Part II: Dreams 101, The Magic
The Magic Behind Dreams
What do Abraham Lincoln, Paul McCartney and Frederick Banting have in common?
They have all experienced dreams that led to an outcome they dreamt about. Their dreams provided them with guidance or a prediction of their future. Known as prophetic dreams, these are dreams that foreshadow what may be to come. {& don’t worry, I threw Frederick Banting in there as a curveball. I wasn’t aware of who he is was, either, but you will soon find out.}
Although there are quite a few topics in which the line between science and magic are blurred, I believe that dreams are one of the most obvious examples. I say this because how can you tell me, that dreams are just a way for us to organize and process thoughts and emotions when I have come across at least ten groundbreaking inventions that were created as an outcome of dreams?
That to me, that is magic.
Pure guidance and magic.
But I guess magic is relative, or is it?
One example of the magic behind scientific dream discoveries is in the case of surgeon Frederick Banting’s discovery of insulin injections to treat diabetes. This life-saving therapy came to him in not one, but two dreams in which “He discovered a disproportionate balance between sugar and insulin. This breakthrough lead to another dream that revealed how to develop insulin as a drug to treat the condition.” (Source, Ten Dreams That Changed Human History, by Rebecca Turner)
Outside of science comes the creation of the song, Yesterday. In 1965, the great Paul McCartney composed the entire melody for the song “Yesterday” in his dreams. He woke up, convinced that the song already existed, and was quoted saying “For about a month I went round to people in the music business and asked them whether they had ever heard it before. Eventually it became like handing something in to the police. I thought if no-one claimed it after a few weeks then I could have it."
And no one ever did. Another Beatles top charter was born.
{I personally think he must have experienced multiple creative dreams to have created so many number one hits.}
To one of the most famous accounts, it is said that Abraham Lincoln confided in his friend, Ward Hill Lamon, about the premonition of his own death that came to him in a dream. According to History.com, “just a few days before his assassination on April 14, 1865, Lincoln shared a recent dream with a small group that included his wife, Mary Todd, and Lamon. In it, he walked into the East Room of the White House to find a covered body guarded by soldiers and surrounded by a crowd of mourners. When Lincoln asked one of the soldiers who had died, the soldier replied, “The president. He was killed by an assassin.” Lincoln’s prophetic dreams seemed to be a common theme throughout his life, as it was noted that he would wake up, warned ahead of great battles during the Civil War or receive guidance on matters concerning the wellbeing of his family.
And although as noted in Part I : The Science Behind Dreams, and within the book, 12,000 Dreams Interpreted by Gustavus Hindman Miller, “In our waking lives, our brain subconsciously stores information, events and feelings as we go through our days and years. {However} at the same time, we have a spiritual subconscious that is operating full-bore below the surface of our conscious, material life.”
I believe that in the case of dreams, that science and magic, body and spirit, come together to heal not only the body but also the spirit as well through guidance from _____ [God, your guardian angels, archangels, guides, ancestors, passed loved ones].
So, how can we make our own dreams magical?
Productive?
Solution-based?
Healing?
Just ask.
Although this leads me to another topic altogether, one in which I have not yet touched because I haven’t selected it from my spiritual bowl, your angels and / or guides (there are various names used) and even loved ones want to help you, to heal you, to gently encourage you to open yourself up to receive and ask for help.
My outlook is not based in years of research or data analyst, it is more so rooted in intuition, an all-knowing and experience, that I have found if I ask for help, pray, open myself up to guidance, that I usually receive it.
Is it a “POW!” - snap of the finger and it has arrived?
No.
But is it a gentle nudge, signs from the Heavens, a knowing, “yes.”
Part II
Magic: Dream Interpretations
How-to Receive Guidance in Dreams
1. Clear your mind & focus on the subject you wish to receive guidance on.
In his book, 12,000 Dreams Interpreted, Miller suggests that you clear your mind (I recommend doing this through a quick sleep meditation) and focus on something that you want clarity on before you slumber. He states furthermore that “your subconscious is taking in and processing tiny particles of information about the world around you all the time, without your even realizing it, and it can see hidden connections and subtle indicators that your waking mind cannot. If you calmly and repeatedly direct your mind toward this purpose, your dreams will show you more than your eyes can see of what is to come.”
2. …But don’t think too hard about it.
Now, when you do this, if you bring to mind a dilemma in which you want to receive guidance on, look at it from a third-party perspective that doesn’t know anything about the circumstance (if you are visual, maybe consider doing vision work such as the following: envision yourself outside of the situation, looking down on it from above: What do you see? Sense? What is known at this time? What are you hoping to resolve? Answer?). I say this because, you don’t want to evoke possible emotions that may have thrown you off course throughout the day and then flood your mind before bed, keeping you awake so you miss dreaming altogether. That would be counterproductive as more than likely, the anxiety that carries over with you next day may lead you to make the opposite decision than you know you should (yes, we have all been there).
Take the emotions out as best you can and look at the facts.
3. Go to sleep (again reading a mindless novel or meditating is the key for success here, do your best to put that phone down).
4. When you wake, write down what occurred in your dream.
Anything and everything, you can remember. Dream recall is fragile, as noted in Part I, The Science Behind Dreams, you may not remember all of your dream when you first wake as you may have experienced several sleep cycles post-REM, but if you find yourself waking up suddenly in the middle of the night, remembering your dream, write it down. Also, remember, that the more hours you sleep, the more likely it is that you dream.
In a recent podcast I listened to called The Science of Dreaming, by Kaitlin Luna featuring Dr. Deirdre Barrett, Dr. Barrett recommended apps to log your dreams in: “There are all sorts of apps. [Capture] is one of them, [Dreams], that have apps where you generally you can set your alarm on the app, make that your alarm in lieu of the other one and they have all sorts of gentler tones to wake you up or even a voice saying, “What were you dreaming?” as the first thing you're going to hear and then your phone is already set to if you speak in response to the alarm or the voice saying, “What were you dreaming?”, it's automatically going to record without you're having to reach over and activate it or anything.”
5. Interpret your dream
Sometimes, a scenario will come to you clearly in your dream. It may take one night, or it may take a few, but a proposed solution or outcome may surface for you to either blatantly remember it or feel into it the next morning.
However, in other cases, symbols are used in your dream that may feel random like “I kept putting away dishes last night, I have no idea what that means.” according to 12,000 Dreams Interpreted, an incredible book that contains literally, 12,000 signs you dream about and interprets them for you, putting away dishes “denotes good fortune, marriage or looking success.” (Thank you, to my dear friend, Cindy, for recommending!)
Another example is a topic I find to be common amongst my loved ones and it is that we are running late to either take an exam or to catch a plane. “Lateness” according to 12,000 Dreams Interpreted, “cautions you to avoid financial irresponsibility.”
So far, I have found this book to be fascinating and fun and suggest it to anyone who is intrigued by their dreams.
Aside from dream interpretation, comes dream healing.
I sincerely believe that if you ask to be provided with healing to emotions ahead of a night’s sleep, that you can receive it. Again, focus on it, envision yourself how you want to feel when you wake up (ie. energized, lighter, optimistic, happy), give permission and allow those emotions envelope you and go to sleep. See how you feel in the morning and repeat each night.
From my viewpoint, the more you “sleep on optimism” the more likely you are to fall asleep soundly.
The more sleep you get, the better you feel the next day.
And the better you feel, the happier you generally are and the cycle continues.
I feel that I have only just begun to scratch the surface with the meanings behind dreams, but am excited to share these exercises on the magic behind dreaming and hope it aids you in receiving solutions to dilemmas, guidance, clarity or healing of emotions.
As it is said that sweet dreams can provide for even sweeter days.
So, dream on.
“Dreams are illustrations from the book your soul is writing about you.”
{Sources: Source: 12,000 Dreams Interpreted, by Gustavus Hindman Miller, revised & updated by, Linda Shields and Lenore Skomal, Did Abraham Lincoln Predict His Own Death?, History.com, Ten Dreams That Changed Human History, by Rebecca Turner, The Science of Dreaming, by Kaitlin Luna featuring Dr. Deirdre Barrett}