Dream Interpretation - Part 1
Series on Dream Interpretation - Introduction
This is the first of a 4 part series on dream interpretation specifically geared for seers and those of us who love them.The people with the seer gift fall on a continuum.
One one end of the spectrum, some seers see all sorts of spiritual things all the time. On the other end, seers just pick up spiritual information while their minds are at their most restful state: in sleep.This series addresses seers who mainly pick up information through dreams. Perhaps they don’t see clearly in the spirit realm during the day, but their night hours are loaded with strong dreams and visions.Sometimes the dreams are very intense and they seemingly last all night long. They can be exhausting and uncontrollable. It's like as soon as they shut their eyes, their minds are blasted with images.It’s like having a personal movie theater, but they don't get to choose the movie and they can't get up and leave or shut it off.Some dreams seem to be about the future, regarding individuals, events or nations, and they are uncannily accurate.Often seers don’t know what to do with their dreams. Too often, these dreams are mis-interpretted.With the dream comes the responsibility of interpretation, if there is one. Not all dreams need to be interpreted. I’ll explain the different kinds of dreams and the ones that don't deserve an interpretation in Part 3 of this series.This part is an overview. Part 2 will be about the brain and consciousness, which are keys to understanding dreaming. Part 3 will discuss three types of dreams. Part 4 will offer keys to interpretation.
Unlock Your Windmill Blades
A metaphor I'll use is the wind mill. Wind mills generate power because the wind turns the blades, which turn a generator. You can't see the wind, nor can you see the energy produced. But you can see the wind mill turning and you can reap the benefits of the power generated.Have you ever seen a windmill farm, where some of the blades are turning, but others are not? That sight drives me a bit crazy, because I see the locked blades as a waste of perfectly good renewable energy. (I recognize it's more complicated than that, but this is a metaphor, so go with it).The Holy Spirit is the wind, and your mind is the windmill. You can have your blades locked and miss the moves of the Spirit, or you can have your blades free for the Holy Spirit to move, yielding energy that can be harnessed for God's purposes.At night, the Holy Spirit often blows against the blades of your mind, but it's up to you to have them locked or free. This series will help you unlock and harness the potential blown from heaven through your dreams.
Dream Interpretation
I have studied and practiced dream interpretation for a long time. Over time, I have learned to pick up on themes and symbols of many dreams, and can determine what message is being conveyed, if any.But often the Lord gifts me with dream interpretation. When people share with me a dream that they think is from the Lord, I usually wait for the Holy Spirit to give me a word of knowledge or prophecy to interpret it, and the word usually comes.One of my good friends lives in Mizoram. She first contacted me several years ago specifically because she had dreams that needed an interpretation. It was intimidating to offer an interpretation for someone I didn’t know across the world in a different culture, but I did. She found it accurate and useful, and now she’s one of my prayer intercessors.Again, not every dream requires or needs an interpretation of course, and as you read, you’ll come to understand why. Please don't bombard with me requests to interpret dreams. I'd rather you learn to interpret your own dreams.
Dream Language is Symbolic Language
Studying dreams is useful. We dream in pictures, and pictures are symbols, so we should recognize that dreams are often symbolic and not literal. Our minds will try to construct a narrative or message from the images our minds generate during dream time.These images are often already stored in our minds, and each symbol can mean different things to different people.As the Bible indicates, dreams can sometime contain warnings to redirect our paths. These are called prophetic messages, but don't necessarily have to convey the future. They do require a response, however.
For God speaks in one way,and in two, though man does not perceive it.In a dream, in a vision of the night,when deep sleep falls on men,while they slumber on their beds,then he opens the ears of menand terrifies them with warnings,that he may turn man aside from his deedand conceal pride from a man;he keeps back his soul from the pit,his life from perishing by the sword. Job 33:14-18
This passage from Job describes that dreams of fear can sometimes point out correction, as with an Old Testament King, Abimelech:
But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, “Behold, you are a dead man because... (Gen 20:3).
Yikes! That got his attention! Abimelech quickly changed course.
Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that you have done this in the integrity of your heart,..."
And Abimelech went on living. If you have warning dreams from God, consider what actions you should take.I've heard some people teach that God never gives dreams that are scary or frightening because we are under the New Covenant, which is a covenant of blessing and not cursing.But the examples above were relayed by people not under a covenant of works, but of faith (if at all), which has only blessings. Bad dreams from God aren't meant to be curses, but should be understood as a wake up call, pardon the pun.There is a better filter to interpret what God is saying when he speaks through dreams than just "bad dreams don't come from God." It's more complicated than that, but understandable. See Hearing God or read Peace in Your House to learn about the proper filter to understand what God is saying when he speaks to you through dreams.Because their filters are incorrect, often people misunderstand or misinterpret dreams, or simply reveal them unwisely. Some dreams are meant just for you, not to be shared with others.In Genesis 37, Isaac’s youngest son Joseph had a dream full of symbols that he understood. He was excited about the dream and he unwisely shared the dream with his older brothers and parents, who also understood the symbolic messages of the dreams. The brothers were enraged by his dream, accused him of making it up, and then took action to prevent the dream from coming true.This passage from the Bible also tells us that it was normal for the people who produced the Bible to pay attention to dreams, in case a message from God was being revealed.Therefore, it’s useful studying your dreams, or at least recording the ones you remember.
Avoid Dream Dictionaries
We don’t want to use a “Dream Dictionary” purchased from a bookstore or a psychic or psychologist to interpret dreams because symbols for one person might not be the same for someone else. Too often, those who have developed a dream dictionary do so from errant perspectives, such as scientific materialism or from the occult.For instance, Sigmund Freud assumed dreams were usually about sex. This reflected his own personal obsession rather than where the dreams were actually coming from. On the other hand, those from a gnostic or occult worldview will assume dreams are coming from the cosmic consciousness.As in most things in this website, I believe we should adopt the perspective of Jesus Christ when considering how to live with the natural and supernatural, and this includes dealing with dreams. His perspective reveals that dreams come from basically three or four sources, which we'll get to in the 3rd part of this series.
Deeply Personal Symbols
Symbolic messages from dreams can be deeply personal.For instance, when dealing with conflict or stress, I might dream about being in World War 2 or in the Star Wars universe, but my wife’s dreams might deal with fights in the family or difficulty driving a vehicle with the family in it.This is because I find World War 2 interesting and also I enjoy the Star Wars franchise, whereas my wife finds family dynamics interesting. Our dream languages are different, although the message might be the same.For others, the symbols are so obscure, it takes practice or a supernatural message from the Lord to interpret them.In the next post, we’ll consider how dreaming occurs, and will start with this question: Does your brain generate dreams, or does it filter them?
Jesus' Mindset
I will say it many times, the best way to interpret dreams or anything else in life is through the same perspective that Jesus Christ did, a perspective I call the Kingdom of God Mindset. I reveal just what this is in my book Peace in Your House: Spiritual Cleansing of Life and Land. You can get it for $9.99 in Kindle, Apple iBook or Nook format, or for under $20 in good ole fashioned paperback.
Your Homework
Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to begin recording the dreams you remember. If you don't normally remember dreams, ask the Lord to help you. If you are a parent, ask your children about their dreams and record them. It's important that you jot a few notes down right after you wake up to help you remember your dreams.Sometimes you'll get up in the middle of the night for whatever reason, and that's when you'll remember your dreams. Write down a few words then to help you remember and record the dream later on.
