recognize it and understand it

Every night we dream during the REM phase of sleep. We can have classic dreams, lucid dreams, where we interact with ourselves to decide the content, but also premonitory dreams. “When we have a premonitory dream, we will dream of a future event that will really happen, and which can give us the keys to succeed during this moment”, explains Karine Winsz, astrology coach and author of the book’s preface The power of lucid dreams by Dr Kristen Lamarca (Editions Leduc.s Practice). It is through testimonies that we know that they exist, that it is not a legend. Note that some people have premonitory dreams regularly or occasionally, but others never in their life.

How to recognize a premonitory dream?

After having made one or when in doubt, one may wonder how to recognize a premonitory dream. The first thing to know, underlines our expert, is that, most of the time, these dreams are negative: “In general, they are often quite sad, quite harsh”. As a result, dreamers can have their minds marked with fear when they wake up from sleep, with that image sticking out in their minds after the night.

And it is precisely there that we can know if we had a premonitory dream. Indeed, it will stand out from the others by its intensity, which can give the impression of seeing a film which will be replayed a little later. “We can recognize a premonitory dream with the feeling we will have when we wake up, on an emotional level. We can ask ourselves questions like: did that speak to me? Did it affect me? We can observe if our heart beats hard and fast, if the dream stays in our minds during the day, if it was particularly intense in emotions, but also in its content, with brightly colored images or details. very precise “, says Karine Winsz.

The different types of premonitory dreams

A premonitory dream will rarely be positive. “I have never heard the testimony of a person who dreamed of winning the lotto and that it had come true! But it can exist ”, explains for example Karine Winsz. In general, these dreams concern dramas, such as illness or death, most often of people we know. In addition to health issues, during the night we can dream of an important event happening, such as a war, a bankruptcy … It can also concern meteorology, with dreams of tornadoes, storms, or even meteorological catastrophes occurring. somewhere in the world. Finally, sometimes, these premonitions will relate to positive or negative things, but which are ultimately rather insignificant.

How to explain our premonitory dreams?

In some cases, the explanation for the occurrence of a premonitory dream is obvious, as testimonials show. For example, if one dreams of a person whose health is known to be very poor, it is not really surprising that this happens. But, most of the time, it’s hard to know where these premonitions come from and why our minds do it. According to some, it is a form of intuition, but an intuition does not really make us see the future. And Karine Winsz specifies: “For me, intuition is a thought, it’s a feeling that we have during the day, not while sleeping. “

Another hypothesis often mentioned to explain premonitory dreams is the phenomenon of autosuggestion. That is, the brain, consciously or not, makes the dream come true. This hypothesis is quite plausible, says our expert. “That’s why you shouldn’t give too much force to a dream. The more we give it intention and attention, especially if it is negative, the more risk there is of empowering it so that it becomes a real event ”, she tells us. In some cultures, we will explain these premonitions as a kind of divine message.

“For some, it’s something that will protect the person. The sign of a guide who protects them, who will give them advice to avoid certain situations ”, indicates our specialist.

But what should be remembered above all is that we do not know how to explain premonitory dreams, we do not know what happens in the world of our brain during sleep when we have one. This is why the explanation most often given is coincidence. “There isn’t really a rational explanation. It is a phenomenon that cannot be explained. As the unconscious has no past, present and future, this gives the impression that it is clinging to another space-time, but we do not know where it comes from ”, emphasizes Karine Winsz.

Will a premonitory dream necessarily come true as it is?

“If it’s a premonitory dream, it predicts a future”, explains our expert. So, yes, it will come true. Only, the dream can sometimes come true a little differently than as we dreamed it in our sleep. For example, a mother may dream that her daughter is passing away, but in reality she is only going to get hurt. “A dream like this appeals to a certain reality, but there are several realities. It is a possible choice among several. We have the free will to change our reality. There are some who will believe in this reality, who will give it strength, tell themselves that this is bound to happen. By dint of saying that, without necessarily being aware of it, they will create the events to arrive at this reality ”, adds the author. This is why, if a dream worries you particularly, she advises to put things into perspective by not necessarily giving too much credit to the information in it: “You have to try to tell yourself that, fortunately, reality is created gradually and that, each time, we have different possibilities”.

Can we interpret a premonitory dream?

The interpretation of dreams is something very common in some cultures or among some individuals. However, interpreting a premonitory dream symbolically is not particularly indicated since, as Karine Winsz points out, it shows “An event that will happen in real life”. The image which transmits is therefore not left to interpretation since it will reproduce itself as it is in most cases. They therefore do not confuse premonitory dreams with other types of dreams that we have during the night, including prophetic dreams, the meaning of which will have to be looked for in detail. The latter are for example used by the Bön, members of the Tibetan shamanic branch. “They work a lot on the symbolism and meaning of dreams. So they analyze their dreams in detail, they will draw advice for the future, , explains our expert. They rely on these interpretations to get answers about life, because they believe that since the unconscious has no filter, it can connect to other realities. They practice dream yoga to gain clarity in their dreams. “