A Comprehensive Guide to Dreaming
The process of analyzing and interpreting dreams is a passion of mine that leads to endless discovery. I’ve organized my findings, perspectives, and personal experiences into a guide that can assist others in expanding their understanding of dreaming for themselves. Dreams unveil the limitless nature of the self, and validate the connection between waking life and the dream state.
Through my own observations and perceptions of my dreams, I’ve classified the various types of dreams into a list that illustrates my personal experiences, and serves as a key for others to reference as well.
The dream classifications include:
Lucid
Precognitive
Potential Future Events
Parallel Realities
Ethereal
Contact
Guidance
Play Productions
Exposure Therapy
Nightmares
Starting with a favorite of mine, and one that I am still gathering experience on: Lucid Dreaming. I use “lucid’ as an umbrella term, as there are varying degrees of lucidity one can have within a dream. The simple definition of lucid dreaming, is when the dreamer is consciously aware that they are dreaming, and are able to actively influence the dream in some manner. In a lucid state, the dreamer isn’t focused on the limitations of physical reality, making this a very effective technique for exploring the expanded self. Lucid dreams can feel even more real than waking life, often containing moments of visceral sensory perception. In the few lucid dreams I’ve had, I experienced my senses at a heightened capacity.
Inserted here is an example here of a brief lucid dream I had in April 2024:
“I was standing on a wooden dock that extended beyond the shore of a beautiful crystal-blue lake. My senses were very clear and alive, and I could engage freely with my environment. I could feel the warmth from the sun on my skin, the wooden boards beneath my feet, the people I hugged, the cold lake I jumped into, and intense emotional sensations. I was conscious of the fact that I was dreaming, and though the lucidity fluctuated, I was able to continue the exploration. The setting changed to a series of doors, rooms, pathways, roads, and escape routes that I was navigating. I had the ability to make many more choices than in a standard dream. I chose a path every time I encountered a limitation, and each one I chose was always the one leading to freedom and safety.”
Fully-lucid dreams are still quite rare for me, however, semi-lucid dreams are a common occurrence. I’ve been able to maintain a degree of semi-lucidity in my dreams since I was 5 years old, when I had a dreamtime encounter with beings who taught me this very valuable skill. Now, at that young age, the beings in my dream embodied the form of the Sesame Street characters in order to be more approachable and familiar to me, and not to cause fear. I realized this later in life upon deeper investigation into that experience.
In this dream, the beings told me that I had the ability to wake myself up from any dream at will. They demonstrated this to me using a prop: a yogurt cup with a foil lid (again, at 5 years old this was a symbol I could understand). They said the power is in my hands, just like when ripping the lid off a yogurt. The dream ended with me practicing several times with the yogurt lid, trying again and again, until I finally believed I could open it and wake up. Which I did, and the belief was then installed within me. I don’t need the symbol of an object anymore to apply this skill, and from that point onward I’ve been able to wake myself up by consciously willing my eyes to open.
I’ve realized over the years, that it takes a degree of lucidity to be able to to this. While I’m dreaming, I must realize at a subtle level that I am in control, and creating this experience. Every single time, without fail, when I find myself in a dream that becomes too intense or uncomfortable for me, I can always wake myself up. I often can hear the inner dialogue of my conscious mind interjecting during dreams as well, making comments and expressing confusion. To me, this also indicates that part of me becomes aware in the dream state while simultaneously remaining connected to my waking life.
The succeeding dream to examine and define, has been classified as: Precognitive. A precognitive dream is an occurrence where the dreamer first observes an event in the dream state that later plays out in waking life. Precognitive dreams suggest that our consciousness is not subject to space or time, and has unlimited access to information. In my experience, if an event has enough energetic and emotional charge behind it, it can translate into the form of a precognitive dream.
I’ll insert two example of mine, both from April 2025 within a few days of each other:
“I dreamt that a family gathering was being hosted at my house, and my cousin was there with her three young children. There was a very joyful and peaceful feeling to this scene. I could sense everyone visiting outside, during which I was inside the house and connecting remotely/energetically with my cousin. While embodying her energy, I was sorting through a bowl filled with small red circles, about the size of a penny. I carefully selected one of the circles, and placed it on my lower abdomen. I then flushed the rest of the red circles down the toilet, which resulted in the toilet flooding, and I awoke.”
Right after waking, I went downstairs and heard my mom say “the toilet is flooding”. Part of the dream had manifested within minutes. Luckily, the issue was easily resolved. That same day, several hours later, my cousin called and shared the news that she and her family are planning to move back to the local area to be closer to the extended family. She also revealed that she recently found out that she was pregnant again. Looking back on this dream, there were three predictions that came to pass. The most remarkable detail to me, was the selection of the red circle, which symbolically represented the baby. Not only that, but the baby truly would have been about the size of that red circle at that stage of development. Dreams often hold multiple layers of symbolism within them, and sometimes may need to be looked at in an abstract way in order to understand the entire meaning.
For this next precognitive dream, take note of the symbolism in the events, characters, and words spoken by the beings:
“I dreamt that I was launched into space in a translucent dome-like pod, and could see the Earth growing father away beneath me. I had a full 360 view of the vastness of space around me. I could perceive that the pod was approaching a space station, to be attached and to offload myself and the crew. However, I don’t remember actually arriving on the space station, the next memory I have is being on a different planet. The scenery of this planet resembled a snow-covered forest, inhabited by wildlife similar to deer and birds. But upon arrival to this place, I observed about 8-10 lifeless bodies of ET beings laying in the snow. Myself and the crew members who were with me, stood before the bodies and honored them. A crew member said “these are the friends that couldn’t physically make the journey with us”. There was an alligator-looking reptilian being of a deep emerald green, a taller white ET being with large eyes, an orange and purple being of a unique shape, and a few others that I couldn’t translate into something recognizable. That is all I remember from the dream.”
That same day, a few hours after waking, I watched a YouTube video of the 100th woman being launched into space in a dome-shaped pod by Blue Origin. Her view of Earth as she left the atmosphere was very similar to my view of the cosmos in my dream. I also noticed similarities in the interior of the pod, and the speed in which it traveled.
Later that evening, I received the news that a family friend had passed away. I referenced my dream again, and realized that the bodies of the ET beings I saw in my dream strongly represented the energy of my friend. Perhaps the beings were his counterparts and ET connections, expressing themselves in a lifeless form to convey the message to me. Of all the beings I saw, I could feel my friend’s energy most strongly with the body of the alligator-like reptilian being. For a reason I cannot explain, it simply clicks into place. I can clearly imagine him embodying that form. A tall, powerful, and intelligent being of deep emerald green. The color was the final detail that confirmed this connection for me, because in the years I knew this friend, I always associated his energy with that color.
Precognitive dreams reveal the proof of the innate psychic abilities within everyone, but what about dreams that offer a glimpse into a “potential” future? This next type of dream addresses the idea of Potential Future Events. Though similar to the last category, I believe this type of dream is equally significant and should be expanded upon.
Dreams that present the dreamer with a potential future event, can act as a compass needle, pointing you in the direction that your soul wishes to travel. These dreams are emotionally rich, and are charged with an intense and unforgettable energy. They can serve as a symbol that represents to you the kind of experiences you wish to manifest into your waking life. However, in some cases, dreams that present a potential future event can also show you a negative scenario. The key to remember when any option is presented to you, either positive or negative, is the power in the word “potential”. These dreams only exist as possibilities, and only start gaining energetic momentum if you place your focus upon them. The most influential quality of these dreams, is their ability to direct the dreamer’s awareness towards a desired reality.
Here are two examples of dreams I’ve had of this type, both of which occurred on the same night in March 2024:
“I was standing on the opposing side of a fenced-in field, observing a large group of young adults similar to me in age, who were gathered together. Everyone was watching the sky, and suddenly there was a tear in the clouds that revealed a portal-like opening. I saw a blue plasma/star cluster that spread in a line vertically across this portion of the sky. This cosmic formation started to grow bigger and brighter, and merge with a huge ancient tree that stood within the field where the people were. The tree became one with this cosmic energy, and it was glowing, pulsating, and fully illuminated with the brightest shades of purple, pink, blue, and yellow. The energy radiating from the tree mesmerized each witness. With everyone watching in a trance-state, this display then transformed into a big screen in the sky that began showing visions of the future Earth. We were shown newspaper articles and online news reports that proclaimed the positive changes happening in the world presently and in the near future. The screen presented visions of peace treaties being signed between nations, school systems being restructured, negatively-oriented organizations closing, followed by the initiation of new positive ones. We were also shown the movements being set in place towards reversing climate change, and even articles stating the statistics of the rising consciousness in cities, including Fresno (the closest city to me) and beyond. Then, the trance-state was broken by some angry people in the group who were against the changes being shown to us. A glass bottle was thrown and shattered, car engines were started, and chaos arose in everyone. I remember running inside the nearby building (which was a hotel) and finding a storage room to hide in, with a door that escaped out into the forest. I new that I had to keep holding this frequency of peace and stillness in order to help the chaos to relax again. That’s all I recall from this dream.”
This next dream followed shortly after:
“I was standing hand-in-hand in a large circle of people from all different cultures, religions, ethnicities, and backgrounds. We were all doing symbolic movements with our hands and arms that corresponded with prayers. We would chant a Muslim prayer, and energetically send it out from the circle using the symbols produced by our hands and arms. Followed by a Christian prayer, Buddhist, and many others. And each one had their own “prayer sign language” that would amplify and project the intentions of the prayer out to everyone who had the capacity to receive it. Which is why we were highlighting all religions, so that no matter someone’s belief system, they could still receive the loving intentions.”
Wow. These two dreams are some of the most profound I’ve ever had, and paint a very clear picture of a potential future humanity can experience. Unity, expansion, and unconditional love are the qualities I imagine reflected in my future.
The previous two classifications of dreams connect seamlessly with the concept of Parallel Realities, which is the next type of dream to expand upon. We are multidimensional beings, having experiences in an infinite number of realities beyond our conscious awareness. However, sometimes we can get a glimpse into these concurrent parallel existences during dreamtime. To me, this concept overlaps with the idea of “past lives”, which I tend to term as parallel lives because I understand that everything is occurring simultaneously. Experiencing hints of my parallel realities has aided in crystalizing that truth within me, and has indicated vastness of my existence.
Here are two examples of such dreams, both from January 2022:
This first dream began with a prologue, involving an encounter with a Merkaba, which symbolizes the geometric form that surrounds the body for interdimensional travel.
“I dreamt I ventured out into a frozen snow-covered meadow with a small group of my close friends/family members, where we saw an incredible ice formation of a Merkaba. It was an immense hollow crystalline structure that illuminated white light from the inside, and it was levitating a few feet in the air. We were all captivated by it…
The dream continued by changing scenes.
…Next I remember being outside in the snow at my house, and seeing that our “neighbors that moved away” had come back to their home. Everything in this dream was slightly altered from my current reality, including these neighbors. They do not exist in my waking life, but in the dream I had full recollection of memories of who they were. Their family was comprised of two parents and a daughter named Ava, who was a little younger than me. I was younger in the dream too, probably about 14 and she was maybe 12. We apparently were very close friends, and quite excited to play in the snow together after a long time of being apart. She was wearing a purple and pink snow jacket with a hood, and she had medium-length light brown hair. The interaction was so real, I can recall every detail, even hearing the conversations in background between my parents and Ava’s. It felt as if I was visiting a memory in a parallel reality, which contained a few similarities to my current life. The likeness was mainly within the setting, which I was able to see from a birds-eye view. I bi-located my awareness during this dream, to perceive the whole picture while also maintaining interaction with the neighbors. Their house was more like a rustic cabin, and placed across the creek that runs by my house (there is no structure there in my waking life). It had a raised deck with a wooden railing around it, with stair steps leading up the to deck from the ground. There was around two feet of snow on the ground, which also covered the surrounding trees that seemed exceptionally tall. I woke up feeling quite disoriented, like I changed-channels too quickly.”
The second dream occurred the following night:
“I dreamt about my connection with a young man whose energy I strongly recognized, leading me to believe that I had interacted with him before in another reality. He had very striking features, like hazel eyes, a medium/dark complexion, and curly light brown hair. He was a bit taller than me, and appeared to be similar to me in age (I was 18 at the time of the dream). His personality was expressed as kind and gentle, and he had an adventurous and exploratory nature. I was fully aware of many specific details of this reality. I knew that he and I were in a relationship that began as a friendship and evolved into romance. I had memories with him that don’t exist in my waking life. I remembered all of the months/years of time spent together, the school program we both attended, and the group of friends we interacted with. In this dream, he and I were exploring this big empty dirt area that had a few dismantled structures there, like a crane and some metallic debris. It was nighttime, and while in this location we watched many bright lights and ET craft slowly cruise through the sky. Some appeared to be more solid, and others looked more holographic. But I distinctly remember feeling like I had never been anywhere like that place before, which was strange because everything else in the dream felt very familiar.”
Both of these dreams reflect the simultaneity that exists among parallel life experiences. My consciousness is focused in many places, some of which can overlap with the life I’m primarily tuned to. The fluid and limitless feeling that accompanies the idea of parallel realities, effortlessly flows into the next classification of dreams: Ethereal
Ethereal dreams most closely illustrate the experiences and perspectives one has in the Spirit Realm. The conscious mind translates the information from dreams into concepts it can relate to and understand, but sometimes dreams can be remembered from a more genuine unfiltered state. Ethereal dreams reveal to the dreamer the complex multidimensional being that they really are. There is a free and malleable quality to these dreams, often demonstrated by sudden ability to fly, bi-locate, or other experiences that are beyond the limitations of the body. In many of my ethereal dreams, the magic is in the vivid colors and the arrival of soft golden lighting to the dream scene. The locations are often breathtaking, and intense positive emotions are always present in these experiences. Ethereal dreams act as a reminder of the natural essential self.
Written here are two examples of my ethereal dream adventures:
March 2025:
“I dreamt that I could tune my frequency to viscerally feel the energy from dozens of orbs that surrounded me. I felt this ecstatic and illuminating feeling go through my body when connecting with these energies, while receiving layers of information from each of them. I was going into altered states of consciousness, each higher than the next, and perceiving everything as very light and graceful. I could shift from level to level very quickly. It was exhilarating, and felt very natural for me to experience myself a continuum. At the end of this experience, I looked towards the sun and saw a very bright purple orb catch my eye. I don’t remember every detail of the dream, but I do remember the euphoria.”
Second dream (from childhood, newly retyped), March 2014:
“I dreamt I was observing this incredible place that looked otherworldly. It was a harmonious union point of different ecosystems and environments coexisting there. I was bi-locating, with my awareness in my body on the ground as Willow, and at the same time seeing the birds-eye view as my spirit guide, Sunny James. We/He was flying above this place on some sort of hovering platform, laying on his belly looking over the edge down at the view. We/He could see the connection points of all the different environments. There were meadows, desert planes with rock formations, and waterfalls and rivers. We were up so high that we could see the curve of the atmosphere. While flying as Sunny James, there were flute tones playing throughout the sky. These frequencies had some significance that I couldn’t quite understand, but they were tones that I was able to recall and hum after waking.”
I also clearly remember the morning after this dream. I got up early, and was the only one awake in the house. I came downstairs and stared out the living room window for a long time, while just whispering “wow” over and over again. I wrote down this dream while sitting on the floor beneath the window, and the awestruck remained with me. I still have the original paper with the dream written on it (this is a more detailed retyped description of the dream).
I’ve noticed in my own experience, that I dream in a particular sequence. I will have an ethereal dream that elevates my frequency, and allows me to become more aligned before entering another dream. Almost always, an ethereal dream precedes a Contact Dream, which is the classification of dream that truly ignited my passion for this exploration.
Contact within a dream, refers to an interaction between the dreamer and ETs, spirit beings, or other multidimensional expressions of consciousness. Contact dreams are often very vivid and immersive, and can have a lucid quality to them. For me, dreams involving interactions with ET beings remain in my memory the strongest, and have a very profound impact on me. In my contact dreams, I’ve witnessed hundreds of ET craft in the skies, experienced space travel first hand, and have had face-to-face interactions with a variety of ET/spirit beings. I have even perceived myself embodying the form of an ET, and feeling I am among family. This is an important point, as most contacts are actually had with parallel expressions of the self, also known as counterparts. We all have simultaneous incarnations in other realities, and they can be accessed in the dream state by “tuning” to that channel. Contact dreams overlap with many of the other dream classifications, suggesting that interacting ET/spirit beings is a universal experience, therefore an intrinsic quality we all share.
Here are two examples of my profound contact dreams:
January 2025:
“I dreamt that I was a 5th grader at an elementary school, and was sitting in class among my peers. The whole school received a message over the loud speaker sent from ET beings, stating that Open Contact was about to occur. We were then told through a collective telepathic message (meaning that everyone received it) that we would see a cloud formation resembling an ET face in the sky, and more telepathic information would follow to explain the sightings. All the classes at the school went outside to the field, and searched the sky for the face in the clouds. To my surprise, the face appeared in various ways depending on the belief system of each viewer. Many saw a face that resembled the devil because they were still assigning fearful associations with the idea of ET beings. I remember seeing several different ET faces around me, not just in the clouds, but the trees too. Everyone also witnessed flashes of light in the sky, and some of the technology at the school began malfunctioning. Everyone knew for a fact that contact was truly happening, and the existence of ETs was validated. And ultimately, once those who were fearful received clarity, everyone involved in the experience became excited to further connect with the ETs. The energy of this dream was so beautiful and promising.”
August 2021:
“I saw a large mass of tiny metallic crafts flying through the sky in the evening lighting. There were hundreds, and all of them were the same design. My mom, sister and I were standing in the gravel beyond the porch of our house, watching crafts glide through the air at various heights. Eventually, one of the crafts came down to eye-level. It was small sphere about 20” in diameter, with a saucer disc around the middle that was rotating, creating a metallic swooshing sound. It was covered in a black, red and silver design. It hovered about 4 feet off the ground, and my mom and sister both touched it, resulting in them receiving an intense energetic/vibrational download. I was too afraid to touch it directly, but I was holding onto my mom when she touched it, so the energy that was downloaded into her was also transferred to me. After that encounter, we went back inside the house, though the crafts remained nearby and were flying quite close to the ground. Due to the download, my mom was able to have telepathic conversations with the consciousness associated with the craft (it seemed as if there was an intelligence that the craft was transmitting, but no beings were inside). She learned that the crafts where here for a purpose relating to me. The consciousness continued to ask my mom a series of questions about me moving to the UK and setting my life plans into action. After the crafts left, I could still feel the energy of that consciousness around me for several days. Apparently I was working as a school teacher, and on one of the days following the contact I was at the school preparing to teach a class. During my preparations, I noticed that I too possessed the ability to telepathically communicate with the intelligence from the craft, and also had the capacity to see through different timelines. I met a teacher who was teaching two different classes at the school, but with my new abilities, I percieved that each class was being taught in a different timeline. One of the students able to remember that they were taking a class in each timeline, and was trying to comprehend how that was possible. That’s all I can recollect from this dream.”
Contact dreams commonly involve a direct message that is very relevant for the current state of your waking life. In the second dream I shared, the intelligence conveyed to me their thoughts about my plans to relocate to the UK, which was pertinent to where I was presently focused. This leads to the next type of dream, which branches off as a sub-classificaton: Guidance dreams. Due to the perceptive and insightful communications expressed in these dreams, they needed to be expanded upon independently.
Simply put, a dream in which the dreamer receives guidance from a higher aspect of themself, another being, or an alternative display of consciousness, is a Guidance dream. Of course all dreams present a lesson or theme to the dreamer, but some dreams provide more specific answers or solutions to the challenges in waking life. There are many ways in which a message can be conveyed in a dream, it isn’t always literal or apparent. In my experience, usually guidance dreams are delivered in a very symbolic way, and require a closer examination. However, the examples I will share today happen to be very clear and direct in the delivery of the message.
I will insert a trigger warning here, as these two dreams touch upon the topic of anorexia. The messages I received in the dreams acted as a guiding nudge towards choosing to recover from my illness. I believe these interactions were with higher aspects of my own consciousness, though disguised as other dream characters in order to evoke a certain emotional response.
October 2023:
“I dreamt that I met with Mary Rodwell (a writer/researcher of ET phenomenon) at a hotel convention center. We were in a large dimly-lit room, and Mary was overseeing the assignment of getting a group of people fitted for uniforms. This was part of the preparation for a lecture Mary would be giving. Which was the reason I was there too, I was somehow involved in this event. I sat with her at a table in the corner, and we were talking about our experiences and sharing stories. She was very drawn to my energy, and said there was something she needed to demonstrate to me. She then telekinetically projected me up to the ceiling of the room, so that everyone could perceive and experience my energy. She said to me, “You are a beautiful soul that is very much needed in the world. You need to gain some weight to become more grounded, so that it will become easier to be here.” She conveyed this in an urgent yet compassionate manner.”
(At the lowest point of my illness) January 2024:
“I dreamt I was admitted to the hospital for complications caused by anorexia. I collapsed in a hospital bathroom, and I rang the nurse bell because I was having heart palpitations. I remember floating out of the bathroom in my spirit body, and walking through the hall that led to lobby area. This was a very high floor, many many stories up. I saw my mom outside through the window, walking into the hospital in a hurry to come see me. I was then observing all the people who were walking through the halls, or just sitting and waiting in the lobby. I started to venture down another hall (still in my spirit body) and into a patient’s room. I entered the room of a man who had been in a very severe accident and was covered in burns. He was not going to survive his injuries, and his young family was there with him to say goodbye. This man was suffering immensely, and every now and then would cry out in pain. I remember floating over to him, and placing my hands on his head to provide comfort, which he could feel and sense. As I was in the midst of assisting him in transitioning out of his physical body, my parents abruptly burst into the room. My dad scooped me up and hugged me, which meant I was now back in my physical body. He said they were looking all over for me and were worried that something had happened. My dad then asked me, “Do you want to die? You’re here because you aren’t getting any better. Do you want to end up like this man?” I remember feeling very shocked by my dad’s words, and in that moment being able to understand the perspective of death from both the sprit and physical viewpoints.”
I’m aware these are somewhat extreme examples of guidance being given through a dream, however, I feel it is important to share just how powerful this experience can be. When I didn’t listen to the softer, more gentle approach from the first dream, the message came back stronger and more intense the next time to seize my attention. Dreams have a way of revealing the concealed fears within the subconscious mind, and can bring forth the authentic and unfiltered desires of the soul. Earlier I referenced “dream characters,” which segways into the next dream classification: Play Productions
The dreamworld is without limitations, and can be used as a stage for your consciousness to act-out certain ideas before choosing to experience them in physical reality. A Play Production dream provides the dreamer the opportunity to explore a simulation of concept they’ve been pondering intently in waking life. These dreams often include recurring dream characters that take on various roles to help act-out the theme. My cast of characters includes old companions from high school who take turns playing the bully, the lover, the friend, and many other roles. Each play a part in creating a complex arrangement of perspectives and emotions that illustrate an example of what the simulated reality would be like if it manifested. It’s a very helpful tool for strengthening discernment, and for streamlining the infinite possibilities for reality down to the options most in alignment with the true self.
In the dream example provided here, a simulation of embodying my true self was revealed to me:
May 2025:
“I dreamt that I visited my old high school the day of my class’s graduation, but as my future self. Outside on the football field, I experienced a joyful reunion with my small group of friends and a teacher I was close with. They all recognized me as my future self, and were interested in learning about my growth. They were eager to interact with me and ask me questions. In this dream, I was the full embodiment of who I am currently becoming. I expressed myself in an articulate manner with confidence, humor, and ease.”
The significance of this dream is displayed by the power of contrast. In my waking life, I was shy, anxious, and insecure throughout my high school years. I wasn’t courageous enough to express myself to the fullest capacity, and I hadn’t yet found my voice. The familiar dream characters in this dream simulated a past experience, but created an inviting energetic space that allowed for a fuller expression of myself to enter the scene. This revealed to me a clearer picture of how far I’ve come, and how others may receive the authentic version of Willow that I am now. My growth is the product of the challenges I faced, and my empowerment was signified by realizing my ability to choose my state of being. Correlating with the theme of growth, is the following classification of dream: Exposure Therapy dreams
Exposure therapy within a dream, is demonstrated to the dreamer by encountering fearful and uncomfortable concept or situations in a safe, controlled manner. As someone who has experienced aspects of my life through the lens of emetophobia (fear of vomiting), I’ve discovered that the dream state is the ideal environment for practicing confrontation with my fears. It’s a tool that can help lessen, or even remove, the emotional charge from a fearful situation. The more dreams I have of this nature, the safer I feel in my waking life. I don’t have many of my exposure therapy dreams documented, as they are often quite intense for me, but luckily I have one that I’ve recorded:
June 2025:
“I dreamt that I was inside a large wood cabin, visiting with a big family who lived there. All the teens and children in this family where homeschooled, and exhibited artistic and creative qualities. They were all unique and neurodivergent individuals, and some of them were also trans. I felt very comfortable, as I was among like-minded individuals whom I could relate to. My sister was there with me, and I walked outside to find her standing on a nearby hill. The lighting of this scene was bright and golden, and the space around us seemed to illuminate from the ground. She told me one of the boys in the family was on the couch and had the stomach flu, but that it was no big deal. He was preoccupied playing his video game and occasionally vomiting, which implied that he wasn’t afraid of being sick. I didn’t react too intensely to this information, I didn’t automatically panic and ask to leave. Instead I attempted to ignore my anxious thoughts, and just trust the fact that I wouldn’t get sick. Though I never saw the boy, my anxiety did progress throughout the dream and I did eventually ask to leave. I made myself wake up at that point. But overall, I wasn’t as terrified as I normally would be in this situation, due to the resonance I felt with the dream characters and the setting.”
This was a very mild exposure therapy dream, I’ve had many that were much more intense. However, the experience gained from each of these dreams is very valuable to my journey of moving beyond my fears. I’ve acquired an appreciation for the dreams that reveal to me the aspects of my consciousness that are still more fear-based. I’ve learned that any expression of fear, no matter how extreme, can be softened and guided back into a balanced state. With this in mind, there is one final classification of dream to investigate and define: Nightmares
Nightmares are a very common dream experience among many, but their purpose is often misunderstood. I define a nightmare as a dream that presents the dreamer with a concept, encounter, or event that is beyond their conscious understanding, therefore interpreted as an “unknown”. All fear can be traced back to the idea of the unknown. Anything that feels very unusual or foreign, can evoke a feeling of threat and the need to self-protect. Nightmares do overlap quite often with what I have classified as exposure therapy dreams. They provide the dreamer with the opportunity to engage in uncomfortable and unfamiliar territories. If nightmares are interpreted beyond the surface level, and analyzed to unveil the deeper meaning, they can become exceptional teachers. If the dreamer pays attention to the symbols, patterns, and emotions that compose a nightmare, each layer of the lesson can be identified. Once the contents of the nightmare have been validated and understood, then the experience can be used for the purpose of further self-expansion.
I don’t have many dreams I consider to be nightmares, but this is one I’ve documented that fits the criteria:
November 2020:
“I dreamt I was walking up the stairs to my room in the darkness, and I received a message in my mind that stated “they’re coming again”. When I opened the door to my room, my mom and sister were waiting for me and were panic-stricken, as they didn’t understand what was happening. I knew we were about to have an encounter of some kind. We heard a painfully loud sound that caused everything to vibrate, and was felt viscerally in our bodies. I crouched on the floor and covered my ears and saw a beam of light shining through the skylight. I woke myself up at that moment, and felt very uneasy and frightened afterwards.”
This dream revealed to me the degree of fear I still held within my belief systems around the topic of ET contact. At the time of the dream, my attention was not directly focused on understanding the nature of interactions with ET/spirit beings. Once I recognized how my fears can color an experience and cause it to be perceived as negative, everything began to shift. Every experience is fundamentally neutral, and only gain a positive or negative meaning based on the beliefs of the experiencer. Additionally, I’ve learned that when encountering a being of a very high frequency, that exposure can provoke hidden fears to rise to the surface which causes a paralyzing fear response. As one raises their frequency, fear is used as a method of identification, rather than a limitation. Nightmares highlight the misalignments within the dreamer, which allows for conscious exploration of those areas in waking life.
My passion for expanding my understanding of dreams continues, and each new discovery perpetuates my curiosity. Despite the apparent distinctions between the various types of dreams, they are all equal in their capacity to connect dreamers with more of themselves. Dreams provide a glimpse into the limitless, eternal nature of all beings.
Sweet dreams,
~Willow
