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Articles – Dreams

ZPDreamsArticles 7

Understanding Nightmares

Articles Understanding Nightmares

Modern researchers claim a definite relationship between our mental and emotional problems, our nightmares and state of physical health.

Nightmares manifest in various forms.

I spoke to a lady who at the time was going through a divorce. She shared a dream in which she was being chased by a tornado. As in her case, feeling overwhelmed by difficult circumstances can often trigger nightmares.

I remember during a difficult time in my own life, I dreamed of a set of large tidal waves approaching from the horizon. In the dream I found myself about twenty metres out from the beach. I was sitting on top of a huge rock and holding on, waiting for the inevitable catastrophe. In my dream I was filled with panic and an utter sense of hopelessness. That dream was an accurate description of how I felt with what I was going through in my waking life. Indeed, I felt despair and hopelessness.

I explore this idea further in my book ‘In Your Dreams’.

Nightmares seem most likely to surface during times of great anxiety. Perhaps a person feels trapped in their job, marriage, or caught between a rock and a hard place.

On one occasion when I was speaking on the subject of dreams in a high school, a young man approached me with a concern. He told me about a disturbing recurring dream where he would be running around in the nude, trying to find a place to hide. Apparently the dream ceased when he’d moved to another school. In the new situation he discovered the students were friendlier towards him than the old school. Previously he’d felt victimised. Students had bullied him, ostracized and intimidated him. The nude dream was simply a reflection of his feeling vulnerable and humiliated.

Many nightmares originate in fears we might harbour—the fear of failure or a fear of being caught doing something wrong are examples.

A young Catholic lady shared her dream with me. She’d recently slept with her boyfriend, going against her religious upbringing. The following night she dreamed she was falling. Falling from grace would be an appropriate theme in that dream.

There are other fears we might be confronted with, such as the fear of being manipulated and controlled by an authority figure. The authority may be your boss, a parent or school teacher.

I recall speaking to a lady who, for some thirty years, would constantly dream of a dark shadowy figure standing close to her.

I asked her if she had any idea what this might mean. She said the dark figure represented her father who walked out on the family when she was about five years old. She knew that one day she would have to confront him about how she felt towards him. When she was in her mid-thirties she tracked him down. During a lunch meeting she finally came face to face with him. The meeting went well and the lady was able to deal with her grief and confusion that had plagued her for thirty years. From that moment on, the recurring dream ceased.

Sometimes a recurring nightmare will cease simply by confronting certain fears we have in our lives. It is helpful to identify the source of those things threatening your peace of mind. There are a number of questions you can ask yourself: What is it you are afraid of? Do you feel pressured to do something you don’t want to? Is there someone or something you are reluctant to confront? Is there something about yourself that you dislike—something that you have failed to address? Have you experienced a recent trauma?

It is not uncommon for nightmares to happen following a significant loss in your life-the death of a loved one, a loss of job or a relationship break up all register as significant loss.

I remember a lady sharing she dreamed two men digging a grave.

When she spoke to me about her life circumstances at the time of the dream, it turned out she was in her second marriage and feared her current husband would be no different to her first.

Children seem to experience more nightmares than adults. It is likely they are processing more fears as they are growing through new and unfamiliar situations. When children dream of a monster, perhaps they are feeling threatened and insecure around someone.

One mother asked if I might speak with her regarding her son who had been having a recurring dream.

The 11 year old boy regularly dreams he is standing alone while a lion steadily circles him. He feels very uncomfortable in the dream.

After asking a few questions I discovered the lady had recently divorced her husband, a man who had violent tendencies. It was apparent the lion represented the boy’s father as the dream seemed to happen when he was staying at his father’s place.  The uncomfortable feeling was an expression of his anxiety about his father’s volatile nature.

Children can experience intimidations from any number of sources, including school friends, relatives, strangers, neighbours or even teachers. When a nightmare manifests, the key to understanding is to identify the source of insecurity, whether it be a threat, discomfort or fear. Often when the problem is brought into the open, discussed and  if necessary, counselling sought, the nightmare will stop.

For further discussion on this area see the article on ‘Children’s Dreams.’

ZPDreamsArticles 6

The Difference Between Speculation and Revelation

Articles The Difference Between Speculation & Revelation

I had just finished delivering a Master Class on “Keys to Understanding the Symbolic Language”, when I was approached by a journalist. She wished to interview me and she posed a very good question:

“What is the difference between what you do and what a psychologist or psychoanalyst does?”

This was my response to her: When it comes to understanding symbolic language our approach is very similar. The difference occurs when we are considering a dream of Divine origin. It is then that an interpretation requires Divine insight. The distinction between what a psychologist or psychoanalyst might do in interpreting a dream and how I would seek understanding is knowing the difference between speculation and revelation.

She was somewhat bewildered by my reply so I continued to explain using the example of Pharaoh’s dream as recorded in the Bible, Genesis Chapter 41. Pharaoh had summoned the magicians and wise men of Egypt because of two dreams that troubled him. They attempted to speculate but even with their best guess, couldn’t come up with an interpretation. The journalist was intrigued to hear of Pharaoh’s dream, how the seven healthy cows were eaten by seven ugly and gaunt cows that had emerged from the river Nile. She knew very little about the Bible.

“Can you imagine what took place?” I asked. “This one suggested one thing, and the next one suggested something else.”

Pharaoh’s frustrations continued to build until the cupbearer recalled a time he’d spent with a Hebrew prisoner. The cupbearer remembered his prison cell mate who had accurately sought wisdom from God to interpret his dream. He told Pharaoh about Joseph and Pharaoh had Joseph sent for immediately.

The journalist listened as I unpacked the Biblical story.

When Joseph was finally brought before Pharaoh, he made it clear he was unable to interpret Pharaoh’s dream, however, he was confident God would reveal the meaning.

The seven healthy cows represented seven good years, and the seven gaunt cows stood for seven years of drought that was to follow. As Joseph sought God’s message contained in Pharaoh’s dreams, he was then able to warn Egypt’s leader of the time of famine that would eventually come. Pharaoh chose to accept Joseph’s interpretation and mobilized a national strategy—to store grain during the seven years of plenty in preparation for the years of drought.

Joseph needed something more than mere speculation—a best guess that springs from the natural realm of logic and reason. In Joseph’s case and in every case where a dream has a Divine origin, revelation is required—revelation that comes from the supernatural realm.

There is nothing wrong with speculating what certain symbols in a dream might mean. Most of our dreams are a reflection of the soul, connected to everyday concerns and events in our life. But there are times when a dream is more than a response to our day-to-day life. There are dreams that are of Divine origin and will require the Holy Spirit’s revelation to understand the meaning.

On one occasion I was challenged by a well-meaning Christian who questioned my right to teach people about speculating what their dreams might mean. His comment was: “If God gives a dream to a person then He will make the meaning of the symbols clear to them, so you don’t need to teach people about this.”

In response to this challenge, I referred the person to the imagery contained in the parable of the sower and the seed. Jesus was surprised the disciples could not understand the symbolism in the story he had just told them. (Mark 4:13NKJV). “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?” (Luke 8:9 NKJV)

Jesus went on to explain the symbolism in the parable, as the disciples could not understand the meaning. Jesus may have thought the meaning behind the symbolism plain enough, especially for those who are his disciples. But this was not the case.

This is a Biblical example how God may give a dream or vision but, as was the case with this parable, we might not necessarily understand it.

We should give ourselves permission to speculate what certain symbols might mean. While we may start off in speculation the Holy Spirit is more than able to lead us into the realm of revelation when required.

A recent personal example of this involved a dream my wife experienced. She dreamed she was in an elevator with a group of people heading up to the 168th floor. She had a key in her hand (an electronic sensor swab) which gave her access to the room on that floor. Kate felt the dream was significant. After some time of speculation, thinking through what it might mean, I had a thought to check the calendar. She received the dream on the morning of June 16th. I counted the days from the beginning of January and was amazed to find it was the 168th day since the beginning of the year. She was equally impressed. To give context to the dream and what we began to believe it might mean, here are the details of her situation. Kate has a heart of compassion for the homeless and needy. She was recently asked to be on the Board of a significant ministry for homeless and needy people. Her first Board meeting was scheduled for the morning immediately following the dream, which happened to be the 168th day of the year. I felt to mention to her that there was every chance she would play a major role in this ministry. Holding a key to the room in her hand may imply she was the key, or held the key, to access a major doorway required for the ministry to go forward. It was interesting to note that her involvement with this community initiative began in  January of that year.

As illustrated with this personal example, I began in the realm of speculation and ended up with the Holy Spirit’s revelation.