What are dreams and why do we have them? Are they just there to entertain us at night? Like our own private movie? But what does it mean and why do we have it? I’m no expert so I can only rely on my own experience. Before I start, I want you to know that I will not teach you how to interpret dreams. But what I will say is that each dream is specific to each person. Dreams talk to us in symbols, customize to each person. It’s a combination of your cultural background, how you were raised and a part of you I like to call your higher self. There are many inventors, scientists, artists, etc. that have received answers in form of a dream. Einstein is one of them. For me personally, it has been crucial.
So as many of you know I was born in the United States, but my parents are from the Dominican Republic. So, in the Dominican culture, it’s very common to discuss dreams while you are having coffee. This is one tradition I feel very blessed to have. The funny part to me is that majority of the old-skool Dominicans would look for numbers. So, they could play the Dominican lotto. If you dream with this person you should play their number or if you dream with this it gives you that number.
I remember one morning in particular. Every summer when I was younger, I would spend my summer vacation in D.R. I was in my grandparent's back yard and their neighbor came by to drink coffee and talk. Which is quite normal, I must have been around 9 years old. He was telling my grandparents about a dream where he and another guy were pulling on a donkey. But the donkey would not move. If you stop to think about it, the message was quite clear. But he wanted to find the lucky number that would set his life right. That day I started to wonder about dreams and thought to myself they must have a deeper meaning than just getting lucky numbers. By the way, I guessed the number was 21, 2 guys, and 1 donkey but I was wrong.
Let me go into how I’ve used dreams to better myself, figure things out, or be inspired. I will go deeper into how they have affected my books. In my Book United Earth 2 Exiled, I promise I won’t drop any spoilers for those of you who haven’t read it yet. There is a scene where they are going to be attacked by a satellite. I won’t go any further than that but that whole scene came from a dream almost word for word. I was watching all the characters like a tv show. I was shocked, it was the 1st time I dreamed of a whole scene of a book. For me, that is how I’ve used my dreams.
Let’s talk a little bit about how to remember dreams. This is crucial if you want to master this tool. Some people use a dream diary, some trace back what happened. Keep in mind that you remember dreams in reverse. The last part of the dream is the freshest in your mind. Think about it as soon as you gain consciousness even before you open your eyes. Sit there with the dream. The more you do this the better you get at it. I personally feel that if you don’t think about it as soon as your awake it slips into the wind. Thinking about it, it helps solidify the dream into your waken state. If you ever wake up in the middle of the night after a dream good or bad. These dreams I feel are trying to tell you something particularly important. Don’t just go back to bed. Stay awake for a few minutes thinking about it or writing it down. As soon as you feel you can remember it later you can go back to bed.
I will leave you guys with that if you want to read more about dreams just let me know and I will write a part 2.