Past Life Dreams - Common Characteristics

[Ailish]

A dream is a "spontaneous self-portrayal, in symbolic form, of the actual situation in the unconscious."


-- CG Jung, 1916.

​

One very common question we receive on the forum is, “How do I know if this is a past life dream?”


Past life dreams are different from the norm in that they:

• Contain historical information.
  
• Are unchanging in events and details.
  
• Are outside of our range of experiences in this life.
  
• Are highly emotional in content.
  
• The “you” in the dream is not who you are now. You can be a different gender or race.
  

I think it’s important to note – that not all recurring dreams are past life related. Just like all dreams that feel emotional in the moment are not past life related. Edgar Cayce once said, "Dreams, visions, impressions, to the entity in the normal sleeping state are the presentations of the experiences necessary for the development, if the entity would apply them in the physical life.”


Dreams are a doorway to unconscious and I think it’s extremely important – especially when you are first learning to differentiate – to consider the situations, thoughts and feelings that you are experiencing in your present life. Dreams are often the way we work through the daily turmoil of our present lives.


Also consider – a past life dream may show itself when something is “triggering” it in our present life – such as a pattern about to repeat itself that we need to be aware of.


In her book “The Dreamer’s Way,” Rosemary Ellen Guiley, Ph.D states the following about past life dream triggers:

“Other triggers of past-life dreams are unfinished business, phobias, and affinities. An event, a meeting or a trip may stimulate dreams in which we feel compelled to do something in order to bring a closure to an unhealed wound from the distant past, or finish something we started long ago and never completed.”

Deborah posted some wonderful insight into various types of past life dreams:

Sabine Lucas PhD - who studied under Jung states there are three types of past life dreams: The classical type, the informatory type and the hybrid type. She states that it is the informatory type that suggests that the eighth chakra is open.
The classical is realistic and factual - having the deja vu feeling of half-conscious memories. Often in a different century and culture and the dreamer is present as an observer of the scene.


The informatory is devoid of images and action. The dreamer is directly informed and simply knows that he was, for example an American Indian in 1875 and killed in a battle.


The hybrid type, which is the most common one can be easily missed. The reason is because it combines realistic and symbolic elements. The criteria for determining if it is past life related is the presence or absence of realistic and personalized elements. This is because past life material is personal, while archetypal material is universal and numinous.

If you’re interested in learning more about your dreams, I’d recommend checking out the thread How can I learn more about my Past Lives? in the FAQ Section. Denise Linn’s book "Past Lives; Present Dreams" may be extremely beneficial to those of you who are looking to do a little more self-analysis and past life work.


I think all of our dreams are significant. I also think it's important to keep track of our dreams in journals -- they actually end up containing a lot of enlightening information, both past life and present day related. A journal allows you to read back over your dreams, piece things together and figure out patterns and/or symbolism involved.


Some tips for journaling:

• Keep a journal and pen handy beside your bed. If you wake up in the middle of the night and have had an important dream – take a few moments to jot it down before rolling over and going back to sleep. If you don’t it will be lost, no matter how much you think you’ll remember.
  
• Write down the entire dream in chronological order. Include as many details as you can – colors, people, setting, time period, clothing, symbols, languages, accents etc.
  

Rosemary Ellen Guiley also speaks about visionary dreaming in her book. She believes that with intent, we can ask our dreams to show us a past life or lives. She suggests the following as intentions:

• Show me a past life that is meaningful for me now concerning my talent for________.
  
• Show me a past life that helps me improve my relationship with________.
  
• Show me a past life that explains why________and provides me with helpful insights.
  
• Show me a past life that will help me heal________.
  
• Show me why I have a recurring dream about________.
  

 

[ChrisR]

Updated FAQ

 

[deborah]

I copied this from the FAQ - and thought it would make for a good discussion since many people have strong dreams and question what they mean. I love lucid dreaming. Full color, live action and holographic. OBE is cool too. It's been a long time. But I haven't focused on it in years.