How can one tell if a dream is literal or symbolic?

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   aoiffe379posted 15 years ago

   How can one tell if a dream is literal or symbolic?
   
   I have had water dreams in the past and one was accurate.I gave details in the hub ABC Of A Hurricane.Since then I had one about a wave that came on land.The people in the dream ran and the wave moved just as fast.Yesterday I dreamt that people were going from door to door shouting:Hurricane coming. From the atmosphere, it seemed as if this was something sudden or unexpected. I told several people.Some regarded it as a warning about a hurricane. But one person said it meant death.Joel said that in the last days people will have dreams and visions.What is your opinion on dreams and visions?

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   EdG.posted 15 years ago

   Dreams are almost never literal and whatever symbolism is taken from a dream is up to the judgment of the individual. I read an excellent hub on the subject of dreams but I can't recall the author or it's title, sadly. It was highly informative. If you want to learn more about dreams in general, look no further than this website.

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   mich7posted 15 years ago

   Hi,  You are correct it does tell us in the book of Joel about dreams and visions.  If you look further Daniel was used to interpret dreams, which some people have the gift to do.  There are two angles from which to view your dream/s, the first is that you like all people were born with a gift, yours may be what is known as a seer of prophet.  This would be something that is part of your DNA and if you give it consideration you might be aware that there is something different about you.  If you have given your life to the Lord Jesus then the Holy Spirit will teach you how to develop your gift to glorify God.  The second perspective is that God is talking to you and wants you to seek Him out to get the answer to your dreams.  There could be elements of being literal but this is fairly unlikely as the God who created the universe and us wants a relationship not just to download info to us.  If there is a riddle or a puzzle we might look to solve it, even look to others to solve it BUT I can gaurentee that if you ask the Lord he will give you the meaning behind the dream He has given you and you will be left feeling fantastic - thats what an incounter with Him does.  Happy asking!!!  Mich

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   aoiffe379posted 15 years ago

   Thank you Ed G,Deanna Ragin and Mich7 for your responses. i have been seeking the Lord; and apparently He is seeking me too as I have been rising at 2:00 a.m. 3:00 a.m and 4:00 a.m for no apparent reason. One morning I prayed until I had exhausted myself with prayers.It was like prayer diarrhea! of course I could not keep my eyes open at work and had to snooze during a break. During one dream recently i started to go into a rain and wind dream and had to wake myself up because i was not ready for another water dream. Thanks for your insight.

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   worldtravelerposted 15 years ago

   Well, look at your other dreams, did they come true? Also remember, hurricanes are a common thing in certain parts of the world so just because there is a hurricane doesn't mean it was a prediction. There could be something worrying you or bothering you that is causing these types of dreams. Dreams have different meanings for different people. For example, Sigmund Freud had one type of dream analysis and other psychologists had others. And, now today you can find many dream dictionaries out there. But, I do believe that some dreams are accurate. I would say if you had a dream where someone told you something and then they told you the next day, then ya that dream is pretty accurate!

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   spiritactorposted 15 years ago

   Water, to me, has to do with pure self.  It is the elemental self, aside from the burning energies of yourself or anyone.  It is neither good nor bad, but simply is.
   
   If symbolism is what you're looking for, it seems to me that you anticipate some event that will "overwhelm."  Yet, to me, it can't actually occur. If you take for example the silly film "2012", it represents an "overwhelming" that leads to the destruction of people and places. Symbolically, however (and according to most who have actually studied Mayan philosophies and religion), this 2012 event simply represents the end of their calendar and the promise of yet another new "beginning."  It is both an end AND beginning. It is an awakening. How optimistic that is!  What a wondrous thing! And our pure selves, as constantly being extended from the source itself, cannot be overwhelmed or extinguished. The essence of what we are always has been and always will be.
   
   Accept the dream as a mark of coming "change"-- that's all.  If you must anticipate, anticipate a purification-- not simple destruction. And I believe the "water" is you, augmented by unfocused imagination and generated by anticipation. If you picture that dream again, turn the volume down in your mind, breathe and embrace the wave with pure, warm light-- you'll see the sun come out on the other side in no time, just as after any "storm."  Let the "wave" wash away the anticipation, the fear it can generate-- put your hand to your heart, breathe the warm air deeply and laugh away the joke that it was playing on your psyche. It was you all along-- appreciate the imagination, humor and creativity in that; and move on.  Celebrate a renewed self! It'll be wonderful not having all that "debris" anymore.

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   Beata Stasakposted 15 years ago

   Next time you have a dream, just lay back, enjoy and let your dream to take you on the adventure of the lifetime. Our dreams help us to clarify our own desires. Through our dreams we seek the answers for any unexplained events or unsolved problems we have. The most of our dreams are bad dreams and nightmares. Through them we prepare ourselves for the eventual misfortune that can happen to us in our future. Without dreams there would be no humanity. I don't kmow if our dreams are visionary but they are symbolic as they emotionally prepare us for our future.

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   wonderfull.lightposted 15 years ago

   Hi, i'm Naphright again Naphright, i am new to the hub  learning my way around so i hope i'm getting this message to you correctly. i know that God usually speak to us in parables.

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   pjk_artistposted 15 years ago

   Simple. Its always symbolic.
   
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   Right?

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    Rossimobisposted 15 years ago

    There are dreams and there are Visions.Many a time, we communicate beyond our mortal comprehension and this happens in dreams.honestly, one might doze off just for few minutes and experience trance,this  is vision of its kind, the longer sleep and spiritual communication is dream and i believe in dreams.One night i had a dream and the last part of it was where i was singing;
    "Abraham blessing are mine,hallelujah, Abraham blessings are mine,i am blessed in the morning,i am blessed in the evening,Abraham blessings are mine"
    Though times weren't all that critical but i had a pressing need and have been wondering how to get things done but i got not just a vision but the solution, woke up singing same song and that was just it....within hours, i got a break through.
    
    DREAMS ARE REAL,VISION IS A MESSAGE FROM JAH.

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    pisean282311posted 15 years ago

    wrote hub about dream...http://hubpages.com/hub/Power-Of-Dream

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    ceciliabeltranposted 15 years ago

    All dreams are symbolic. Sometimes its just about you and the events of your mind. Sometimes your spider senses perceive a threat and so you dream about it. Animals know when there is a coming disaster. We do too, we just don't realize it. So when we sleep, the dream tells us what we sensed but ignored.

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