Explore your Dream Types by Isabelle Gannon
I find dreams fascinating. They raise so many intriguing questions about our subconscious, soul connections and the reality of space and time.
Since the beginning dreams have played a significant role in the lives of people. From prophetic dreams to the dreamtime of the Australian Aboriginals, dreaming has always been a natural way for us to consciously work with our subconscious mind, the deeper and more spiritual aspects of ourselves, and our connection with the divine.
Dreams have always been a significant part of my life. Ever since I was very young I have had strong and vivid dreams and I have found it to be a fascinating and rewarding journey working with them and understanding them. Over the years I have learnt many things from dreams. I have learnt about myself and my life and I have learnt that strengthening the connection between my conscious and subconscious mind is a bit like gaining access to a whole new world or a whole new part of myself.
Dreaming is a necessary, and a very healing process that naturally occurs during sleep. Everybody dreams and it is an interesting and rewarding process to work with dreams and to strengthen the connection between the conscious and subconscious mind. There are many theories and ideas on why we dream, what types of dreams we can have and what actually happens to our spirit or soul when we are dreaming.
Types of dreams:
Information processing – This is the most common type of dream and involves familiar people, situations and images usually related to everyday life, and they are seemingly insignificant. These types of dreams are easily influenced by activity before bed such as movies etc. It’s incredible how much sensory input we are subjected to in everyday life. Once I started to connect with my subconscious and recall my dreams I became aware of how easily my subconscious mind is influenced by sensory input, and I then began to be more selective with what I expose myself to.
Problem solving – A good way to try and induce a dream like this is to look in the mirror before going to sleep and ask yourself what the resolution to an issue is. Go to sleep thinking of the problem and feeling sure that you will have the answer in the morning. It can be very interesting what comes up! Often there is information floating around in our unconscious mind that can help us figure things out; dreaming is the perfect way to access this kind of information.
Nightmares - Disturbing or unpleasant dreams, often indicating our conscious and unconscious fears.
Psychic – Dreaming of an event or situation before it happens, these dreams can occur as a warning or premonition. They can be about absolutely anything, from big events to minor things. Last month I had a dream that the screen of my tablet was broken with a big hole in it. Two days later, my partner dropped it and the screen smashed, it now has a small hole in it!
Healing - One of my favourites. These dreams are usually very real and vivid for me and it feels like a healing. They can be about anything from making peace with someone, receiving energy, or gaining closure by talking with an ex-partner or deceased relative etc. I have had a few of these dreams and what makes them significant is the intense feeling within the dream that carries over to waking life.
Cosmic dreams – These are rare in my experience, and I would categorize these as the kinds of dreams that seem to come form somewhere other than our unconscious or conscious mind. The kind of dream where we may participate in an unknown event or unfamiliar ceremony and receive messages from people we have not met or don’t know in our waking life.
Mutual dreams - These are really interesting – a mutual dream is when two or more people dream of the same thing or have the same dream. This has happened with my partner and I several times. We both had bad dreams about visiting a country we wanted to go to, after discovering we both had bad dreams about it we changed our travel destination. Another time we had exactly the same dream about having lunch with my mum, which was very random and strange!
Recurring dreams – Dreams will repeat until you receive the message you need to receive. If you have a reoccurring dream then it may be worthwhile looking up the symbology and meaning of it so you can receive the message from you unconscious – it is trying to tell you something!
Lucid dreams – A dream where you are aware that you are dreaming and in control of the dream. These dreams are vivid as you are conscious within the dream. These dreams are amazing however most people find it difficult to have a lucid dream or become aware within a dream that they are dreaming. I will be writing a follow up article to this solely on lucid dreaming and how to have one so stay tuned!
Tips to remember your dreams:
We all dream, some people don’t remember their dreams, but all it takes is a little training to remember the messages our dreams hold.
1 - Get enough sleep. You need to be fully rested to get the best out of your dreams.
2 – Keep a dream diary. Keep it close to your bed and write down a few words, or everything you remember, to jog your memory when you wake up. It is very easy to wake up from a strong dream and think you’ll remember it later on, but generally it doesn’t work like that.
3 – Before you go to bed, tell yourself that you will remember your dreams when you wake up. When you wake up stay still and go over the dream a few times in your head. Then write it down. Note the moods and feelings of your dreams, and any conversations that you can remember.
4 – If you don’t remember your dreams naturally when you wake up, try setting an alarm in the night.
A good website to help you to decode your dreams is: http://www.dreammoods.com/
This post was written by Isabelle Gannon
Featured image by Pilar Zetar
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