never see fulfillment. Those that come through the Gate of Horn inform the dreamer of the truth.”  Homer. The Odyssey Book XIX

The concept of two gates to the ethereal realms is an old one, dating back to Greek times. It is also a concept rich and fertile with imagination. It seems though the concept is more of an ephemeral reality than it is an place of brick and mortar. The Gates of Horn and Ivory first appear in Homer’s Odyssey. The gates are explained to be the gateways or doors to two dimensions. Ivory, of superficialities and falsehoods, a mask over the visage. The other, Horn, a more real depiction for those able to discern their dreams.

  The clue to the differences between the Gates is the material from which they are built. Ivory is showy, expensive and misleadingly glamorous. It shines and shimmers in sunlight and is lusted after by ancient kings. But Horn is humble, the material of the common folk, and takes much work to make it into something of outstanding beauty. Look closely, deeply at your dreams. Can you see a possible path from where you are now, to where that dream promises to take you? Or is the route strewn with too many Lottery-winning clauses, too many ifs and not enough solid, hard work and perhaps sacrifices? If the dream promises a meteoric ascent to glory, with minimum of hard work, then stand back and take a hard, hard look at it. It may be one that has slipped through that Gate of Ivory.