Our Dreams: What if They Are God's Prayers to Us and For Us?
You will defend the faith of giants, you will bring giants to faith, you will be a giant in faith.
GIANTS?!
As a reserved person who avoids crowds, steers away from being the center of attention and who relishes time alone, this WORD intrigued me.
For one, this insight came through hearing – it was almost an audible download from beyond, with nothing to do (at least I thought at the time) with my present stream of consciousness. I had experienced vivid dreams in the past but receiving “intel” like this in a waking state was new.
A few years of major life changes, loss and some struggle, I had spent a great deal of time in a sort of perpetual state of petitionary prayer. Whether driving, showering, working at the office, each breath in and out, silently carried questions.
“Where shall I go?” “What shall I do?” Who does it involve?”
Oh, GOD! Giants apparently. I had to laugh.
Types of Dreams
While many of us put dreams in a category of something that only happens while we are asleep, it is possible for us to receive insights from the Holy in waking states as well.
Lila Morisee, PhD, has worked with children and families, individuals and groups, for more than 25 years, in both counseling and educational settings helping people tell their stories in playful and prayerful ways, and uses a variety of creative materials is her specialty. When exploring dreams, Morisee likes to veer away from too narrowly defining what we consider a dream.
“Dreams don’t necessarily have to happen when your head is on the pillow,” says Morisee. “It is more of a being open to the miraculous and making yourself available to the way Spirit appears.”
In addition to the type of images, symbols and stories we remember from our sleep, these other versions of dreams can happen several ways but not limited to:
Seeing: Visions, images, colors, symbols, and mental movies might come to you in your mind’s eye. Flashes of light and color often give insight to your deepest desires.
Knowing: An intuitive ability to have quick insight. This often comes with a sudden, clear idea.
Sensing: Goosebumps or gut feelings about situations indicating some, new bit of knowledge.
Hearing: Manifested internally, meaning heard within your mind, or externally, meaning heard as a voice or a noise outside of yourself.
Whether you’re awake or asleep, dreams also come in different genres. Some folks might even experience a combination of these:
Prophetic - Sometimes we are given a peek into the future. These types of dreams can provide direction, encouragement or could reveal some needed piece to a missing life puzzle.
Healing - These speak to the healing of physical ailments and could provide insights to remedies or hope, or maybe even tell the dreamer that they need to pay attention to an area of their body that needs tending.
Warning - Though not as common, this type of dream might steer someone away from a dangerous scenario or person, allowing them to keep peace with themselves and their life.
Affirming - Whether through a deep knowing, hearing or sensing or maybe through imagery, some dreams offer the dreamer a needed pat on the back giving them the reassurance needed to keep going.
Visitations – Some encounter family members and pets who might have passed on. This isn’t meant to be frightening but instead an invitation to experience the fullness of the divine connection we share.
Since all good things are from God, it is hard to classify some dreams as divine and others not. There are, however, a few ways to indicate a dream might have something more for us then just a general clearing of conscience.
“When I’ve had a dream that seems holy, there’s a sort of attractiveness, a richness, something there I want to explore, but I do think other types of dreams can be helpful, too,” says Morisee. “These other types of dreams are kind of like a garbage disposal, getting rid of stuff that we know longer need, they help us take note of certain aspects of our life that might need weeding. ”
Dreams in the Bible
Consider the legendary story of Jacob’s ladder found in Genesis 28:10–19. His dream was layered with images and promises from God.
The text informs us when Jacob’s mother Rebekah learns that her son’s life is in danger if he stays at home, Jacob is deployed from the Promised Land of Canaan by his mother and sent on a journey into a land unfamiliar.
In addition to fleeing this danger at home, Jacob is also tasked with expanding his lineage by finding a wife once he arrives in his new home.
This is what happens along the way:
“12 He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 There above it stood the Lord, and he said: “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. 14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring.[b] 15 I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”
Something tells me seeing this stairway as well as hearing this message and encouragement concerning his future propelled Jacob to believe in a whole new reality for himself – God’s reality, which ultimately aligns with our purest desires.
If we’re open to it, I imagine the same passionate and doting messages are available to us as well.
Dr. Troy Caldwell, a psychiatrist, trained spiritual director and writer with expertise in Jungian dream work describes the veil that separates our consciousness from our unconscious is akin to the angel with the flaming sword that guards the gates of Eden – what an image!
“Eden and the heavenly realms are usually hidden from us, as are the other realms of our unconscious mind,” says Caldwell. “Dreams are like X-rays that remove the veil and show us snippets of what is hidden.”
Dreams give us something to hope for, a reminder that Emmanuel, our God is with us, sees us and knows us - many times seeing us and knowing us long before we know ourselves.
“God is patient, he won’t force anything on us,” reminds Morisee. “He always desires our very best, and this can be expressed in dreams.”
What to do with Dreams?
Like Jacob, in the months leading up to my GIANT word, I had felt a lot out of my comfort zone.
Wondering what was next. Wondering how the promises of God in my life might be fulfilled. Wondering what I was supposed to do.
Waiting.
Wandering.
Wondering.
And, at times feeling, too, like I was sleeping on rocks and unable to get comfortable.
And then, one day, it dawned on me. Two years prior, I had written a dream down on the notes section of my iPhone describing in detail a dream involving three giants - two women and one man - each carrying a tall, wooden staff.
These giants walked right passed me - ignoring me with every step. Despite their heavy footsteps and gruff appearances, I noticed - I wasn’t harmed.
In this moment, the GIANT word I had most recently received began to take on more life and meaning. I started seeing some connections between these two dreams, which in turn helped me to understand where God might be leading me.
New life filled me.
“Part of receiving these types of things from God involves us paying attention,” says Morisee. “The things we pay attention to begin to take on more import. And when we sort of declare something as important to us, it gives our unconscious permission to come on stronger.”
Morisee encourages us to spend time with our dreams, noticing how they evolve, and suggests that they probably will indeed mean different things over time and at different times in our life - this is part of the beauty, the fullness dreams offer.
Journal - Write down words, images or narratives from your dreams. Over time, you might start to notice threads and connections, patterns in the way God speaks to you. Sue Monk Kidd, author of When the Heart Waits: Spiritual direction for Life’s Sacred Questions and several other books on spirituality and the Divine Feminine puts it like this:
“For years I had written down my dreams,” she says. “Believing, as I still do, that one of the purest sources of knowledge about our lives, comes from the symbols and images deep within.”
Prayer - It can be helpful to create a prayer out of a dream, particularly if the meaning isn’t clear yet. Forming words in the style of a Psalm or maybe writing the words in question form asking God to share more as He provides direction.
Poetry - Assembling words in a free-flow style might help process a dream and/or can also offer you something tangible reflecting the beauty of your dream.
Art - Like poetry, drawing, painting and sculpting potentially allows for dreams to come to life, to take shape, as you make this creation for yourself as interpretation and to God as an offering.
Community - Whether we talk about our dreams with a trusted prayer partner, soul friend or spiritual director, it is helpful to have someone listen, even if there’s no comment or interpretation received.
There’s power in sharing our dreams with others - it helps us to realize that we’re more alike than different in our human experience, and that essence builds connection and community in deeper and more meaningful ways.
“When you talk about dreams with another person or group of people, you’ll notice that threads start to appear,” says Morisee.
Morisee leads a Dream Group through Retreat House Spirituality Center where participants gather from all faith traditions and none to discuss and wonder about dreams. It’s in these sessions where fellow journeyers will see commonalities in the dreams they share - perhaps it is a particular word or color, maybe they find that their dreams share significant timing. And, occasionally, dreamers discover that the dream that’s been stumping them is actually for someone else or multiple people in the group.
She suggests open-ended questions that invite curiosity and not interpretation: If that were my dream, this is what the dream would mean- what do you think? Or, what does the color green mean to you?
What else?
Throughout history, dreams have been valued and seen as messages from God. It wasn’t until recent centuries that dreams sort of fell out of vogue. Morton Kelsey writes in his book A Way to Listen to God that that governing bodies influence whether or not dreams are in fashion.
Dreams are also regarded sacred in a variety of religions.
“So if you are in doubt for that which has been revealed to you, then ask those who have reading the scripture before you. The truth as certainly come to you from your Lord, so never been among the doubters” - Quran 10:94
Morisee smiles when she compares the vastness of the dreamworld to exploring far away places, places away from home.
“Sharing dreams with people of various backgrounds, dream styles and lifestyles is kind of like travelling,” Morisee says. “Being in a different setting, you’re changed, you don’t come home the same - it enriches you.”
Not only does sharing my dreams with others enhance my understanding and appreciation of the divine and my interior self, but the act of dreaming - is a never-ending journey. Like Jacob, dreams bring energy and new fuel through God’s mercy and goodness as our creator speaks to us in very specific ways, a dazzling trip indeed.
Caldwell shares:
“Dreams that grab you in the gut and inspire awe and wonder occur only occasionally, but if you pay attention to even the more everyday dreams, you will be ready when the big dream comes, and you will hear the voice and promise of God.”
Lila Morisee, PhD, is a partner at Retreat House and has has worked with children and families, individuals and groups, for more than 25 years, in both counseling and educational settings. Helping people tell their stories in playful, prayerful ways, using a variety of creative materials is her specialty. Lila is hosting a Summer Dream Group with Retreat House. Learn more and/or sign up here.
A covenant partner at Retreat House, Dr. Troy Caldwell is a trained spiritual director, psychiatrist and writer with particular expertise in Jungian dreamwork. His book exploring dreams and spirituality is found on Amazon.com titled Adventures in Soulmaking.
Emily Turner is a trained spiritual director, Retreat House partner and writer. She is still discerning the meaning of GIANTS in her life.