Where do these kind of dreams come from?

13 November 2010

I woke this morning from a dream that left me wondering.  Actually, I often wake from dreams that leave me wondering.  I've raised this issue with "church folks" over the years, and generally what I encounter is an awkward moment of silence, or a quick changing of the subject.

So I'm wondering what you folks think?

In this dream, I was at a funeral.  I was sitting at the piano, ready to play music from a book of funeral music.  Not traditional hymns or worship choruses.  A very nice book, with full lyrics and music.  Songs designed to be sung as "specials."  Songs written from the viewpoints of various people. For example:

- from a spouse to the spouse who had just passed away
- from a spouse who was now re-meeting a spouse who had passed away previously
- from a child to a parent who had passed away
- from parents to a child who had passed away

There were at least 20 or 30 songs, with beautiful, thoughtful lyrics, all from different viewpoints.  I sat there, reading through the lyrics of all the songs.  And playing a couple of songs that fit that particular funeral situation. 

I have never seen or heard any of these songs before.  I have never seen a funeral song-book with these kinds of songs before.

It was a long dream.  I read the lyrics of every song.  I played a couple of the songs, by reading the music, without practice.

Where do dreams like this come from?

How can we dream such detailed dreams about things that we know we have never before experienced?  Nor even just "seen" on TV or in books or whatever?

What about dreams we have of places and events and, yes, dreams of "spiritual beings" and "spiritual events." What about things we have never done and wouldn't want to? 

What about day "dreams" like events of deja-vu?  When I was a teenager, for example, I was just sitting one day, and I had a "flash picture" in my mind of myself sitting holding a new-born baby.  It was full-colored and detailed.  I knew it was my first-born baby.  And then, years later, a few hours after my first baby was born, I looked down at her - and there was the "flash picture" in identical detail.  Same nightgown on me, same blanket around baby, same beautiful face on baby.  The hospital supplied the gown and blanket, so I couldn't have subconsciously planned them.  What's with that?  And why do I still experience deja-vu from time to time?

I've had people tell me that I'm being manipulated by evil spirits.  That such dreams and events are a result of subconscious sinful thoughts and attitudes.  On TV and in books, I've heard many other theories, as I am sure you have.  But most of those shows are hardly what you might think of as coming from a believer's perspective.

What do you think, as a believer?