Learning from Dreams
“For
God speaks in one way, and in two, though man does not perceive it. In a dream,
in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls upon men, while they slumber on
their beds
.
—Job 33:14-15
When
we say we need to “sleep on” something, we’re doing more than using a familiar
figure of speech. We’re also recognizing a psychological and spiritual truth.
Throughout scripture we read of God communicating with people through their
dreams, giving them a vision of where they should be going or warning them of
dire events to come. Many times the meaning of the dream is clear. In Genesis,
for example, we read of God coming to King Abimelech and saying, “You are about
to die because of the woman whom you have taken; for she is a married woman.”
The dream confirms what Abimelech
most likely knows in his heart. In other instances, though, the significance of
the dream is not so immediately clear, and the dreamer has to seek the help of
an interpreter—Joseph for the pharaoh, Daniel for
Nebuchadnezzar.
Whether
we remember them or not, we, too, have a number of dreams every night, each of
them capable of giving us insight into ourselves and connecting us with the
Divine. We don’t necessarily have to have an interpreter to profit from our
dreams, but we do need to learn to pay attention to them. This can be hard,
particularly if our sleep is disturbed or we are overly tired, but with desire
we can improve.
A
first step we can take to make this process easier is to keep pen and paper next
to our bed, enabling us to jot down dreams before we begin the day. If we lack
the time to record them thoroughly, a simple outline or a list of phrases will
do. Then what? Remembering that our dreams come from several levels within our
selves, we might look for “characters” who occur more than once, or issues and
feelings that echo those in our waking life. What do these elements say about
our own state of mind? Are we moving in a direction that our heart knows is
wrong? Do we sense that God is present in our lives in spite of any problems we
may have? Dreams can be baffling, but they can also be our teacher. We should
listen to them well. —Susan Hanson
Using Dreams, Intuition and Synchronicity to Decipher Messages from God Within
THE STUFF OF DREAMS
To find out where your heart of hearts is, what is your true longing, what
you're really afraid of, what might be possible in the future and in the here
and now, look to your dreams.
THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF JUNGIAN PSYCHOLOGY AND SPIRITUALITY
More
and more people are turning to the mythic structure and language of
depth
psychology for understanding the essential core
experience of
life.
WAKING UP TO OUR DREAMS
An interview with author and dream mentor Joyce Rockwood Hudson on looking for
God in every moment of our lives.
ARE WE MISSING SOMETHING HERE?
According to author and dream mentor Joyce Rockwood Hudson, there is much
more to the Gospels than what we see on the surface; more treasures lie in their
deep metaphorical meanings.
EXPLORING THIN PLACES
There are things that happen between us and the Holy.
Whatever the name, whatever the source, there are moments when we
sense, when we
know, when we experience a sense of connection,
greatness, and wonder. And
nothing else seems to matter.
