Precognitive dreams appear to offer a glimpse into the future. And many times what they predicit isn't pleasant. While the names have been changed, the following dream actually happened in the summer of 2005. By fall, it appeared to have come true.
Karen had been waiting for her husband AJ to come home. He was late. Finally she saw AJ pull into the driveway. She waited, but he didn’t get out of the car. She walked out to the car and saw that he was slumped over—not moving. She opened the door and reached in to shake him. AJ was dead. Karen awoke and realized she was still in bed. Her husband was asleep beside her. Disturbed she called her sister to tell her about the dream.
Three months later, Karen’s husband left to visit a friend. After three hours, AJ still hadn’t returned. Soon the hospital called to tell her there was bad news. AJ had been found parked in his friend’s driveway. His friend said he saw him pull in, but AJ didn’t get out of the car. Upon investigating, the friend found AJ slumped over. He was dead. Sudden cardiac arrest was the cause.
A Baylor University study claims that 52 percent of the people they surveyed believe in precognitive dreams.
According to DreamMoods.com prophetic dreams have been linked to major disasters, wars, assassinations, accidents, lottery numbers, or even with winning a horse race. Prophetic dreams have even helped solve crimes.
“In history, Abraham Lincoln was said to have dreamt of his own body lying in a coffin two weeks before he his assassination,” says DreamMoods.com. The site also says that, “British engineer, John Dunne dreamt of the eruption of a volcano in France, which came true.”
A Shift in Reality – Interpreting Dreams
Precognitive dreams ignore status, rank, culture, and belief to change the way people perceive reality, said Robert Waggoner, a psychologist and dream researcher, in a presentation at the 2002 Conference of the Association for the Study of Dreams.
Precognitive dreams do require a shift in thinking — especially from people who have not had precognitive dreams. And while many scientists have attempted to decipher these dreams, they still struggle for an explanation. Some researchers even propose that precognitive dreams do not exist — suggesting that self-fulfilling prophecy or shear coincidence explain the dreamers’ ability to foretell the future.
What Defines a Precognitive Dream?
Researchers think that before a dream can be categorized as precognitive, it must meet certain criteria. First, they must have in some way foretold the future and been reported prior to the event happening. However, researchers must be able to exclude:
- The possibility of chance;
- The dreamer already knew about the event;
- Self-fulfilling prophecy; and
- Telepathic influences. (Dream research suggests that telepathic influence is possible. For example, another person could unwittingly project images into the mind of the dreamer. While some researchers would view this phenomenon as highly unlikely, others concede the possibility.)
For scientists, if a dream meets these criteria, it can be classified as a precognitive or prophetic dream. Dreamers, on the other hand, have a different way of cataloging their dreams.
"Dreamers who have had a number of precognitive dreams say that these dreams have a different feel to them their ordinary dreams," said E. W. Kellogg III, Ph.D. in an interview with the Association for the Study of Dreams.
Dreamers say that after a precognitive dream, they are left disturbed or unsettled. Many also report that the dream seemed real and that upon awakening, they expected the event to have actually occurred. Dreamers also say that the dreams are easily remembered and stay with them for years.
Seeing the Future in Dreams
Precognitive dreams have been recorded for centuries. “As to the divination which takes place in sleep, and is said to be based on dreams, we cannot lightly either dismiss it with contempt or give it implicit confidence,” wrote Aristotle in On Prophesying by Dreams. And there are as likely as many precognitive dreams as there dreamers.
Everyone dreams. Wise dreamers can use the information that dreams provide in creative, insightful ways to make their lives better. Dreams can offer solutions to problems and insights into the future. Start dreaming tonight.
For more information about dreams and dreaming, go to the article Dreams and Dreaming Are Part of Human Existence.
Kathy Jesperson - Kathy Jesperson is veteran journalist with more than 18 years’ experience. She has written about environmental health, water ...
Join the Conversation