Sometimes a dream isn’t just a dream. Sure there are dreams that arise out of what might have transpired just before going to bed. And of course there are those that are based upon the worries going on in one’s brain. But there’s a type of dream that many people don’t realize can help each of us in our own spiritual journey. It’s the one where our soul attempts to communicate guidance and direction from our Higher Power.
My spiritual teacher told me a long time ago that I could pray for guidance and direction before going to bed at night and that the answer could come in my dreams. At first I didn’t believe her, but when I starting getting extremely vivid dreams that provided me just that, I stopped doubting in it. Lately, there are times that I’ve been very frustrated about my healing process and how long things seem to be taking to resolve themselves from within me. So I asked one night in prayer to my Higher Power why things couldn’t be fast forwarded to the end of these pain cycles I’ve been going through, for it seems to be taking an eternity to get there.
During that night as I slept, I had the most vivid dream that I knew upon waking it was my Higher Power’s answer to that prayer. In it, I was driving in a car along a road when I came upon some raging waters that had flooded it directly ahead. Off in the distance I saw a man driving a truck that came off a side road and barreled straight into that water. As he attempted to traverse it going against the current, the level of the water slowly rose higher and higher until the truck became completely engulfed by it. Suddenly it tipped over and was taken away by the swift current, while the man was ejected out of the truck and swept away as well. The dream ended with me searching patiently for an alternative road that wasn’t covered with those flooded waters.
I know many might argue that this was just some random dream being pieced together by tidbits of thoughts and subconscious ideas. But I’ve come to understand that when a dream sticks in my head so strongly upon waking and doesn’t disappear over the course of days or even weeks, that it’s coming from something much greater.
In the case of this dream, through more prayer and reflection, I realized that it truly was the answer to my prayer that night. The truck was my human vessel and the man was my soul within my vessel. The action of him barreling into that water to get to the other side of it was really showing me what would happen if I were to be fast-forwarded to the end of what I’ve been going through. In the end, the truck being swept away, with the man being ejected from it was symbolic that my vessel couldn’t make it through that action.
To a general onlooker, you may think I’m crazy in my interpretation. But the closer I’ve grown to my Higher Power, the more I realize that my Higher Power is attempting to communicate to me all the time. In my waking state, there’s often a tremendous amount of interference running rampant that blocks those messages. But during meditation or sleep, it’s a much clearer channel to receive those messages. Although I would love to get an extremely direct answer that doesn’t come through various images and metaphors, I’ve come to accept that this is just the way the communication is sometimes. And while my dream might not have given me a lot of details as to why I’m still dealing with so many health-related burdens, it did give me an answer that helped me come to some level of acceptance with all of it.
So if you are truly seeking guidance for something in life and are getting frustrated that no direction has come, I encourage you to take a moment, breathe, and try praying for the answer to come in your dreams before going to bed. And when you have a dream that you remember upon waking that is crystal clear, know that it’s probably the answer coming from your Higher Power. While it might not be the one you really want, it’s the one that’s meant for your greatest highest good. So trust in it, and know that your Higher Power is always with you, is always listening to your prayers, and giving you the guidance you need to stay on your spiritual path to the Light.
Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson
