Dreams

What do our dreams mean?

Introduction:

I'd like to say first off...This page is partly "my" thoughts on dreams, and part from research I have done.

Thank you all so much for the opportunity to share my knowledge with others!
Shari

What is a dream?

Dreams...what can we say about them? Does everyone have them? Does everyone remember them?

Do people dream in color or black and white?Are dreams precognitive? Does every dream mean something?

I hear all these questions frequently. Plus more. Everyone dreams. But not everyone remembers them.

Lets start at the beginning....

Sleep

When people sleep, there are different stages. There's NREM, or Non Rapid Eye Movement Sleep, and REM sleep, Rapid Eye Movement Sleep.

NREM sleep is when the body is what I call "not active". When the body is completely quiet, breathing is smooth and steady, and the senses do not function as when the body is awake. This would be like the deepest part of your sleep. REM sleep is when the senses are more awake. REM sleep is where dreams occur. The body is more awake, heart rate rises, breathing is faster, and the body may twitch. The average REM stage is around 90 minutes, but may occur several times a night.

on to the dreams.....

Psychological Dreams

In my opinion, dreams can be classified three ways. A majority of dreams people have are what I call "psychological" dreams. Which simply means, this is when your mind absorbs and sorts through daily activities and other things while you're asleep. The mind takes in so much information during our waking moments of the day and there's so much information to sort through that it carries over into our "subconscious". One way I look at it is like an "In Basket". All this information gets piled into the "In Basket" waiting to be handled. Whether we sort through these things as our day progresses or we hold on to it to deal with later...we have our "standby basket" which is where that information goes. Things we remember or worry about. Something that's made an impact. Who's to say what that information is. It varies from person to person. This "standby basket" is where I believe most "weird" things people see in their dreams come from. You may have passed this information off during your waking moments. but for some reason your mind has held on to it to utilize/handle later. Memories are also in a standby basket.

Lets say I saw this man on the street. I didn't know who he was. Passed it off as nothing. My brain may hold the image of this man to be used at a later time to "represent" something or someone else. Or, he could just appear in the dream just to be "processed" and released. Or I see an image on television that my mind has held on to. This may appear in my dream to be released.This brings up another interesting point. Not EVERYTHING in your dreams may be what you think they are. Like a house may represent the physical you. This is your shelter. Your shell. Your skin. It all depends upon the dream and the other aspects within it. We can look at dreams as a "riddle" of sorts. You won't always take the things in your dream at face value. Take them as "what does this mean to me? what would this represent". But you must also consider the fact, it may just be information being processed and released.

Message Dreams

Message dreams (or vivid dreams) are dreams that seem real. These dreams may be in the form of a nightmare. One that will cause you to wake up frightened and make you wonder did it really happen. Dreams that just stand out and you think about all day long. A message dream is when there is something your subconscious is making you aware of. Whether it be something you're worried about, a problem within your life, or something you just don't realize in your waking day. An example of a message dream could relate to health issues. For example if you dream of a decaying part of your body or a pain. This could be a message telling you its time to see a doctor, or its time to slow down and take care of yourself. There can also be message dreams from spirit. These can happen when spirit (whether its guides or guardian angels or passed love ones) send messages to you in your dreams if they have no other way to communicate this information to you. These dreams from spirit, from my experiences, usually seem to be there to help you deal with problems or prepare you for something that is yet to come. I've also experienced people having dreams that are like a "kick in the pants" to better themselves. These types of dreams could be guidance to help us on our life's path.

Precognitive Dreams

I personally do not believe that EVERYONE has precognitive dreams. Precognitive dreams are dreams that show you future events. People who may have them are those who are aware of some psychic ability or have the connection to spirit to receive this information. Precognitive dreams can be frightening at times if they are forewarning a traumatic or sad event. These dreams can also be considered a message dream of sorts. Only more prophetic. And for one to have these dreams, you may not be aware that it is a precognitive dream until the event you've dreamed of actually happens. People who have recurring precognitive dreams may begin to determine these dreams through similar details or events within the dream. For example, someone may dream of something in particular that would represent death to them, only to later learn of a death of someone they know. If this happens recurrently, this would be their symbol for an actual death in their dreams.

As for myself, being a dream interpreter, I'm leary to tell someone whether they are having a precognitive dream. I feel this is more on a personal level. The individual must learn these symbols and relate them to their own lives accordingly. Therefore, you will probably never hear me tell someone its precognitive unless I absolutely have confirmation from my spirit guides that's what it is. And, most of the times, a person may never know until AFTER the event has happened that will link the dream to that event.

Recurring Dreams

Recurring dreams are dreams that you have repeatedly. The details may slightly change from dream to dream, or they may be exactly the same only to replay themselves every time. Recurring dreams are what I believe to be message dreams that is helping you through something. These dreams "reoccur" because you have not gotten to the point where this has been handled in your waking life or it is preparing you for the event to happen. Therefore, it will replay until the situation/event/etc is happening in your awake life. The best way to face recurring dreams is to journal. (This will be covered later in the "Journalling and Remembering your Dreams" section.)

Some questions answered

Does everyone dream??

Everyone dreams. It's only natural. But not everyone recalls these dreams. If you firmly believe you do not dream, there's a possibility you may not be getting the correct amount of sleep that your body needs.

I don't remember my dreams.

Are you one of those people who say "I don't know if I had a dream or not, I think I did, but I don't remember it" ?? There's actually ways to remember your dreams. I will cover this later under "Journalling and Remembering Your Dreams". People who dream but never recall the dream are in no way, in my opinion, unhealthy. These people have gone through their subconscious and dealt with these issues without even being aware of them. Therefore, I see that there is no problem with this whatsoever.

I always have nightmares.

Do you continuously have nightmares? Nightmares are one way of making you take notice. May seem drastic and scary. But it grabs your attention doesn't it? There's most likely a message there. Unless, of course, you've watched a horror movie as you were falling asleep and the movie is still playing out in your mind. You must always take into consideration what you were doing the day before you dream. As these things do carry over. But if it is an honest nightmare, they may not necessarily be bad as most people would think. It may just be a way for spirit and/or your mind to really jump out and get your attention regarding a certain matter.

Can passed loved ones visit me in my dreams??

Passed loved ones do occasionally visit us in our dreams. For most of us, this is the best way for them to communicate with the living. They may be there to just pop in and say hi, just to show they ARE still with us. Or they may be there to help give guidance and advice to you. Depends on the dream and the situation. For some people, dreams from loved ones who have passed on can give comfort and assure us that there is more to look forward to after our life here has ended.

Journaling and How to Remember Your Dreams

Journaling

Journaling is a great tool to interpret/analyze your dreams. The best way to journal dreams is to keep a notebook or paper and pen beside your bed. Write down EVERYTHING you can remember about your dream as soon as you wake up. Don't even sit up and put your feet on the floor until you are done journaling. Most of us wake up in such a rush to get the day going and as soon as our feet hit the floor, the day's activities that are before you start rushing through your mind. This will cause you to lose any memories of your dream. Which is why it's so important to write it down as soon as you can. If something comes to you later in the day that you remember, write it down also. Always give your dream a title and write down the date. If there are certain things going on in your life...make a notation of it. That way you will be able to go back and possibly connect certain things from your dream to an actual waking event.

After a week or so of journaling dreams, go back and read what you've written. Look at things in the journal as a 'riddle'. Like I mentioned before. Look at them as what it would represent to you, not what it may be at face value. After doing so, dreams may seem to unravel themselves to you. You'll be able to understand more clearly why you are having recurring dreams, or why you're having nightmares.

How to remember dreams

If you can never remember your dreams when you wake up, even before you get out of bed, a good way to remedy this would be to ask to remember them. As you're laying down to sleep, ask your guides or spirit to help you remember your dreams. Meditate on it. And if you have a certain problem that you feel spirit can help you with, meditate on this problem also. Ask spirit "I'm worried about this problem. Please show me in my dreams how to handle this". Its very simple to do. You can do this for a few short minutes before you fall asleep. However, it may not always happen. Some things are not meant for you to know when you want to know them. Therefore, spirit will show you guidance in your dreams when the time is right. But keep at it. If you feel you need help with this, keep meditating and praying before you go to sleep that you will be shown the way in your dreams.

About How I Interpret Dreams

I wanted to make a small notation here on how I interpret dreams. Some people have a gift, such as myself, to do this. Now, whether you have the gift or not, ANYONE can interpret a dream. However, when I interpret dreams, I use an ability I have been blessed to have and I use insight. The messages I receive about someone's dreams come from spirit. They come from my spirit guide who I have to help me interpret dreams. Some people read tarot cards or runes. They use an insight to do this. A gift, an ability given to them. That's basically how I interpret dreams. Instead of using tarot cards or runes as a tool to "read" for people. I read into their dreams. It's a very fortunate gift I have and I am blessed to have it. I am extremely thankful to God and the spirits for giving me this opportunity. And to share my gifts with others makes it only that much more blessed. But I feel it is a very wonderful and self empowering thing to analyze and interpret your dreams. It can only help a person to become more balanced and more aware of their physical and spiritual life.

I wish for you all many wonderful days and nights.
Sweet Dreams
Shari

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