So far we’ve talked about what dreams are and what can cause them. Now let’s take a look at some of the different kinds of dreams you may experience.
Precognitive Dreams
Some people are visited by precognitive dreams, which foretell the future. Usually when having such a dream, the dreamer will get consistent recognizable feelings accompanying the dream, as a signal that the future is being laid out in dream form for them. For instance they might be presented with the picture of a very glaring white or gold light at the beginning of their dream.
Nightmares
Nightmares are the subconscious’ way of bringing something to our attention that we are just not acknowledging. If we continually resist or decide we won’t address certain issues in waking life, sooner or later they catch up to us. In dream language, they come out as “nightmares.” These kinds of dreams are something we can’t ignore. We either wake up in a cold sweat or find ourselves trembling. That’s when we no longer can be in denial, but rather start wondering what this all means.
Whichever type of dream you have, remembering them and analyzing them will help lead you to a much richer, inner life. And this, in turn, will lead to a happier, more fulfilling “waking” life.
Lucid Dreams
Lucid dreams occur when we are in a state of consciousness somewhere between sleep and wake. In this state we are aware that we are dreaming, and can control the outcome of our dream. We can turn and face our fears in the guise of that big ugly monster, or travel around the corner to see what is actually waiting there.
It is somewhat difficult, though, to maintain this delicate state. Great teachers have suggested that by concentrating on a stable object, such as your hands, you will be better able to maintain the balance.
These dreams usually occur in the final hours of dreaming and are frequently signaled by a particular symbol. For some, the onset of lucid dreaming begins with the feeling that they are watching themselves completing a task. For others, it is the appearance of an extraordinary bright light. Some have noticed the sensation of floating in the air, which signals they are having a lucid dream.
10 thoughts on “Different Flavors of Dreams”
I have read about dreams and the differnt kind of dreams and have been very intrested in dreams since i was younger. The reason being i experiance dreams only sometimes and usually they predict things. I have had many dreams that come true or have actually happend. Most of my dreams are about me some are not so good. On example was in a dream i was talking to a man i did not know and had never seen before, then 2 days later I ran into the man in my dream. I have had few dreams like this.It seems i only have dreams like theses and I was wondering if these could be pychic dreams?
Hi Lise,
Thanks for the comment ! The only reason I got my first cat is because I dreamed about her, so I’m hoping my second dream about a possible 4th cat was just a good dream !
Wishing you a wonderful day !
Blue Eyes
Your dreams are interesting, Blue Eyes! I have experienced the same sort of dreams, so I love to hear about similar experiences.
And, like you, I have too many cats! I seem to attract animals and children…
Hi everyone,
Dreams are fascinating. I’ve had a few precognitive dreams so that now when I dream about certain situations, I often wonder if it’s “just a dream” or not.
Last summer, I dreamed that I was at an European airport ( live in Europe), I recognized the airport but could not remember in which city it was. I was watching a plane take off, but the pilot missed his take-off and had to do it again. Unfortunately, the plane crashed after the second take-off – it was horrifying to see. Ten days later, a plane crashed at Madrid airport – it missed its first attempt to take-off, had to try again and crashed; needless to say, I felt horrible.
2 weeks ago, I dreamed I was at some kind of outdoor festival and a man was pouring red and white wine together to make rosé wine (I think it’s called blush wine in the USA ?). Other people and I were getting real upset about that, telling the guy not to do that, it wasn’t the way blush wine is made. The next day I read in the newspaper that the producers of blush wine had won their case against wine producers who wanted to produce rosé wine by mixing red and white wine together.
And this night I dreamed that I was adopting another cat – the cat was supposed to go to someone else, but somehow I “knew” it wanted to be with me, it was choosing me. I REALLY hope I won’t find myself in this situation!! I already have 3 cats, live in an apartment and REALLY shouldn’t adopt a 4th cat :-))))
Hope I haven’t bored everyone stiff, but I admit, I really find dreams so very interesting.
Wishing everyone a great day !
Blue Eyes
Hi KathyM,
Yes, it seems colors do have certain meanings in dreams. But again, make sure you run them by your personal “filter”, ie what do certain colors mean to me?
Generally, the overlay of b&w can mean the yin and yang of things, the good and evil, etc. Violet generally means the highest level of spirituality and love. If you want to get specific, you can differentiate between the intensities of colors, but that’s getting very, very specific. Gray can mean depression, uncertainty.
Hope this helps~!
Much luv & lite,
Ariel
Hi Lise,
Very nice letter~! Lots of good information in your dreams. Why don’t you give a call and we’ll discuss some of your fabulous dreams~!
Much luv & lite,
Ariel
Thanks for the interesting article, Ariel! I have had extremely vivid dreams since I was very young and have, at one time or another, experienced all of the dreams you talked about. I’m sure I don’t remember absolutely every dream I have, but I remember most of them…some of them from a long time ago. Some of them are so bizarre that I can’t forget them! 😉
As a little girl, I had the same terrible nightmare over and over. I wasn’t more than 2 or 3 years old at the time, but I can still see in my mind the images from the dream as clearly as if I’d had it last night (I’m now 33). I’m pretty sure now that my mother was the one-eyed monster in the dream…(if it isn’t one thing, it’s your mother, right? LOL!)
I remember some others I had several years ago very vividly, too. For whatever reason, some of the dreams I have had have been powerful enough to stay with me. My only explanation is that my dreams are always very vivid and almost always very bizarre!
I have had only a few precognitive dreams, the first coming when I was a teenager. I was about two weeks away from starting my sophomore year in high school when I had the dream. In my dream, I was walking to my new locker and went past the assistant principal and two teachers who were talking. That’s all the dream was. I had been thinking about starting school around the time of the dream, so I passed it off as nothing unusual. However, when I actually started school two weeks later, I found out that all three of them had taken jobs elsewhere and would not be at my school anymore.
It really freaked me out and I didn’t tell anyone at the time. Since then, I’ve only had two others, and both of them have been as dead on as that first one. I have not had one recently, the last one happening not quite 10 years ago.
I have lucid dreams quite often now. It seems like I have them both when I am falling asleep and in the hours before I wake up. I only have to think about something to make it happen in my dreams.
In the past, when some one close to me (pet or person) has died, they have visited me in a dream to tell me good bye. I have had this happen several times, and each time there has been something specific that has shown me it truly is them. For example, my grandmother could never set the clock on her VCR. When she died, I dreamt that I was in a room with just a VCR, and her goodbye message was being shown across where the clock normally is, like a ticker at the bottom of a tv screen.
The best part of having vivid dreams has been that it is partly entertainment while I sleep, but also a source of creativity for me. I am a writer, and it seems that ideas are planted in my dreams likes seeds, and I am able to work them into stories later.
I’d love to have reading about all of this. I’m bound to get a lot of interesting information about myself from a psychic who specializes in dream interpretation!
Hi Maryanne,
Thnx for your kind comment.
To be honest, I don’t think anyone remembers all their dreams~~except under laboratory circumstances~!
Dear Ariel,
In what dreams I can remember, I have dreamt in color & black/white.
Is their meaning between the two and also with certain colors like violet & gray?
Cheers
KathyM
Ariel,
It seems my most vivid or “on point” dreams occur, as you stated, just before waking in the morning. As I’ve never been able to remember any of my dreams except that last one before waking, I envy those who remember all of the dreams they have every night.
Wonderful explanation of the different types of dreams. Thanks for your article.