Predictive Dreams

A man I know once dreamed about finding a trapped bird and setting it free. When he arrived at work the next day he discovered a bird flying around inside the building. He was able to catch it and put outside.

Dreams often give us glimpses of the future. Sometimes they warn us of things we need to know about so we can prepare ourselves. In some instances, as in the case of the man and the bird, we seem to erase the boundaries between present and future in our dreams––we actually witness an event before it happens in the physical world.

Some precognitive dreams are laden with poignant images. Others are straightforward and nearly devoid of symbolism. Three months before his brother died, Mark Twain dreamed of the death and funeral––exactly as it happened, right down to the smallest detail. Shortly before my father died in an automobile accident, my four siblings and I all dreamt about it.

Most people don’t go to bed intending to dream about the future––predictive dreams generally come to us unbidden. Researchers suggest, however, that the more aware we become of our dreams and our waking lives, the more likely we are to have precognitive dreams and to recognize them when they occur.

Have your dreams predicted things that later happened in your waking life? How do you know when a dream is forecasting the future—is it different from ordinary dreams? Please share your experiences.