Have you ever had a dream that has changed your life?

I love sleep.

I can be whoever I want whenever I want, and when lucidity is added that feeling is just...great. Nothing beats the feeling of flying when your brain lets you believe that you are actually flying.

But our dreams also have a way of telling us what we need to hear, and I recently had one of those dreams. In one recent vivid dream, I was trying to console my grieving grandfather as we made preparations for my grandmothers funeral, and my grandfather became more frail as the dream progressed as he and I chased paperwork blown away by a breeze.

The point of the dream was all too clear; I need to spend time with my grandparents before their time is up, but at the same time it also made me consider my own mortality.

That's where my question comes into play: Have you ever had a dream that was so profound that it has changed your career, your relationship, or your lifestyle? Or have you ever had a dream so profound that it's challenged your beliefs or your perspective on life?

a reply to: Thecakeisalie

I think every dream changes your life. I think that's probably the point if there is to be one. Dreaming is the only time that all the noise of the world falls away to reveal only that which is at the very depths of you. If you pay attention, the major themes in your dreams are secretly narratives you carry around with you all the time. I think the purpose of dreaming at its core is to simulate problems so that you can find a solution to them for you to attempt in your waking life.

Dreaming is also a time when you are receptive, so if there are to be external messages imprinted upon you, this is a good time for that when your attention is captivated and there isn't any noise from the external world to distract you. I honestly think the dream is more for the subconscious parts of you than it is for the ego, because even dreams I vaguely remember will have a resounding impact on me for days to come.

Regular meditators are scientifically proven to have higher levels of melatonin than normal people, shorter sleep cycles, and more vivid dreams. Melatonin also heightens the focus of the senses during your waking hours and reduces complications with a wide array of diseases.

Pubmed

I had a dream of my whole class chasing me with vaccines.
After that I had suddenly felt like I got guts - that feeling did not disappear even today.

And yes, everything influences everything in this world, even if far indirectly.

Four years from now, I had a dream that helped me with an decision in my life. Now, it's seem to have been the right choice. Do the right thing to be well with your value. Here was the message in my dream. I think dreams are construction of our brain, that regroup and try to link all our knowledge together. My dreams never predicted something, but they always show how wise my brain his.

Generally speaking, i don't like dreams, maybe it's the vivid imagination, or the fact that i play video games, or that i write novels with often dark undertones, but my dreams are often a bit too real, and a bit too scary. from seeing my body float in the air and towards the open balcony window, with my body vibrating (a bit like when you hit your funny bone, extend that to your whole body) or me being shot and waking up with a pain in the exact point i was shot in, or waking up with marks or scratches, that i take pictures of because...who knows.
Maybe there is a message out there in the oneiric plains of value, but in my cases, it's too well guarded.
At least when my lady is sleeping next to me i manage to not dream, or maybe forget them quicker, like she does something to take care of me even in her sleep, and for now, i don't mind.
But i guess lots of people have had some dream that changed them, so this should be an inspiring read!

When I was at Uni doing my first degree, I had a bad habit of completing my essays the night before they were due. I was fortunate enough to have a brother who had completed the same degree 3 years prior, and had given me a heap of notes, essays, etc.

I had an essay due, and being lazier than usual (this was the first and only time I ever did this), I copied his essay word for word, and popped it under the door of my tutors office very late in the day (after said tutor had gone home).

That night I had a dream, and I woke in the morning with a definite feeling of foreboding. I cannot remember the dream at all (nearly 25 years have passed), but something was wrong. I realised that the question on the essay had been changed, in a way that it would 100% be noticed I had answered a question from previous years.

I drove into Uni so early that I got the janitor to open the office and let me retrieve my essay, making up a bs excuse about needing to attach my bibliography (as if he would have cared at all). Fortunately I was able to retrieve my essay, and convince my tutor to give me an extension. Had I been caught, at best I would have failed the unit, and highly possibly been suspended from school.

For the life on me I have no idea what the dream was, but it really was a warning, and I know if I hadn't had that dream I would never have thought to check the essay question. I'm not religious, nor do I have any faith in any god of any description, but it really felt like someone or something was looking out for me.

I've had a couple of other inexplicable experiences, but as far as dreams giving warning, this seems to be a definitive case for me.

originally posted by: Thecakeisalie


That's where my question comes into play: Have you ever had a dream that was so profound that it has changed your career, your relationship, or your lifestyle? Or have you ever had a dream so profound that it's challenged your beliefs or your perspective on life?

Yes I did. This might be a long post but I'm going to copy/paste it from my blog......

I was stationed in Camp Pendleton CA for a number of years as a young Marine. In order to go to the McDonalds, I had about a mile long hike, as I didn't have a car. The hike crossed two open fields, one of which was the General's Parade Ground. This field was largely dark. Also of interest, CampPen, like most if not all military bases was and still is a wildlife sanctuary, so the place is rife with deer, ground squirrels and coyotes. Now onto the dream. . .

In this dream I was hungry, it was late and I had just a short amount of time in which to make my McDonalds run. I left the barracks and hurried to my destination. I ordered two 9 piece nuggets and a big mac or quarter pounder (I'm not sure which.) On the way back I noticed a small group of coyotes was shadowing me. It was dark and all I could really see were shadows. Somehow, in the way that dreams do, the length of my return trip grew ominously large. The coyotes were growing braver by the step, moving in closer always behind and to my sides. I grew worried and began to talk to them.

"You're not getting any food, so I don't know why you're there." I said.

After a few minutes of them gaining even more courage, I began to get scared. I reached into the bag and started tossing chicken nuggets on the ground in the hopes that these canines would feel more attraction to the food laying on the side of the path than to me. None of the coyotes went for the nuggets. I continued to throw nuggets upon the ground in a desperate attempt to sway them from the ultimate target.

"You can have the nuggets but you're NOT getting my burger!" I said more forcefully than before. Still they came closer, now only an arms length from me. I realized that the group of them was herding me to some certain point. The trail ahead seemed clear so I worried that these coyotes might try attack me from the rear. I kept glancing to my right, my left and behind. They were so close that I could almost feel their breath on my legs. I ran out of nuggets and they kept inching closer and closer to me.

"Here's the damned sandwich, now leave me alone!" I screamed, flinging the burger to the ground. None of them went for it. It was as if they weren't hungry, as if they didn't even know that food should have been a prime motivator for them.

Finally I looked up the trail again. In the middle of my path, the only path I could take was the largest coyote I've ever seen in my life. He was the size of a wolf, with fur that was so dark gray it appeared to be black. I stopped, paralyzed by fear and uncertainty. This coyote displayed a sense of confidence, of knowing, of reassurance. He did not growl at me nor at the other coyotes. He merely sat in my path, waiting. The others shepherded me closer to him and as I got within about five feet, he lifted himself off of his haunches and walked slowly towards me.

This magnificent creature walked to me, his eyes never leaving mine. A wave of panic ensued and then quickly abated inside of me. Then he gently placed his mouth over my right hand and began to pull me in a different direction than my barracks. I didn't resist because the halcyon atmosphere that pervaded me and the rest of the animals. We walked for what seemed hours in this dream. We crossed streams and walked along oceanside sandstone cliffs.

The sun was coming up and I could see up ahead a chainlink fence, as the gravel crunched beneath my feet. The other coyotes which had been keeping close to me as their "Alpha" led me along started running for the fence, which had an open gate. The leader and I walked on, maintaining the same pace that we had all night and into the morning.

Inside the gate, there was green grass and coyote families with pups and adolescents playing and cavorting. The leader released my hand and took 5 steps in, stopped, turned around and sat, staring at me. I leaned on the fence taking in this most wondrous sight. Finally I looked at my feet, and the "gravel" that had been crunching under my feet was money, coins and dollar bills all strewn about as far as the eye could see, yet none was on the green side of the fence.

At that moment I awoke. I realized that I could never possess pure and simple happiness and riches at the same time. I had to make a choice.

a reply to: Thecakeisalie

Yah, Incubus and Sucubus have a way of changing your outlook.

My dreams usually tell me something either as an epiphany sort of thing or a lesson. Sometimes I only realize what the dream meant years later.

…and my grandfather became more frail as the dream progressed as he and I chased paperwork blown away by a breeze.

That was telling. The older we get the more we lose control over our worldly pursuits . Careful not to get to wrapped up in older peoples desires for others to continue their life for them. All of that is blowin' in the wind. Awfully nice of you to help him though.

Thats the hardest part of letting go with the progression of age. What about all our stuff and unfinished business?

A few months ago I had a dream about a person I had never met before and yet I knew and loved him completely and he knew and loved me completely. More than anything else I would characterize it as a spiritual intimacy. It was the single most powerful dream I have ever had and it seemed to last all night long. At the end of the dream we parted, knowing we would never see each other again and I woke up crying. I was really sad for several days.

Ever since then there has been a subtle change in the relationship with my husband. It's the oddest thing and I can't decide if I regret the dream or not. On the one hand, it was incredibly beautiful and moving and on the other it cast a slight pall on something real and wonderful.

If it's a metaphor or a reconciliation of a real issue, I can't work it out.

I guess, over all, it's not good.

I am looking for a translation of this dream... its changed my life for sure as it occured in 2001, and i can't get over it... I believe it has a special meaning...

If someone can enlighten me on it that would be great..

I was in a bedroom, there was a man trying to seduce me three times, each time I said no.

Then he changed to a female and tried again, I accepted. I got out of bed and walked to a brown table, and on the table there was a Yellow Birthday Card in comic book style.

The first scene was an overview of the bedroom with video cameras in each corner of the room filming the man trying to seduce me. The next scene in the Birthday Card was the morphing into a woman. The next scene was I walking to the table and picking up the Birthday Card. The next scene was seeing the man seducing me as having horns on his head, the next scene was me looking at the birthday card which was looking at a Birthday Card, which was looking at a Birthday Card. It was eternal.

At that point, the book turned to fire, and Satan appeared. He said to me 'Come with me' three times, I said no three times. As I said no the last time, he vanished in fire, and 666 were displayed in front of me burning to ashes as a cloud enveloped it.

As the cloud went under my feet there was a HUGE nuclear explosion and then I was picked up by clouds and taken to the sky accelerating in a beam of light, where I slowed down and then the words 7TH HEAVEN appeared.. that is when I woke.

Thanks

a reply to: Im a Marty

I doubt you could have a dream like that and miss the meaning. Mr. Marty. ;p Kudos!

In 1994 a friend of mine had a vivid dream where she saw me and a girl at an outdoor wedding and told me the girls name (Beth) and described how she looked, what she looked like...

She told me that this was my future wife.

This girls dream predictions would always come to pass BTW.

13 years went by and I met this 'dream girl' and fell madly in love within a couple of days.

Only problem was, her name was not the same as the dream girl.

A few weeks after meeting her, I was getting ready to go one morning to meet her somewhere and I thought to myself "maybe her middle name is Beth..."

A few hours later we were sitting on a park bench and without even asking her, she told me that her middle name was 'Beth'.

I was floored and after a few minutes of silence I realized that I had to tell her about the dream.

It was then that I KNEW that this was the girl who my friend had seen in the dream 13 years earlier.

End result: I have become convinced that dreams serve an important but mysterious function.

originally posted by: kosmicjack
A few months ago I had a dream about a person I had never met before and yet I knew and loved him completely and he knew and loved me. It was the single most powerful dream I have ever had and it seemed to last all night long. At the end of the dream we parted, knowing we would never see each other again and I woke up crying. I was really sad for several days.

Ever since then there has been a subtle change in the relationship with my husband. It's the oddest thing and I can't decide if I regret the dream or not. On the one hand, it was incredibly beautiful and moving and on the other it cast a slight pall on something real and wonderful.

If it's a metaphor or a reconciliation of a real issue, I can't work it out.

I guess, over all, it's not good.

I can relate.

I have had dreams where I've had the company of a female companion and the intimacy was just bliss, but then I'd wake up alone, wishing I could go back to sleep so I could relive those moments again.

Dreams are great. Waking up is the worst part.

originally posted by: kelbtalfenek

originally posted by: Thecakeisalie


That's where my question comes into play: Have you ever had a dream that was so profound that it has changed your career, your relationship, or your lifestyle? Or have you ever had a dream so profound that it's challenged your beliefs or your perspective on life?

Yes I did. This might be a long post but I'm going to copy/paste it from my blog......

I was stationed in Camp Pendleton CA for a number of years as a young Marine. In order to go to the McDonalds, I had about a mile long hike, as I didn't have a car. The hike crossed two open fields, one of which was the General's Parade Ground. This field was largely dark. Also of interest, CampPen, like most if not all military bases was and still is a wildlife sanctuary, so the place is rife with deer, ground squirrels and coyotes. Now onto the dream. . .

In this dream I was hungry, it was late and I had just a short amount of time in which to make my McDonalds run. I left the barracks and hurried to my destination. I ordered two 9 piece nuggets and a big mac or quarter pounder (I'm not sure which.) On the way back I noticed a small group of coyotes was shadowing me. It was dark and all I could really see were shadows. Somehow, in the way that dreams do, the length of my return trip grew ominously large. The coyotes were growing braver by the step, moving in closer always behind and to my sides. I grew worried and began to talk to them.

"You're not getting any food, so I don't know why you're there." I said.

After a few minutes of them gaining even more courage, I began to get scared. I reached into the bag and started tossing chicken nuggets on the ground in the hopes that these canines would feel more attraction to the food laying on the side of the path than to me. None of the coyotes went for the nuggets. I continued to throw nuggets upon the ground in a desperate attempt to sway them from the ultimate target.

"You can have the nuggets but you're NOT getting my burger!" I said more forcefully than before. Still they came closer, now only an arms length from me. I realized that the group of them was herding me to some certain point. The trail ahead seemed clear so I worried that these coyotes might try attack me from the rear. I kept glancing to my right, my left and behind. They were so close that I could almost feel their breath on my legs. I ran out of nuggets and they kept inching closer and closer to me.

"Here's the damned sandwich, now leave me alone!" I screamed, flinging the burger to the ground. None of them went for it. It was as if they weren't hungry, as if they didn't even know that food should have been a prime motivator for them.

Finally I looked up the trail again. In the middle of my path, the only path I could take was the largest coyote I've ever seen in my life. He was the size of a wolf, with fur that was so dark gray it appeared to be black. I stopped, paralyzed by fear and uncertainty. This coyote displayed a sense of confidence, of knowing, of reassurance. He did not growl at me nor at the other coyotes. He merely sat in my path, waiting. The others shepherded me closer to him and as I got within about five feet, he lifted himself off of his haunches and walked slowly towards me.

This magnificent creature walked to me, his eyes never leaving mine. A wave of panic ensued and then quickly abated inside of me. Then he gently placed his mouth over my right hand and began to pull me in a different direction than my barracks. I didn't resist because the halcyon atmosphere that pervaded me and the rest of the animals. We walked for what seemed hours in this dream. We crossed streams and walked along oceanside sandstone cliffs.

The sun was coming up and I could see up ahead a chainlink fence, as the gravel crunched beneath my feet. The other coyotes which had been keeping close to me as their "Alpha" led me along started running for the fence, which had an open gate. The leader and I walked on, maintaining the same pace that we had all night and into the morning.

Inside the gate, there was green grass and coyote families with pups and adolescents playing and cavorting. The leader released my hand and took 5 steps in, stopped, turned around and sat, staring at me. I leaned on the fence taking in this most wondrous sight. Finally I looked at my feet, and the "gravel" that had been crunching under my feet was money, coins and dollar bills all strewn about as far as the eye could see, yet none was on the green side of the fence.

At that moment I awoke. I realized that I could never possess pure and simple happiness and riches at the same time. I had to make a choice.

Yes, the good old General's parade deck... Good times at camp Pendleton high

It was a dream that brought me to this very website...

I awoke one morning KNOWING exactly what would happen a a future time....I even knew the date. I couldn't recall any dream, but just 'felt' that this knowing was some kind of precognition.

The event did happen, and at the exact time frame. I'm glad I didn't recall any dream, as then I would have experienced it twice.

a reply to: Thecakeisalie

I like having nightmares because when I wake up I am really glad they aren't real.

On the flip side I hate having really great dreams because I wake up and find myself disappointed.

One that I think did stick with me throughout my life was when I was very small I dreamt my mother died. It was a strange dream and the scenario was bizarre, but when I woke up and I was so happy she was still alive. Later, when she finally did die I think the finality of it sunk in even more because the reality was that it was no longer a nightmare.

I also believe dreams stand on their own. Like an alternate reality that plays by it's own rules. I think sometimes we try and explain them in rational waking terms far too much. I do think they can have a profound impact, but I think the biggest impact is when you take them as they are instead of trying to twist them into the waking world's rules.

So that time that you might have dreamt you were a giant grilled cheese sandwich being chased by space bandits...maybe the point of the dream is that you were a grilled cheese sandwich being chased by space bandits. Not that it represents your waking inner turmoil(just an example of what some of the "experts" might try and say about a dream like that).

I don't know if that makes sense. Just my two cents.