Just my .02 on dreams

[Jonathan]

There was a recent post where the OP asked what his/her dream meant. The thread was closed, just as it should have been. I just want to say, that as a person who constantly remembers most of my dreams in extreme detail, for over 40 years, I can say, without hesitation, that they mean absolutely nothing in relationship to external events, future probabilities, etc. They might be fun to experience, as long as it is not a nightmare, but they offer nothing of substance.

Trust me. Scientists have to real explanation on why we dream in terms of the subjective experience. My personal opinion is that dreaming is kind of like defragging the hard drive that is your mind (In a world of SSDs, you might have to look that up).

Finally, investing any intellectual capital into interpreting one's dream results in the same thing that studying/practicing the occult does. I have said once or twice here that demons and spirits don't even have to exist in order for participating in the occult to have a negative impact on you. It results in a magical, detached, and non-rational world view that will not only never help you, but will actually cripple you. Furthermore, it is a mental habit that dies hard.

Just my .02

 

[TimeWarpWife]

I'm guessing many of my dreams are influenced by what I was eating while I was watching TV and fell asleep ~ yep, being chased by a giant pizza can be terrifying.

 

[Matthew6:33]

There was a recent post where the OP asked what his/her dream meant. The thread was closed, just as it should have been. I just want to say, that as a person who constantly remembers most of my dreams in extreme detail, for over 40 years, I can say, without hesitation, that they mean absolutely nothing in relationship to external events, future probabilities, etc. They might be fun to experience, as long as it is not a nightmare, but they offer nothing of substance.

Trust me. Scientists have to real explanation on why we dream in terms of the subjective experience. My personal opinion is that dreaming is kind of like defragging the hard drive that is your mind (In a world of SSDs, you might have to look that up).

Finally, investing any intellectual capital into interpreting one's dream results in the same thing that studying/practicing the occult does. I have said once or twice here that demons and spirits don't even have to exist in order for participating in the occult to have a negative impact on you. It results in a magical, detached, and non-rational world view that will not only never help you, but will actually cripple you. Furthermore, it is a mental habit that dies hard.

Just my .02

I agree, dreams are very personal. They could be from God but most probably are not. I think the other thread had real good advice -- if you think your dream means something you should ask God himself. I do not trust man in general. I barely trust myself most times.

Read the Bible, maybe the Holy Spirit will reveal a meaning to you through scripture?

 

[Chris]

I really like what Adrian says here in the other thread that got closed:

We don't permit dream threads here. They're too subjective and open to too many interpretations. Doing let that discourage you, though. I do believe God gives dreams from time to time, but I also believe He reveals what they mean. If you think your dream is from God, then you should ask HIM to reveal to you what it means. If it is from Him, He will. If He doesn't, then your dream was just a dream.

We also over the years have had silly people come on the forums and say things like:

"God told me to tell you...."

"God told me that if you give "insert amount here" that you will get a 100 fold increase!" (Sounds like a few on TV huh?!!)

"God told me..."

I think y'all get the picture now.

If you have dreams or visions or whatever, don't rely on men to tell you what they mean, do as Adrian said and take that request straight to God for Him to reveal to you what they mean. He will one way or another make that known to you if He so desires. We have the Holy Spirit to help us with all things.

And if you don't get an answer right away, keep praying and seeking the help of God or the Holy Spirit until He is ready to do so. And of course, some dreams are just dreams that can come from stress from work, a scary movies, etc.

But as Adrian says if it is from God, He or the Holy Spirit will let you know what it is.

 

[Tall Timbers]

I don't recall ever wondering what a dream meant... I've never expected them to mean anything. I do enjoy it when I remember a dream and the most fun is when I wake up remembering a good dream and then go back to sleep and resume the same dream.

 

[lamborgini]

Prior to me finding Jesus, I used to have very vivid dreams about bombs and fire outside my bedroom window at my first house. Very apocalyptic in nature.

After I found Jesus, it never happened again.

Take it for what you will. Had I not found Him, that would have been a very real future.

 

[Bound2Him]

The best part of waking up in the morning from any dream, whether good or bad is we can go straight to the Lord with it. Knowing he's had us in his arms the whole time. Nothing shall by any means harm us. Just definitely knowing that fact makes sleeping all the more sweeter.

 

[Jan51]

The more I am too warm at night, the weirder my dreams get. If a really weird one wakes me, I just throw back the blanket and I am fine again.

 

[Andy C]

I don't recall ever wondering what a dream meant... I've never expected them to mean anything. I do enjoy it when I remember a dream and the most fun is when I wake up remembering a good dream and then go back to sleep and resume the same dream.

I suggest you look up “false awakenings” from a lucid dream. Its almost impossible according to most sleep Drs to return to the same dream after waking up. I have had many false awakenings when I think Im awake, then return to the same dream, and some nights, repeatedly doing so.

 

[maryrae]

I have heard that dreaming is a way our subconscious mind tries to make sense of the days events or of a circumstance that troubles us. There aren't the usaual going's on as in our awake hours, so our brain has opportunity to try to make sense of things. I have found that to be a good explanation some of the time.
As per our rules, I will not go into "dreams", but just to say I have had one that God has used to bring me great joy and peace in my Christian life, BUT, my foundation remains centered on the Word and what it reveals of my wonderful Father God and my Saviour.

 

[Tall Timbers]

I suggest you look up “false awakenings” from a lucid dream. Its almost impossible according to most sleep Drs to return to the same dream after waking up. I have had many false awakenings when I think Im awake, then return to the same dream, and some nights, repeatedly doing so.

It doesn't matter what actually happens. What matters is the fun of returning or seemingly returning to the same good dream.

 

[Tall Timbers]

duplicate post

 

[Tall Timbers]

I have heard that dreaming is a way our subconscious mind tries to make sense of the days events or of a circumstance that troubles us. There aren't the usaual going's on as in our awake hours, so our brain has opportunity to try to make sense of things. I have found that to be a good explanation some of the time.

Not too long ago I was sharing a dream that I'd had and remembered to my family. I told them I had no idea where that stuff came from. Just about everyone at the table then piped in with something I'd been doing or experiencing recently that could have been the roots of the dream I was sharing. I guess I'm not the brightest bulb sometimes...

 

[Andy C]

It doesn't matter what actually happens. What matters is the fun of returning or seemingly returning to the same good dream.

Because Im a person who is never late, and always early for everything, a recurring dream I have is being late. For example I have had dreams where my Marine unit is leaving in a few minutes for a long deployment, and I have not even started packing….or still at home 10 minutes before a scheduled plane departure……..These type of dreams I have “woken” up from, only to go right back to panic mode for being late. So these types for me are not fun going back to. I cant recall ever having a really fun dream, having a false awakening, then going back to, but that would be nice if it happened.

Most mornings, I dont remember any dreams I had overnight.

 

[Tall Timbers]

Most mornings, I dont remember any dreams I had overnight.

Likewise, but it's always fun when I remember a dream, and mine are usually pleasant. During most of my time in the Air Force under the Strategic Air Command, if you weren't 5 minutes early you were late. I always aimed for 15 minutes prior on account of I never wanted to be late. Fast forward to the latter years of my career and the fighter jocks managed a coupe in the Air Force. They dissolved Strategic Air Command and things changed quite a bit. During my last year or two I'd be shocked when a junior officer would walk in to a meeting late, seemingly without a care in the world, and there were no repercussions for the officer. Timeliness no longer mattered to the extent that it used to.

To this day I generally arrive 15 minutes early to anything and everything... and I'm good with that.

 

[Nemophilist]

The more I am too warm at night, the weirder my dreams get. If a really weird one wakes me, I just throw back the blanket and I am fine again.

Yes! Me too! If I'm too warm or sick with a fever I will have strange nightmarish dreams. Very unpleasant.

 

[yrrek]

In the Bible, there are instances where people have dreams that are from God. Most are nothing but don’t say it’s one size fits all. My opinion… God can use anything to communicate but everything we need to know is already written in his word. There are no new revelations but that doesn’t mean he can’t point someone in a direction by dreams. I once lost a very important book. I asked God to tell me where it was. That night I had a dream of where it was and the next day I found it exactly as I saw it. Was it a prophetic dream? No. It was simply an answer to a prayer. That’s the kind of dreams I believe he speaks. And that’s my experience.

 

[Tall Timbers]

In the Bible, there are instances where people have dreams that are from God. Most are nothing but don’t say it’s one size fits all. My opinion… God can use anything to communicate but everything we need to know is already written in his word. There are no new revelations but that doesn’t mean he can’t point someone in a direction by dreams. I once lost a very important book. I asked God to tell me where it was. That night I had a dream of where it was and the next day I found it exactly as I saw it. Was it a prophetic dream? No. It was simply an answer to a prayer. That’s the kind of dreams I believe he speaks. And that’s my experience.

While I was in Colombia, the night before I was to hike into deep jungle (El Otro Mundo) that can be a bit dangerous, God gave a dream to the person I was going to stay with. In the dream he saw me hiking towards El Otro Mundo on the trail. When he saw me on the trail the next day at the exact place where he saw me in the dream, he turned and fled. It freaked him out. He got that fright under control and came back... He told me where to go and wait until he could come back for me and take me to where he lived. There were some other interesting things that happened with the two of us and the Holy Spirit.

 

[ChildofLight]

Someone had mentioned dreams are like a way of filing the day’s memories into a file cabinet. Many files are opened creating for weird dreaming. Maybe why I can’t remember some things. They got stuck in the wrong file.

 

[OnlyHim]

I agree with the point that I think if or when the Lord speaks to us through dreams, those are things He is talking directly to us about. I dream every night, all night and in all 5 senses. Over my life there have been just 7 dreams where there is no doubt they were the Lord Jesus or an angel speaking directly to me. Each time I awoke, the first thought that came to mind was how profound that dream was and that it was different\really important and left me immediately asking Jesus what that meant. Within a few seconds the Holy Spirit would tell me very clearly. Each time it was a specific lesson for me to learn from...and one time to be deeply comforted by. To say the least I often remember back to those dreams so clearly in my mind as if it were a movie I can replay anytime and I remember the lessons and the words spoken. But they were for me and me only. I suppose though I think many of us could learn from the lessons taught. Nevertheless, these were personal encounters with Jesus and there is no doubt in my mind about that.

Most of our dreams, though they may seem to be prophetic in nature, are our subconscious minds working through what our conscious minds observed throughout the day. We tend to dream about things our minds are focused on a lot. Its a simple exercise, but if you can recall a dream the next morning and some of the strange things that happened in it, if we just think about it for a little while we can probably make sense of those oddities as just things we saw the days before. This is why I think it may be wise not to be so quick to run out and start making YouTube videos.

I have learned one thing over the years regarding seeing people that I haven't spoken too or thought about for years suddenly appearing in a dream. I have learned to pray for that person when I awake. I think maybe its the Holy Spirit giving me nudge that something might be up with that person and I need to pray for them. I never know the outcome but Jesus does.