Beyond the mundane fragments sometimes recalled from a previous night’s dream, are unusual experiences that take place more often than one might expect. Extraordinary dreams are fairly common and reported by people everywhere, of every age group and in just about any place in the world. One of my favorite dream books is Extraordinary Dreams and How to Work With Them by Stanley Krippner, Fariba Bogzaran, and Andre Percia de Carvalho. They discuss specific categories of dreams (that overlap at times) such as creative dreams, lucid dreams, pregnancy dreams, healing dreams, telepathic dreams, clairvoyant dreams, precognitive dreams, and more. Among these categories are dreams that serve as premonitions, which are often referred to as precognitive dreams. Jeanne Van Bronkhorst’s first book titled Premonitions in Daily Life contains a section on dream premonitions as well. She normalizes this common human experience that frequently gets lumped into the magical or mysterious.

Precognitive, or premonition, dreams have been reported since antiquity. In fact, several examples can be found in the Bible. Some of these types of dreams predict national disasters or important world events, but most often, precognitive dreams reveal average, everyday, or otherwise insignificant future events to the dreamer. For example, a dream may show an old childhood friend calling, and that evening you are left a voicemail from that person. Or you may dream of visiting a new, unidentifiable place with unique details, then find yourself there the following weekend. Sometimes, though, precognitive dreams may serve to warn. One dreamer reported dreaming of being threatened in a bank during a hold up, and then lived through that frightening experience the next day while conducting business in a bank! Precognitive dreams can be metaphorical, not just literal, so, all dream material can hold value. In addition, future events can be amenable to change – Nothing is set in stone.

Can a dream actually be a forecast? Should such dreams be trusted? Are they delusions or a coincidence, or just a normal, natural part of the human experience? Ancient dreamworkers, as well as contemporary psychologists, have been concerned with these matters. To learn whether our premonitory dreams hold predictive value, we can track them. By writing down the dreams we recall each morning, we are more likely to remember them, especially if they seem insignificant. Once your daily log exists, you can reference the dreams later. I keep a notebook on the nightstand with a couple pens. Upon awaking, I write down all I recall without judgment. Then I put the date at the top and, finally, read what I’ve written to reflect on content, and identify themes, as well as attitudes and feelings. This practice can assist us in connecting dream events with waking life ones. The more this is practiced consistently, the easier it becomes, and eventually it may even be possible to sense a connection between waking and dreaming experiences. Because memory can easily become distorted, including memory for time sequencing, it’s wise to have a healthy sense of skepticism. However, a daily practice of noting all dream details immediately upon awakening, as mentioned above, can show that the dream took place before the waking life event. With time, this helps us trust our precognitive experiences and encourages continuation of the practice.

Wishing you memorable dreams,

Kim