In the preceding studies about premonitory dreams, we have seen two dreams warning two women, Francis and  Patricia, of cancer.

Let’s review the dreams.

1)

Francis’ : (Refer to the text of “Premonitory dreams”, ch.1, of 04 19 2012)

 “ One evening, I got home after a routine check-up with my gynecologist.

Everything was fine.  Three days later I left on vacation.

During the night I woke up in a sweat.

I had just dreamt that I had cancer in my left breast, in a very precise spot.

It was impossible to fall back to sleep.

At 9 the next morning I immediately requested a mammography.

Verdict : breast cancer, undetectable through palpation.

Three days later I was operated on.

This dream saved my life.”

Francis’ dream prooved to be a true premonitory dream. She did have a breast tumor.

2 )

Patricia’s : (Refer to the text “ Patricia’s brain tumor, ch.3, of 05 29 2012)

Last night I dreamt I had a brain tumor. 

Patricia dreamt of a brain tumor and the warning was symbolic.

The day before Patricia had been overwhelmed by hate for her husband. She understood that all her resentment, her negative thoughts were the equivalent of malevolent cells, which like a brain tumor were threatening her.

As she said, she was invaded, devoured by destructive thoughts, which were undermining her, ruining her life.”

What is it that allows me to establish the distinction and say whether the warning of Patricia’s dream has a concrete or a symbolic meaning ?

I am able to draw the conclusion thanks to the methodical analysis of the dream.

Working with the dreamer I looked at her dream,

and I established carefully the link between the dream’s image and the previous day’s events.

I would give the following advice in working with this type of dream and say :

"We can consider the dream at face value in the external life and say :

Your dream seems to be clear and would not need any interpretation, as in Francis’ case. It may really be a premonitory dream. In this case you would have to react accordingly.

But we must not exclude the possibility that your dream has a symbolic interior meaning and we have to verify this hypothesis.

In Patricia’s case the dream said :

“Be careful, your situation is alarming, it’s AS IF you had a brain tumor”.

Finally :

After a careful analysis of the dream, if the symbolic interpretation doesn’t make any sense, come back to the first consideration and take the dream at face value in the external life and choose what you want to do.

It happens most of the time that working seriously with the dreamer, making the link with her interior life permits to establish that the dream has a symbolic meaning.

Conclusion

I think it is important to compare the two preceding dreams using 3 keys :

-1) Ask the question  : What happened the day before ?

The day before her dream Francis had just seen her gynecologist who after palpation didn’t notice any anomaly, or tumor.  As for Patricia, she did not have any medical examinations.

2 ) Examine the precision of the details given in the dream :

Francis’ premonitory dream establishes an in depth diagnosis and indicates with great precision the location of the tumor that the gynecologist could not detect.  There’s no such thing in Patricia’s case where the dream gives only a general indication, without details.

3) Take into consideration the emotional state during and after the dream

The third key is the all important element, which permits us to establish the difference between a premonitory dream and a non premonitory one.

- In Francis’ case the dreamer was overwhelmed by her dream, she awakened in a sweat and could not get back to sleep.  She was so tormented that she immediately set up an appointment for a mammography.

- Patricia’s reactions were less intense. The dream intrigued her without causing real anguish. But she nonetheless took her dream very seriously and immediately called me. In such a case, searching for help from a dream interpreter is indispensable. Thanks to the analysis we made, Patricia understood that her dream was talking about her harmful attitude and state of mind.

Summary

So 3 characteristics seem to allow us to say that the dream warns us of concrete danger in the exterior world :

1) Nothing in our life on the preceding day justifies the image of the dream.

2)In the case of a premonitory dream the details given are usually very precise.

3) Physical and emotional reactions are intense : sweat, insomnia, anguish and feeling upset.

We must keep these indications in mind because in due time they are the ones that will allow us to say whether the dream is a warning pertaining to the physical world or whether the dream has a symbolic signification pertaining to the psychic world.

But in any case, the seriousness of the situation remains the same.

Illustrations

I thank the artist for their paintings.

Crab : conseilslucbodin.com

Cancer, by Salvador Dali

Cancer illness by Salvator Dali

Forgotten sunglasses by Vladimir Kush

3 keys : ?

Brain : Vladimir Kush: islands of memory

Face : Vladimir Kush

Dream catcher by Vladimir Kush

In the preceding study I talked about Francis’ premonitory dream, which warned her of breast cancer.

Right after putting this dream on my blog, I received an e. mail.

“Hi, Mrs. Riedel

Could we please set up a telephone appointment to interpret my dream?

Last night I dreamt that I had a brain tumor. 

Awaiting your call, I thank you.

Patricia”

Gosh ! Was that a premonitory dream ?

It was not to be taken lightly.  It was urgent to explore it over the phone to understand its meaning. Here is how we studied this worrisome image with the interview technique. Patricia, answering my questions, gave me her associations.

Interpretation

The dream being very short, I immediately went to the heart of the problem :

- Listen, Patricia, your dream could possibly be premonitory. If that should be the case, you must go for tests immediately.

However, we must not neglect the possibility that your dream is symbolic and so at  first we must analyze it from this perspective. If we don’t find a symbolic meaning, then we’ll have to conclude that your dream is to be taken at face value and act accordingly.

After these explanations, I began my interview :

A tumor

Questions :

- Patricia, what is a tumor?

- A tumor is a cancer, a serious, deadly illness.  Malevolent, destructive cells multiply, causing disturbances, which disrupt life. These cells gnaw at healthy tissues and spread everywhere.

- What is the brain?

-The brain, says Patricia, is the seat of mental activity and consciousness. It is the part of me, which allows me to reflect, reason and understand. I can analyze, make hypothesis and deductions. 

The brain also allows me to express myself through words and movements.

The preceding words are the dreamer’s own associations. Of course someone else could say something quite different about the brain. But I work exclusively with the dreamer’s associations.

Establishing the link between the dream and the dreamer’s daily life

Now, we had to put the dream into its context. So for this it was necessary to look at the events that occurred the day prior to the dream.

I went over the associations and, using the dreamer’s own words, I asked :

- Patricia, try to look back on yesterday.  What happened?  What does it remind you of, if I mention malevolent cells that gnaw at you, wreak mayhem in your mental life and affect your capacity to reflect, to analyze ? What was going on in your head yesterday ?

     - What was going on in my head yesterday ?

Oh ! Yesterday, everything went wrong, I had a miserable day. I really hated my husband ! Everything is turning out wrong. I can’t put up with him anymore, our disagreements are amplifying, we have financial problems, he’s always yelling.

Also he doesn’t even look at me and he hasn’t made love to me in a long time.  Mrs. Riedel, I’ve had enough, I can’t take it any longer. And yesterday all that came to mind; I imagined a lot of stuff in my head.

I told myself I would be better off without him, that I should leave him. The idea of ending up alone is not that frightful.

What I would really like is to find a man who appreciates me, who tells me I’m beautiful and desires me.

I would like a nice man, who is not a baby that you have to cater to, but one with whom mutual companionship is possible.

Oh ! You know, I’m so sorry to dump all this on you ! I’m embarrassed but sometimes I find my situation unbearable.

Quite moved I said :

- Patricia, don’t worry, listening to all this is part of my job. You know, studying our own dreams leads us to reveal ourselves, and this can only be achieved by being authentic. So you are justified in expressing your feelings.

But let’s get back to your dream. 

Making verifications

Considering what you have just told me, how would your capacity to think and reflect (brain) be gnawed at by malevolent and harmful thoughts (cancer) ? 

- Oh yes ! I see it clearly : the malevolent cells, that are threatening me, represent all this resentment, all those negative thoughts about my husband.

- So what do you think about the image of cancer ?

- Hum ! I’m invaded, devoured by destructive thoughts, which are undermining me,  ruining my life.

     - Yes. So your dream is a serious warning. You must understand that this proliferation of negative thoughts concerning your relationship with your husband is as dangerous as a real cancer.

Putting the message into application

So, now we’ve understood the meaning of the dream, which is not premonitory.

But once the interpretation is done, that is not all, the work isn’t over. It is wise to look for ways to put its message into application, to define concrete actions to correct and change the situation.

For our dreamer it means giving up a harmful attitude, choosing to replace it with a more constructive one. 

From then on Patricia decided to accept life as it was presenting itself, welcoming the tiniest ordinary delights of everyday life as well as its difficulties.

She admitted that her husband wouldn’t behave according to her expectations ; so she decided to take him as he was without trying to change him.

Following this dream study we discover the surprising paradox of the dream path :

By accepting a loss, Patricia will gain.

By changing her state of mind, from now on she will undergo a transformation process, where she will learn endurance and perseverance.

By giving up her expectations, by accepting that her present life is not as she had thought or wished, she bears her ordeal.

Yes ! Experiencing frustration will  lead her to understand its value ; this inner experience will develop the gem of the soul : patience.

Didn’t Christ say :

“In your patience you shall possess your soul” ? (1)

Her dreams will guide her through this transformation.

Conclusion

If we quickly had taken the dream at face value, we would have lost the precious life lesson given by the dream about patience.

Perhaps this dream has also a premonitory aspect : Couldn’t such a lasting negative state of mind sooner or later produce a brain cancer ? Who knows ?

Patricia and I were thankful and appreciative for the dreams guiding and warning us of dangers night after night. 

How vigilant!  How benevolent! How wise!

Important

Don’t miss chapter 4 !

Next time we will compare the two preceding dreams : Francis’ true premonitory dream indicating a breast cancer and Patricia’s symbolic dream of a brain tumor, which only seems to be premonitory. We will define how to distinguish one from the other.

Illustrations

A question : lulumineuse.com

Brain cancer : faceauxcancers.fr

Yelling : topiro.com

Negative thoughts : « Waiting for the rain”, ladykereska.over-blog.com

Endurance : ladykereska.over-blog.com

Ordeal : ladykerezska.over-blog.com

Patience : “Pick up my Dream” by Insantosa, ladykereska.over-blog.com