Guidance Through Dreams

[Jezabel]

There is great power in dreams, they can warn us of dangers, bring our innermost feelings into focus, as well as bring us knowledge, spiritual gifts and guidance, and in some cases, power such as healing. As a shaman, I have been taught to pay attention to my dreams, not matter how short; even a fragment can provide the dreamer with insight. Lengths of dreams are not important, but more so what you see, and sometimes though something may seem not important, it may indeed carry a lot of importance.
As a shaman, I have come through many realizations through dreams. Our visions come to us usually through means of dreams, journeying, and meditation. “There is really no simple way…” (In The Shadows of the Shaman by Amber Wolfe, p137, ISB 0-87542-886). I too, was raised to think this way, which makes it at times difficult to explain to those who do not. I do not put a lot a thought into why I am a certain way; I just accept it as part of my existence. I am this way simply because I am. I use many examples from shamanism and Native American history, not just because they are part of me, but there’s a plethora of information available due to this being a major part of their beliefs and customs for longer than recorded history. Many dreams have lead these people into action, such as Sitting Bull’s dream of defeating the blue coats, that lead him and his people to act, causing the demise of General Custer and his men.
To look even further into a dream’s guidance abilities and power, there are instances of deities and their servants coming to speak to individuals through dreams. Many examples are even in the Christian Bible, in the NIV version, Joseph was given direction and guidance in a dream in Matthew 1:20-24, concerning his marriage of Mary and Jesus. “But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:” The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"--which means, "God with us." When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.” Many more examples are in the Christian Bible concerning dreams where both God has spoken to man directly or through a messenger in Matthew 2, Genesis 37, and Daniel 2, 4, and 8.
In Native American culture, it is believed that Wovoka’s vision of the Ghost Dance came to him through a dream and was delivered to him by none of other than God, "When the Sun died, I went up to Heaven and saw God and all the people who had died a long time ago. God told me to come back and tell my people they must be good and love one another, and not fight, or steal or lie. He gave me this dance to give to my people." (http://www.viewzone.com/wovoka.html)
Ch'eng-Huang, a Chinese deity exposed many evil workers of a community through dreams. (http://www.waningmoon.com/guide/library/lib0019e.shtml) He was “God of moats and walls. Every village and town had its own Ch'eng-Huang, most often a local dignitary or important person who had died and been promoted to godhood. His divine status was revealed in dreams, though the gods made the actual decision. Ch'eng-Huang not only protects the community from attack but sees to it that the King of the Dead does not take any soul from his jurisdiction without proper authority. Ch'eng-Huang also exposes evil-doers in the community itself, usually through dreams. His assistants are Mr. Ba Lao-ye and Mr. Hei Lao-ye -- Mr. Daywatchman and Mr. Nightwatchman.” (http://www.crystalinks.com/chinamythology.html)
There are also times that totem animals will guide one through dreams as well. I have shared quite a few of my own experiences with many of you, such as my shamanic reawakening, posted in the Outer Circle message board some time ago. For more information on totem animals and their purposes, how to discover yours, their significances in astral travel etc., this site may be helpful: http://www.freehomepages.com/mistymoon/ ... otem1.html This is not the first person I have seen incorporate Wicca and shamanism, I have actually witnessed the meshing of Wicca and shamanism and Christianity and shamanism grow quite rapidly over the last few years.
The answer of why so many things come to us in dreams is quite simple; it is when our minds are not as active and concentrating on so many tasks, thus easing communication. I more often have spirits communicating with me when I am lying down or when I am in the shower or bath, and even at work (since I work in a metaphysical shop, it’s a really laid back environment). I used to think it was odd when these experiences would happen in these places, until I realized that those were usually the times where I was most relaxed.
Dreams do not always come in clear messages; rather some dreams come in a variety of symbols and signals that must be interpreted. These kind of dreams can be more common, but also have to be taken with a sense of caution due to misinterpretation. The dream’s message may not come clear to us until after the event that the dream was trying to inform us about has passed. Many interpreters even carry around dream books, pretty much a diary to log all their dreams. Many dream dictionaries with common symbols and explanations can be found in just about any bookstore.
Dreams can also warn us of forthcoming dangerous and/or troubling events. A good example is the dream I had of my best friend’s mom passing away. I had met her mother only twice and I had dreamed of her mother's passing. For 2 weeks, the dream repeated, with the following day, the events panned out exactly as my dream- even her mother's clothing, which I had never seen except in my dreams. For the longest time, I had felt that I had killed her mother. I was very scared. These kind of dreams can be harsh to accept, but should not be taken lightly. I would also recommend discretion when telling these dreams to others, especially if it concerns them and you know that they are not open to these ideals. It may or may not cause unneeded grief. More often than not, it may be wise to not inform a friend that you had a dream that they will be dying tomorrow. Death in dreams does not always mean actual death, but rather “A death within a dream usually denotes imminent or current transformation, a new birth or a new beginning
Completion, ending, finality
Something that needs to released or changed
Dreaming of the dead may suggest suppressed grief
Given that spouses serve as powerful mirrors, dreaming of the death of a spouse may symbolize dying to unwanted personal traits or aspects of self, which are usually perceived as the spouse's shortcomings
Although the interpretation of death is rarely this literal, it may indicate an actual death of someone, or anxiety about the possibility thereof” (http://www.soulfuture.com/dream_diction ... ionary.asp )
Is it possible for individuals to share dreams? Absolutely, many shamans cross paths while journeying as well. “When shared in a group setting, dreams can stimulate a deep and powerful sense of relatedness to others, enabling people to recognize a shared humanity in the midst of social and cultural differences. I would like to close with one of the more poetic statements of this point, by Synesius of Cyrene, an early fifth-century Neo-Platonist who converted to Christianity and became famous as the bishop of Ptolemais. In a treatise he wrote on dreams, Synesius says this: "[T]he dream is visible to the man who is worth five hundred medimni, and equally to the possessor of three hundred, to the teamster no less than to the peasant who tills the boundary land for a livelihood, to the galley slave and the common labourer alike... [To this oracle] then we must go, woman and man of us, young and old, poor and rich alike, the private citizen and the ruler, the town dweller and the rustic, the artisan and the orator. She repudiates neither race, nor age, nor condition, nor calling. She is present to everyone, everywhere, this zealous prophetess, this wise counsellor, who holdeth her peace." [viii]” (http://www.kellybulkeley.com/articles/a ... groups.htm )
“You will quickly discover that your Astral Plane dreams are full of all sorts of personal encounters. Expect these dreams to be rich in emotional interactions and even the wielding of those emotions during those personal interactions. In an Astral Plane dream you experience your feelings and quite often you can not do that alone. You will pull other people into your Astral Plane dreams and share your emotions and feelings with them in a very dynamic way.
Do not confuse a dream that involves you working out creative differences or establishing new intellectual relationships with an Astral Plane dream; that kind of dream is a Mental Plane dream. In an Astral Plane dream, you experience the emotions and feelings going on between you and another and not particularly any kind of intellectual or creative movement. For example, if you hate someone, you enter into an Astral Plane dream and hate them. If you love them, you enter into an Astral Plane dream and love them. If you admire them, then you enter into an Astral Plane dream and admire them. These dreams are a pointer to the underlying emotional currents that drive you in relation to other people. You won't fall in love in an Astral Plane dream, you will just be in love. Falling in love or reaching some kind of emotional state regarding another person is usually preceded by dialogs and mental activity. These more movement oriented or intellectual oriented dreams are usually Mental Plane dreams. In an Astral Plane dream, you are already at a particular emotional state (not building up to one), and you are experiencing that state, for better or for worse.
This emotional requirement does not mean that you can not experience Astral Plane dreams with people you do not know or people who are merely acquaintances. It just means that the people involved in the dream must share an emotional commonalty. For example, you could enter into a dream on the Astral Dream Plane and wish to blow off some steam (anger). You could then meet with someone (another dream inhabitant) that also desires an angry confrontation. The two of you could then meet in this dream, and wham! You awake to find out that you were yelling and screaming at someone you do not even know. Physically, of course, you are unable, for whatever reason, to expunge your anger at the real cause, which could be a friend or loved-one. So, instead, you seek out a neutral individual with which to experience this emotion and do that in an Astral Plane dream.
The point, we are getting at here, is that the force that binds two or more people to the same Astral dream is emotional -- some kind of emotion. That angry dream could just as easily be a love-affair. You could desire to feel in-love with another and, by chance, meet with someone whom you do not know and who desires the same. The two of you could then become involved in the same dream and feel what it is like to be in-love with each other, even though the two of you are strangers. The dream, in this instance, is allowing both of you to experience the emotion love. It is giving you, and the other person, an opportunity to express this energy and to feel and to play with this emotional state.” (http://www.wisdomsdoor.com/db/hdb-13.shtml )
“In many respects, emotions are more intense than physical sensations, even pain. Furthermore, emotions can last for a longer duration of time, sometimes for years. So, it is not too surprising that Astral Plane dreams carry a marked increase in sensitivity. Pain and pleasure, felt in a dream, on this plane, carry with them an undeniable connection with some emotional state. That pain and pleasure can be very intense, and this intensity can be a good aid in showing you the parallel with its emotional counterpart on the Physical Plane. All to often you take for granted the amount of hardship that emotional situations generate. You look at only physical pain as being the ultimate cross to bear. However, emotional hardship can be just as (if not more) enduring and many of your dreams on the Astral Plane will reveal this fact to you.
With the advent of emotions cropping into Astral Plane dreams, decoding these dreams can be a bit more difficult than decoding a dream on the Etheric Plane. The addition of emotions adds a whole new dimension in symbolism. For example, seeing the book War and Peace, lying on a table, in an Astral Plane dream, most certainly points to some emotional conflict that you are undergoing, and not the desire to read a book. The book and the title are acting as an icon to represent some emotional event going on in your life. The best rule, in decoding an Astral Plane dream, is that any object, place, or thing, points to some emotional issue within yourself. Astral Dream Plane objects rarely stand for the actual object portrayed. Keep this fact in mind, when you awake and begin to recall a very emotionally fulfilling dream. People can be symbols too. Quite often a person on the Astral Plane is just that, another person; but, sometimes, a person in an Astral Plane dream can be a symbol for some emotion. For instance, you meeting with your boss in an Astral Plane dream could mean that both of you are sharing some common emotional experience. However, if your boss is a symbol, than he could stand for some emotional need -- like, for example, the desire for power in your life.” (http://www.wisdomsdoor.com/db/hdb-13.shtml)
Dreams can inspire, direct, and stir emotion with in us as well as even be a bridge between us and another individual or entity. They can hold the power to dramatically change our lives, usually for the better, but sometimes also for the worse. My advice is to use all of your senses to reflect on your dreams and let them guide you. Never discount a dream as meaningless; there is almost always an instance where you can learn something. And, if there is a dream that you feel deeply compassionate about, by all means, pursue it.

[The Madame X]

[Jezabel]

[Jezabel]

[Jezabel]