I grew up with a mother who kept a dream dictionary on her nightstand.
She used to tell me to pay attention to my dreams because they carried important messages from the other side. Every time she had a dream, she’d consult that dictionary and look up each symbol to decode the meaning. These dreams offered clues about unresolved situations, alerted her to areas in her life that needed attention, and sometimes served as a meeting place for passed loved ones stopping by to visit.
I was only 16 when I took an interest in interpreting my own dreams. I used that same dream dictionary to unravel their meaning and messages. It was entertaining for a while, but eventually I stopped focusing on my dreams when I moved out and went to college. My erratic sleep schedule didn’t allow for a peaceful night’s rest, so I could barely recall them at all.
It wasn’t until I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) in 2015 that I began paying attention to my dreams once again. Multiple sclerosis literally means “multiple scars” or lesions that form on the brain and spinal cord, causing decreased function all over the body as it progresses.
Many of the scars on my brain were located in the regions that controlled my vision and hearing. I began experiencing a barrage of dreams and visions that spilled over into my waking state. I’d wake up and see odd symbols scrolling up my arm and on the walls. The images I saw always disappeared after a few seconds, but the impressions never left my mind. Not only was I scared over the uncertainty of the disease, but I was equally worried about its effect on my mental and emotional health.
Because I slept so much, I had ample time to dream. The dreams became much more frequent, vivid and disturbing, so I started to track any details I could remember in a journal. The more real the dreams became, the more I journaled and the deeper I prayed.
These hallucinations became so common-place that I considered going to a mental health specialist, but something pushed me to make an appointment with my neurologist instead. He insisted that MS-induced fatigue and excessive sleeping had more to do with an increase in my dreams and visual disturbances. I accepted that explanation for a while, but as time went on I began to see these experiences as a sign.
This life-changing diagnosis became the catalyst for my spiritual awakening and my dreams, the primary channel for communication. Up until that point in my life, I believed in “God” (or the existence of some sort of master architect) but I wasn’t drawn to any specific religion and didn’t quite know how to start down that path.
The dreams helped guide me to answers and renewed my faith, which I badly needed during one of the lowest points in my life.
I’ve recorded more than 150 of my dreams, and while many of them contain personal lessons I have to work through, others contain messages for those I’m pushed to assist in some way. Dreams have become my portal into a world I was only able to access when I asked for help from a source greater than myself.
I now accept and embrace my gifts of intuition, spirit communication, and precognition. The insight and wisdom I’ve gained and continue to receive in my dreams helps me better understand my purpose, heal myself, and help others.
Want to learn how to tap into the power of your dreams? Here are several tips to get started:
1. Set the intention to receive.
Be open and believe you’ll receive messages!
2. Keep a dream journal.
This is the most important aspect of dream work. Keep a pad/pen or digital notepad within reach to record any information that you remember upon waking. Add every detail you can recall, including the dominant emotions you experienced, animals, colors, numbers, symbols, characters, etc. and be sure to update your dream as you gain clarity about it.
3. Find meaning.
Be objective when you are ready to interpret your dream. Write down everything you’ve talked about, read, or consumed recently, major stressors (work, people, health), recurring themes or past fears occupying your thoughts.
4. Create your own dream dictionary.
Keep a list of symbols that regularly show up in your dreams and what they mean to you (not just the generic meaning you’ve found in a dream dictionary).
5. Practice meditation.
This is a good way to quiet the mind enough to listen to what Spirit has to say. The more in tune you become in your waking life, the easier it is to receive messages in a dream state.
