Friday, June 22, 2007

What if...We Paid Attention to Our Dreams?

Have you ever stopped to think about some of the odd dreams you have while sleeping? Some of them can be so weird, you just have to laugh. Others may leave you wondering, what does that mean?

With having a psychology background, I can tell you that dreams really can provide some significant messages to you if you’re willing to stop and evaluate what they might mean. This morning, I had two significant dreams that definitely were there to show me where I am in my career and ministry and how I am to proceed. How do I know they were significant? I can’t stop thinking about them, and after all these hours, I remember the details vividly.

After reading a recommended book “Windows of the Soul-Understanding the Meaning of Your Dreams” by Dr. Robert Wise, is when I really started paying more attention to what my dreams were trying to tell me. Over the years, my dreams have accurately predicted real life outcomes as well as provide wisdom on how to handle life situations.

Dreams provide you with an opportunity to see what you may be too busy to notice when you are awake.

Here are some tips to wake up and take notice of what your dreams mean:

1. Keep a dream diary. When you wake up and remember some details, write them down. I kept a dream diary years ago when I had over six months of dreams with very similar themes. These ‘themes’ revealed how I was handling a tremendous transition in my life and how they provided hope for the future.

2. Recognize similar themes in your dreams. There is definitely something for you to learn when you start seeing similarities in your dreams.

3. Keep in mind that your dreams aren’t always to be taken at ‘face value.’ What I mean is that if you have a dream about your workplace, it doesn’t automatically mean an object lesson for you concerning your work. It could mean something about your personal life or a relationship.

4. Don’t ignore your ‘feelings’ in your dreams. Your feelings will provide a large clue as to whether your dream is personally, professionally or spiritually related.

5. Consider what God might be saying to you through your dreams. This may be the only way He is able to get your attention!

8 comments:

Randee said...

A Dream I'll Never Forget

A long time ago, I had the strangest dream. I don't often remember my dreams but this one I'll never forget.

I was at my junior high school and I had a baby wrapped in a blanket. But...the baby was a grape popsickle. I loved this baby, coddled it, kissed it. And, when I went to step off the school bus with the baby in hand, I slipped. The "frozen babe" flew out of my arms and fell onto the snowy ground. A corner of the popsickle baby fell off and before I knew it another student casually picked it up and popped it in his mouth.

I woke myself up in a state of total devastation. My poor frozen pop. How I loved it in my dream.

(I realize this is not the point of your post but I thought I'd share anyway!)

Love you, Lynn!

Anne said...

Wow Randee, interesting dream. The first thing that popped in my head was that the "baby" you cherished was very fragile. If your "baby" was something creative in your life that you were giving birth to, it's interesting to see how passionate you were about it and yet how casual the stranger (others) regarded it. Perhaps you were trying to guard your creative "baby" from those who would try and be dismissive.

Oh gosh. I love trying to interpret dreams sometimes, can you tell? Like Lynn, I think sometimes God uses them as a means to get through to us. And hey, Randee, welcome home! I missed you!

Randee said...

How insightful, Anne. Truthfully, I haven't spent any time in dream interpretation but I find it interesting.

Thanks for the welcome home. It feels good to be back!

Hannah said...

Wonderful post! Thanks for the comment on my new team blog with Shalene http://freedominthespirit.blogspot.com

Lori Arriaga said...

Lynn, very interesting post. I've always believed you can learn some things by your dreams and it would be very interesting to learn more about but never have. Thanks for the thought provoking post.

Anne, I loved how you interpreted Randee's dream!

Elle Mgee said...

Hi Lynn,
My latest blog post is called: Master Your Ability To Breathe Underwater. I often have lucid dreams of breathing underwater and I actually look forward to having them because they have turned out to be quite an adventure! Please check it out when you have time. I'll visit more often!

Anne said...

Lori, I don't talk about it much, but sometimes after I've had a dream and ask God if I was meant to learn something from it, a complete understanding of all the symbolism just kind of pours through me. It doesn't happen very often, (especially because of my 5:30am alarm!), but I just think it's one way God might be trying teach me something important. He's an amazing God, eh?!

Shalene said...

You know, quite a few years ago, before I was a believer, I had two different dreams in which my mother in one and my infant son (at the time) drowned at the lake, because I couldn't swim fast enough to save them. Unfortunately, I'll never know what that dream meant, but I think it probably had something to do with me smothering a relationship with them both. (In different ways for each.) Any interpretations? LOL