The Illuminating Realm of Spiritual Dreams

Spiritual dreams are unmistakable. This type of dream leaves you feeling inspired, motivated, whole and at peace. Spiritual dreams create the greatest transformative impact out of all the dreams you will ever have. They stand out and are rarely forgotten. Imbued with distinct characteristics, they leave an indelible mark on your heart and soul.

In fact, it’s not uncommon to glean incredible insight from this type of dream, information that will assist you in various areas throughout the rest of your life. Spiritual dreams give your life new meaning and offer a higher perspective on life in general. They are most likely to occur during the following times in your life:

• Before a significant change.
• Prior to, or as you’re experiencing a shift in perception about yourself and your life.
• After a commitment to something meaningful has been expressed and is genuinely being pursued.
• Following a major loss or change.
• When becoming more aware of yourself, your circumstances, your life.
• During emotional and spiritual breakthroughs, e.g., taking a class, attending therapy, practicing yoga or meditation.
• During a recovery process.

Your Spiritual Energy Centers

Another way to distinguish a spiritual dream from other dreams is to notice if the dream pertains to one of the spiritual energy centers. These involve both the endocrine system (Western) and chakras (Eastern). There are seven key energy centers:

Seventh Center: Crown Chakra (Prayer Center), Color: Violet, Planet: Jupiter. Being attuned to our divinity, Nature, and having a sense of oneness with other living beings on the planet dwell within the crown chakra. The energy that aligns with this chakra is a strong sense of “I AM”.

Sixth Center: Third Eye Chakra (Intuition), Color: Indigo, Planet: Mercury. Our ability to use our intuitive and imagination along with our dreams and fantasies reside in this chakra. Light is the element and the affirmation is “I SEE.”

Fifth Center: Throat Chakra (Communication), Color: Blue, Planet: Uranus. Our ability to clearly express ourselves, to giving voice to what matters most and expressing our creativity are core aspects of this chakra. Sound is the element and the affirmation is “I SPEAK.”

Fourth Center: Heart Chakra (Giving and Receiving Love), Color: Green, Planet: Venus. Our ability to express compassion, empathy, joy and love toward ourselves and others resides within this chakra. Air is the element and the affirmation is “I LOVE.”

Third Center: Solar Plexus Chakra (Personal Power, Sense of Self), Color: Yellow, Planet: Mars. This chakra centers embodies personal power, choices, and self-motivation. Fire is the element and this chakra resonates to “I CAN.”

Second Center: Sacral Chakra, Lower Abdomen Chakra (Relationship with Others), Color: Orange, Planet: Neptune. This chakra resides in the pelvic region and reflects sexuality, pleasure, procreativity. Water is the element and the affirmation is “I CREATE.”

First Center: Root Chakra (Tribal Belonging), Color: Red, Planet: Saturn. This chakra sits at the base of the spine and symbolizes survival and belonging. Earth is the element and this chakra allows us to feel grounded and secure. “I BELONG” and “I MATTER” is how this chakra is best expressed.

How do the chakras help us understand our dreams? Here is an example of a woman who was ending a long-term relationship and had a dream involving both the heart and crown energy centers.

DREAM:

I am playing with a boy I used to know when I was a child, around 4 or 5 years old. We are standing on top of a hill and as I look down, I see a pond near the base of the hill and colorful fish are in it. I notice a purple one that stands out because it is such an unusual color for a fish. We are taking turns running up the hill and the 4^th and final time I run up it, I look out onto the field that the hill stands on and see the sun and a full moon. I am amazed to see both planets shining so brightly in the sky at the same time! As I watch in wonder, the moon slides down toward the sun and the sun moves up toward the moon. As I keep watching, they are now completely aligned. I yell to my friend to come join me so he can see this incredible sight.  When I wake up, I feel light and more optimistic and notice the clock says 4:14am. This is the exact time of my birth.  

From this woman’s dream we see a few significant dream images: small hill, childhood friend, pond, purple fish, sun, and moon. In waking life, this person shared how she was in the middle of a divorce. It was causing her a great deal of grief and depression. In fact, she shared how at one point, she felt so low her family encouraged her to begin therapy. A short while later, she felt inspired to deepen her spiritual life and began to study Buddhism.

If we break this dream down, it makes sense playing a game of running up the hill represents her ascension out of the darkness and into the light. It also reflects her ability to view her life from a higher perspective. Engaging in play with an old friend from childhood symbolizes her desire for childlike “play” in her adult life. Water often signifies emotions and the spiritual realm. In the pond we find a purple fishing swimming about.

Looking at the energy centers, we see purple or “violet” is the crown chakra, a place where we align with our higher self, send prayers, and experience meditation. Sun and moon are powerful archetypes signifying “Sol” the masculine aspect and “Luna” the feminine divine aspects of Self. When aligned they represent the highest most divine marriage of the Anima (feminine) and Animus (masculine). As this person took steps forward to end her waking life marriage, psyche was showing her on a soul level, she was coming into more wholeness. As challenging as the journey was, it’s no wonder she awoke feeling inspired and optimistic!

Your body provides means of communication for your soul. At the same time, your spiritual body allows you to experience higher levels of consciousness and the capacity to attain mastery over the physical realm. The connecting point for these two bodies is the spiritual centers. Through meditation, you can learn to balance the energy that flows between these centers.

Again, dreams show you different levels of awareness through symbols and themes. For example, a dream of a wise old man and the number seven may be telling you that you are dreaming at the seventh level of awareness, the crown chakra. Notice any chakra elements that surface during dreamtime, such as water or light. These can help you identify what energy center your dream is communicating to you and where there may be an imbalance.

Put it into Practice using Dream Inquiry

Check your dream journal and choose a dream that “calls” to you. Take a few moments to answer the questions below.

• Are there any spiritual dream symbols?
• Do any colors stand out?
• What emotions are present?
• Which energy center is showing up?
• Do you see any imbalances the dream is pointing to?
• Can you see how your dream is providing numerous clues, enhancing your awareness, and supporting you in moving forward purposefully with love, strength, and grace?

Spiritual dreams appear the least of any dream type, so when you have one, pay particular attention to it. Allow yourself to sink into the feelings of well-being as long as possible. During waking life, letting go of past resentments, opening your heart, practicing gratitude and self-forgiveness can also inspire spiritual dreams.

Namaste,

Laura