There are a lot of benefits in knowing how to unpack and understand the dreams we have. Our dreams can be revealing our purpose and God’s plans in a very unique way. Brian Mclaughlin has been partnering with God to interpret dreams from a very young age. In a recent class, he shared several important tips in being more aware of the dreams we are encountering, ways to understand them and how to apply them in our waking life. Dreams have been valued for the messages they carry since ancient times. Dreamers often can receive inspiration or warnings. Google, the American search engine company founded in 1998 was an inspiration from a dream. George Washington Carver credited a dream for his idea of using peanuts to make peanut butter.
Just as music, art, books and inventions have often been birthed from dream inspirations, warnings can also be an important benefit from our dreams.
Carl Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist who worked with survivors of WWII. These patients shared dreams with Jung that warned them not to go into certain buildings that were about to be bombed. What they saw in their dreams actually happened in waking life! The dreams they had helped them to avoid deadly consequences. Paying attention to our dreams can help bring direction and guidance that we are needing.
One of the first things that Brian encouraged us to take note of is whether the dream is internal or external. When the dream is internal the dreamer is an active participant or the main character in the dream. The dream is revealing something about the dreamer’s life and circumstances. Whereas external dreams happen as the dreamer is an inactive observer. It may feel like the dreamer is watching it like a television show. At times there can be both internal and external dreams happening in a sequence. Another helpful tool that Brian shared was from the book Hearing God Through Your Dreams by Mark Virkler and Charity Kayembe:
D- dream Record your dream upon waking
A. action What was I or someone else doing in the dream?
E- emotion What was I feeling?
S-setting Where in my waking life is a similar experience?
I-interpretation Partner with God in the interpretation
Dreams use a very symbolic language, which is drawn from the experience of the dreamer. Symbols can have layers of meaning that require us to press in towards God relationally as we seek understanding. There are times when God doesn’t intend for us to know the interpretation right now, but will gain clarity much later.
Steps in Pursuit
- When we wake up suddenly from a dream, we may be less likely to remember. Experiment with adding some time to your morning in order to record any dreams that you had during the night.
- Practice identifying if your dreams are internal dreams, in which they are primarily about your life, or external dreams focused on others.
- Try keeping a log of your dreams, either in a notebook or in the notes section of your phone. Begin to identify patterns or themes in your dreams and use DAESI to begin gaining understanding.
As we begin to implement these helpful tools that Brian has shared, we can benefit from the revelation flowing through our dreams and bring the fruit into our waking lives through application.
Continue the Pursuit,
Denise
