What does dreaming of a loved one in spirit really mean? Do they have a message or a task for us? How can we build our own dream connection with a loved one in spirit? Our experts share. Watch 8pm Tues 11 Aug www.soultv.com.au
Dreams and dreaming is a very subjective subject and a common thing to us all even if we don’t remember our dreams. To dream of a loved one who has passed to spirit can often leave us confused or wondering if perhaps there is a deeper meaning. Are they trying to tell us something, if so what? Firstly know that spirit does gone on after passing and it does try to reconnect. What is THAT song…lol!
“Every night in my dreams
I see you, I feel you,
That is how I know you go on
Far across the distance
And spaces between us
You have come to show you go on
Near, far, wherever you are
I believe that the heart does go on
Once more you open the door
And you're here in my heart
And my heart will go on and on.”
More often than not it is our subconscious mind trying to deal with things at a time when our conscious, seemingly logical mind is out of the way. Our unconscious mind is helping to programme us to deal with undealt things in another way. To move through other realities that we do not understand when we are “awake” unless we are truly awake to all realities. In our limited understanding there are a minimum of 144 different realities that we exist in at any given moment. We are not just our awake minds! And in many of the ancient cultures the dream state is just as important as the awake state, just as conscious. With the Original people of Australia it is the true reality, hence the term “dreamtime”. In our experience they would prefer us not to call it dream time as they know we believe that dreams are not real. Their “dreamtime” is very real and the Anangu call it Tjurkurpa or creation story. For with in that reality is all of creation and creating.
That is not to say that we totally give ourselves over to trying to find meaning in our dreams. Sometimes there is and sometimes there isn’t. Just as some of our loved ones when they pass have chosen to come back to guide us and or finish unfinished business so do others just wish to move on. They have finished with this reality and have or wish to move on to the next.
The dream state is a door way into the other realities. One we can choose to walk through and explore or not. The Maori of Aotearoa/New Zealand place a lot of store in conversing with their passed family members as do a lot of the South American cultures. The seer or medicine man of many tribal cultures uses the portents of dreams to guide and lead the others of the tribe. They however have been trained to dream in a certain way and to learn to interpret the symbology of dreams. Are dreams to be taken literally at all? Sometimes yes they can be. Most often they are symbolic or metaphorical. I, Phoebe have found that when I have a dream, either a lucid one or when I am asleep, that is very clear and precise, then I interpret it literally. For example if I dream of a volcanic eruption and see people fleeing then I know that is already happening or is about to. If a family member comes to me and says something very clearly with no need of interpretation, then I know to follow what it is they have said. It may not be exactly as they have said but I know it is a call for help of some kind or they are just connecting and letting me know that I am loved.
If a recently passed family member comes into our dreams mostly it is us just working through their passing. They may be back to help or pass on a message and that will be up to the dreamer to work out what it is. Nothing has meaning until we give it meaning and what the symbology of dreams means to you is what that dream will mean. We dream in symbols that we understand. Dream messages are sent in symbology that only we can interpret correctly. So what the dream means to you is what it means. There are generic meanings that can be applied when in confusion but your interpretation and understanding will always over-rule those.
For the Original people of Australia once someone has passed they let them go. They are never referred to again by their name only as Uncle or Aunty. They do not want to call them back once they have gone and respect the fact that they have moved on back into the land they came from and to call them would be to disturb their rest and to call them away from their ancestral home. When the bones of the passed are not buried in their country they believe that they cannot rest until they are brought home and buried with ceremony and respect. The spirit wanders the earth looking for home.
In South America especially Mexico, Día de Muertos, or the Day of The Dead is celebrated on November 1st. It is a joyous holiday that celebrates the dead with food and dancing, waking them up from their eternal slumber for a day to be honoured and for them to celebrate death as part of life and the community, with the living.
When a loved one comes into a dream often they are usually helping us to let go.
We have a story for you: A young man lost his father and every night for 3 years he dreamed that he saw his father standing at the bottom of some stairs wanting to go up but not doing so and holding a bucket in each hand. Finally after 3 years of this dream the young man asked his father why he was holding the buckets and what was in them. Why he didn’t walk up those stairs he so obviously wanted to. “These buckets are full of the tears you are crying for me and they are too heavy for me to carry up the stairs!”
To finish if you wish to have a better connection to your ancestors, invite them to visit you in your dream state..only if they wish to..and that you are willing to learn from what they may like to teach. Always make sure you sleep protected if you are going to invite anyone in and make sure you check their ID. Don’t ever be afraid of what comes in or afraid to send them away. This is your space and they are your dreams after all. Write down what symbols come into your dream and what they mean to you so you have your own a book of dream symbology to reference. Most of all don’t stress about any dream you remember, you can always ask to not remember your dreams. And on a medical note some vivid dreams no matter what the content, is your body trying to tell you that all is not well and you may need have a check - up with your health care practitioner. The seer or dream interpreter for the village always lived a life very connected to the Earth, the plants and the animals. They knew what each one represented and what it meant if they came into a dream, not only for them but for all of the tribe. When we go out into the desert away from all technology and interference then the ancestors will come to us more easily and the messages will be clearer. To have clearer dreams clear your mind of all expectation and stress.
For now we wish you happy beautiful dreams!
Paul and Phoebe Hoogendyk
www.ancientpathways.com.au
www.maurinaturaltherapy.com