Learning from Dreams

We all do it because if we didn't we would die. No, I'm not talking about breathing (though that is definitely something we have to do). I'm talking about dreaming. The mind requires several hours of sleep per night to function. Sleep requirements vary from person to person and depends upon age, pregnancy and other factors. 

Psychologists and Doctors have long wondered exactly why we dream. A common theory is that dreaming helps the mind to cope with every day stress. That does make a whole lot of sense. But what happens when dreams become precognitive? And how is it that we sometimes get messages in our dreams? No one really knows for sure. But what we DO know is that it is not only possible to learn from dreams, but over time, we can begin to see patterns of information that comes through and details that at first may not seem precognitive, but as time goes on becomes readily apparent. 

So how do we learn from dreams, exactly? The only way to really learn anything from dreams is to write them down and keep a running journal. Writing dreams down does several things. First, it helps you to remember them accurately. The more you write down, the harder your brain tries to recall the information. If you are consistent and write things down as soon as you wake up, your brain will begin to automatically "save" the details for recall. Eventually, your recall will improve significantly and it will become effortless. When I began having intense dreams back in 96, I took the advice of a long time mentor and began writing them down. When I look back now, it is obvious how recording my dreams over the years has allowed me to have much clearer and more accurate recall. It's kind of fun to see the progression from scattered details and bits of recall, to specific and complete conversations and details. Which brings me to my next point: Keeping a running journal will eventually show the patterns in your dreams and allow you to assign meanings to certain things. For example, over the years, every time I dreamed of a Tornado, some major change would occur in my life. Now, I know when I dream about a tornado, that something major is about to happen in my own life. 

Last but not least, if you want to learn from your dreams, then pay attention to them. Re-read your journal entries each week. Little bits of insight that you may not recognize or understand initially will often make sense later on. And remember, dreams can often take on aspects of the future, or connect to other people's lives. That room you've never seen before that showed up in your dream last night, may be a room that is in a house you live in in the future. It could also be a room in the house of someone you meet in the future. The only way to find out is to keep copious notes and study them often. 

How you study your dreams will determine what you get out of them. Like the scientist who keeps his composition book glued to him in the lab, the more detail and information you write down, the more information you will have to work with and ultimately, the more knowledge you will gain. 

There's an old adage that goes something like this: "Every person we meet, we meet for a reason" I don't know who the original author was, but I've spent many countless hours pondering that sentiment. More than a decade ago, I began meeting people I'd literally dreamed about long before I ever met them in person. To say that it was surreal would be a gross understatement. I wondered how it was possible, and whether there was some divine intervention playing out. After all, each of those people changed my life in some way. Then I wondered, if reality is a construct, is it possible that we are "intending" people into our lives? Is it possible that every person we meet "intended" to find us too? Or is it the lessons we learn from those interactions that we are "intending"? Perhaps we are like electrons, spiraling toward others whose energetic signatures match our own. Maybe those dreams are just precursors, little "Trailers" before the big movie that we are somehow able to pick up on. 

Whatever the case may be, it will be interesting to see how things play out in the future. I can't help but wonder if the people I'm dreaming about now will somehow appear in my future. I guess only time will tell. In the meantime, I've learned a valuable lesson about paying attention to the subtle and sometimes not-so-subtle hints the Universe provides. When we pay attention, our understanding of our lives, our situations and our future increases exponentially and with that new understanding comes greater peace and deeper happiness.