Dreamwork and Interpretation
Is that just the late night pizza talking or is God trying to get your attention?
ost of us have never heard anything about the role of dreams in Christian spirituality as we sit in church week after week, year after year. Even in our seminaries, nothing is taught about this important topic. Yet, in Scripture, we find that God often uses dreams to give a perspective or remove barriers for interpreting and applying his Word. He utilized dreams from Genesis to Revelation, and declared that He would continue to use them in the last days. "In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams." (Acts 2:17). When you total up all dreams and visions in the Bible, and all the stories and actions which come out of these dreams and visions, you have about one-third of the Bible, which is equal to the size of the New Testament! This amount of data should cause us to take notice!
Outside of the Biblical record, such giants as St. Justin Martyr, St. Irenaeus, St. Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Tertullian, St. Athanasius, St. Augustine of Hippo, St. John Chrysostom, St. Anthony of the Desert, St. Basil the Great, Gregory of Nazianzus, Gregory of Nyssa, St. Ambrose, St. Gregory the Great, and John Cassian all affirmed God's presence/leading in dreams. Tertullian wrote in his introduction to the Martyrdom of Saints Perpetua and Felicitas that dreams are one of the gifts of God and he believed dreams came to people of his own day just as they did to biblical characters and the 1st apostles. Origen saw dreams as part of God's providence "for the benefit of the one who had the dream and those who hear it from him." St. Cyprian, bishop of Carthage in 250 AD, asserted that the councils of the church were guided by God through dreams.
In modern times, sleep laboratories have proven that everyone dreams one to two hours each night during a certain period of sleep known as alpha level, which is light sleep. The average person sleeping for eight hours a night will dream about one to two hours of that time. Alpha level sleep is where one has what is called Rapid Eye Movement (REM). They have discovered that if they awaken a person every time REM begins, preventing him from dreaming, after about three nights the individual will begin to show signs of having a nervous breakdown. Clearly dreams are an inner release mechanism which helps provide us with emotional balance and maintain our sanity. Dreams can be considered guardians of our mental and emotional well-being.
Although we live in a sinful world and our collective subconsciousness can fragment and distort any number of things that God is trying to impart through His Word, dreams are often the most honest and reliable messengers of the condition of one's heart (Dan. 2:30), as well as the voice of God within one's heart (Acts 2:17). You cannot observe your dreams and remain a Christian phony for long. Dreams will reveal what you are doing and will not allow you to ignore it. Hypocrisy our in our emotional lives, heart struggles and sanctification issues are often shown to us symbolically in our dreams. The most common areas will be physical health issues, relationships to other people, circumstances and events that surround your life, ministry or vocation questions. All of these are important to your heart, so these may be portrayed symbolically in your dreams.
Would you like to explore the meaning of your dreams?
Here are some options...
ost of us have never heard anything about the role of dreams in Christian spirituality as we sit in church week after week, year after year. Even in our seminaries, nothing is taught about this important topic. Yet, in Scripture, we find that God often uses dreams to give a perspective or remove barriers for interpreting and applying his Word. He utilized dreams from Genesis to Revelation, and declared that He would continue to use them in the last days. "In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams." (Acts 2:17). When you total up all dreams and visions in the Bible, and all the stories and actions which come out of these dreams and visions, you have about one-third of the Bible, which is equal to the size of the New Testament! This amount of data should cause us to take notice!
Outside of the Biblical record, such giants as St. Justin Martyr, St. Irenaeus, St. Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Tertullian, St. Athanasius, St. Augustine of Hippo, St. John Chrysostom, St. Anthony of the Desert, St. Basil the Great, Gregory of Nazianzus, Gregory of Nyssa, St. Ambrose, St. Gregory the Great, and John Cassian all affirmed God's presence/leading in dreams. Tertullian wrote in his introduction to the Martyrdom of Saints Perpetua and Felicitas that dreams are one of the gifts of God and he believed dreams came to people of his own day just as they did to biblical characters and the 1st apostles. Origen saw dreams as part of God's providence "for the benefit of the one who had the dream and those who hear it from him." St. Cyprian, bishop of Carthage in 250 AD, asserted that the councils of the church were guided by God through dreams.
In modern times, sleep laboratories have proven that everyone dreams one to two hours each night during a certain period of sleep known as alpha level, which is light sleep. The average person sleeping for eight hours a night will dream about one to two hours of that time. Alpha level sleep is where one has what is called Rapid Eye Movement (REM). They have discovered that if they awaken a person every time REM begins, preventing him from dreaming, after about three nights the individual will begin to show signs of having a nervous breakdown. Clearly dreams are an inner release mechanism which helps provide us with emotional balance and maintain our sanity. Dreams can be considered guardians of our mental and emotional well-being.
Although we live in a sinful world and our collective subconsciousness can fragment and distort any number of things that God is trying to impart through His Word, dreams are often the most honest and reliable messengers of the condition of one's heart (Dan. 2:30), as well as the voice of God within one's heart (Acts 2:17). You cannot observe your dreams and remain a Christian phony for long. Dreams will reveal what you are doing and will not allow you to ignore it. Hypocrisy our in our emotional lives, heart struggles and sanctification issues are often shown to us symbolically in our dreams. The most common areas will be physical health issues, relationships to other people, circumstances and events that surround your life, ministry or vocation questions. All of these are important to your heart, so these may be portrayed symbolically in your dreams.
Would you like to explore the meaning of your dreams?
Here are some options...
One to One Dreamwork Session via Phone, Skype, or in Person (Half hour)
30 minute consultation via phone, Skype, or in person.
$
30.00
One to One Dreamwork Session via Phone, Skype, or in Person (Full hour)
60 minute consultation via phone, Skype, or in person
$
60.00
Dream Interpretation Report
You email me the dream and I return an interpretation via MP3 audio or typed report.
$
35.00
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