- "All that we see or seem is but a dream
within a dream"
- Edgar Allen Poe
Questions about dreams have been pondered through
history.
"Why do we dream?", "What are dreams?" and "What
do dreams mean?" these are the questions for which many have no answers for. Or
do they?
Of all of the questions about dreams "Why do we
dream?" seems to be the most perplexing. Many theories about
why we dream have been espoused. It is suggested, by sleep
researchers, that dreams help organize memories into patterns that help
learning. Dreams allow us to re-experience events and then put them
back into storage.
Privileged Readers of the Akashic records believe
that we have been given dreams for our benefit. Edgar Casey believed
that "because we are spiritual beings we have the potential to
experience many different levels of awareness while in the dream state
from which we may gain insight about all aspects of
life." Some sleep researchers would agree with Casey's theory
and call the dream state "The third level of existence." Researchers have also been quoted as saying that "REM sleep is as if
you had literally traveled to another world" and "you have in
essence entered a different form of existence."
"What are dreams?" Some believe dreams are
omens of both good and bad events to come. There are others that
believe it is our subconscious desires manifesting in our unconscious
state, sleep. Still there are people that believe dreams are our
"internal entertainment system" so to speak (self contained TV
perhaps). The later would make you wonder if the whole idea of
theater, movies and television didn't come from dreams.
It wouldn't be unreasonable to believe that the idea
of TV came from someone's dreams. Many ideas and inventions have come from
dreams. One of the most amazing things to think about is that
technical information has been rendered from dreams. People that
have had no technical education have been given the instructions for
developing a technical device via a dream. Chance
perhaps?
You could say dreams
work in very much the same way as our intuition works while we are in a
meditative state. As our mind is at rest, it is not cluttered with the
thoughts of the day and can more freely tune itself into the signals
or messages of the universe. As in meditation our minds pick up clips of
movies or pictures that at first are hard to associate any meaning
to. But nevertheless most of the events witness
transpire. An example of information acquired in drams is the
life of Madame C. J. Walker, (born Sarah Breedlove). She was the
first black millionaire acquiring her fortune from information given to
her in a dream. Sarah suffered from alopecia (balding) until one
night she dreamed of an old man that showed her things to mix up for her
hair. When she awoke she gave
the formula a try. She mixed various ingredients given to her in the
dream and tried the mixture on herself. The formula was a
success. She became famous for her hair-care-products and is best
know for inventing the pressing comb and conditioner used for straightened
hair. Sarah died in 1919, her estate was valued at two million
dollars.
Developing the ability to know "what dreams
mean" and how to associate them is a process much like developing any
of your psychic senses. You must be diligent! In order to utilize
your dream insights fully, it is necessary to be consistent in recording
them each day, (Learn more in Patricia Michell's newest book What
Happens When We Die,
Sign up for your copy now.) Even if it is just fragments of a dream that you
recall upon awakening, write down everything you remember,
impressions, feelings, colors, people, etc. Do this prior to
starting your daily routine. Often we will forget pieces of the dream as
the day goes on. Next, look at the dream from different
levels: relationships, job, career, education, health, any
circumstances currently being dealt with in waking life. If you
dream about people you recognize remember to write down everything
that comes to mind, their attitude, look, feelings about that
person. Everything that comes to mind should be logged in your
journal.
People often dream about a person or
occasion that seems to have been triggered by a recent event in their
life. The unconscious uses actual experiences and weaves them
into a tapestry to portray a message it wishes to bring to the attention
of the dreamer. Once you start the process of logging your dreams
you will notice that your dreams are giving instructions on how to proceed
in many areas of your life. The person that believes that dreams are
our subconscious desires manifesting
in our unconscious state would not be all wrong. Dreams can be a
tool to help people to recognize and accept the many varied aspects of
themselves, some of which may be unconscious. Some may be aspects of
ourselves that we do not want to examine, such as our behavior when mean
and rude actions, fears or desires or areas in our life that are out of
balance. While other dreams such as Madame C. J. Walker is
information given to you from a Devine source and needs no
interpretation. Dreams can be a clear direction or path to take.
Once a correlation from a dream has been made to an
actual situation in your life, you may
 decide upon a course
of action. Asking for answers to a particular problem prior to
sleep will help your find answers in your dreams. As this amazing universe
works, it will give us dreams about what we need most at a given
time. Looking at our present situations or needs will aid you in
your quest to find the answers to and in your
dreams.
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