Dreams

Between this world and the next is the world of dreams. Not all dreams are spiritual, but some definitely are, and they are often the most vivid and memorable. During such a dream, the spirit leaves the body for a time and mounts up into the spirit world, where it experiences various phenomena.

Some of these are of God and convey meaningful messages. Other dreams are encounters with low or evil spirits; these include nightmares, sexual dreams and the like. These passages describe the spiritual process of dreaming and give instructions on how to discern whether a dream is from God.

Through a dream, God can reveal life-changing information and guidance, as He did to Jacob and Joseph in the Bible. Thus, paying attention to significant dreams is an important discipline of the religious life.

Jacob… came to a certain place, and stayed there that night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place to sleep. And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven; and behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it!

And behold, the Lord stood above it and said, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your descendants… Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done that of which I have spoken to you.” Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place; and I did not know it.”
Genesis 28.10-16

When a man lies down in bed, his soul leaves him and begins to mount on high, leaving with the body only the impression of a receptacle which contains the heartbeat. The rest of it tries to soar from grade to grade, and in doing so it encounters certain bright but unclean essences.

If the soul is pure and has not defiled itself by day, it rises above them, but if not, it becomes defiled among them and cleaves to them and does not rise any further. There they show it certain things which are going to happen in the near future, and sometimes they delude her and show it false things.

Thus it goes about the whole night until the man wakes up, when it returns to its place. Happy are the righteous to whom God reveals His secrets in dreams, so that they may be on their guard against sin!

Woe to the sinners who defile their bodies and their souls! As for those who have not defiled themselves during the day, when they fall asleep at night their souls begin to ascend, and first enter those grades which we have mentioned, but they do not cleave to them and continue to mount further.

The soul thus privileged to rise finally appears before the gate of the celestial palace, and yearns with all its might to behold the beauty of the King and to visit His sanctuary… Thus it is written, “With my soul have I desired Thee in the night (Isaiah 26:9),” to pursue after Thee and not to be enticed away after false powers. Zohar 1.83a (Judaism)

God takes the souls of men at death, and those who die not He takes during their sleep. Those on whom He has passed the decree of death He keeps back, but the rest He returns to their bodies for a term appointed. Verily in this are signs for those who reflect. Qur’an 39.42

While one is in the dream state, the golden, self-luminous being, the Self within, makes the body to sleep, though He Himself remains for- ever awake and watches by his own light the impressions of deeds that have been left upon the mind. Thereafter, associating Himself again with the consciousness of the sense organs, the Self causes the body to awake.

While one is in the dream state, the golden, self-luminous being, the Self within, the Immortal One, keeps alive the house of flesh with the help of the vital force, but at the same time walks out of this house. The Eternal goes wherever He desires.

The self-luminous being assumes manifold forms, high and low, in the world of dreams. He may seem to be enjoying the pleasure of love, or laughing with friends, or looking at terrifying sights. Everyone is aware of the experiences; no one sees the Experiencer.

Some say that dreaming is but another form of waking, for what a man experiences while awake he experiences again in his dreams. Be that as it may, the Self, in dreams, shines by Its own light… The Self, having in dreams enjoyed the pleasures of sense, gone hither and thither, experienced good and evil, hastens back to the state of waking from which he started. Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4.3.11-16 (Hinduism)

Once upon a time, Chuang Tzu dreamed that he was a butterfly, a butterfly fluttering about, enjoying itself. It did not know that it was Chuang Tzu. Suddenly he awoke with a start and he was Chuang Tzu again. But he did not know whether he was Chuang Tzu who had dreamed that he was a butterfly, or whether he was a butterfly dreaming that he was Chuang Tzu. Between Chuang Tzu and the butterfly there must be some distinction. This is what is called the transformation of things. Chuang Tzu 2 (Taoism)

If there is a prophet among you, I the Lord make myself known to him in a vision, I speak with him in a dream. Numbers 12.6-7

God’s messenger said, “A believer’s vision is a forty-sixth part of prophecy, and what pertains to prophecy cannot be false.” He held that visions were of three types: ideas which come from within, terrifying dreams caused by the devil, and good news from God; so when one sees anything he dislikes he should not tell it to anyone, but should get up and pray. Hadith of Bukhari and Muslim (Islam)

The vision flutters over a man as long as it is not interpreted, but when it is interpreted it settles. Tell it only to one who loves him or one who has judgment. Hadith of Abu Dawud (Islam)

Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have had a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it; and I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.” Joseph answered Pharaoh, “It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer.”

Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Behold, in my dream I was standing on the banks of the Nile; and seven cows, fat and sleek, came up out of the Nile and fed in the reed grass; and seven other cows came up after them, poor and very gaunt and thin, such as I had never seen in all the land of Egypt.

And the gaunt cows ate up the first seven fat cows, but when they had eaten them no one would have known that they had eaten them, for they were still as gaunt as at the beginning.

Then I awoke. I also saw in my dream seven ears growing on one stalk, full and good; and seven ears, withered, thin, and blighted by the east wind, sprouted after them, and the thin ears swallowed up the seven good ears.

And I told it to the magicians, but there was no one who could explain it to me.” Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dream of Pharaoh is one; God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do.

The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good ears are seven years; the dream is one. The seven lean and gaunt cows that came up after them are seven years, and the seven empty ears blighted by the east wind are also seven years of famine.

It is as I told Pharaoh, God has shown to Pharaoh what he is about to do. There will come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt, but after them there will arise seven years of famine, and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt; the famine will consume the land, and the plenty will be unknown in the land by reason of that famine which will follow, for it will be very grievous. And the doubling of Pharaoh’s dream means that the thing is fixed by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass. Genesis 41.15-32

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon
Dreams are one means that God uses to reveal Himself. Hence, dreams may give important revelations… some dreams are correct and come true.

Because of the Human Fall, we belong to the satanic lineage or bloodline. As we move about, that satanic blood circulates through our bodies. It stirs up like muddy water in a glass tube.

However, when we sleep the body is at rest, and the blood circulation slows. It can be compared to the sediment settling to the bottom of the tube and clear water rising to the top. Then our original, clear mind can be touched by Heaven.

This is why revelations usually come through dreams. At that time, God may teach us using images and symbols. How do you distinguish whether a particular dream is just a random dream, a revelation from God or an image from Satan?

Satanic dreams do not have a clear picture, direction, or central theme. They are jumbled, and when you get up you easily forget them. In contrast, a heavenly dream is coherent and contains a clear theme.

It often continues a message from one dream to the next. If you have consistent dreams three nights in a row, then you should recognize it as a revelation from God. A heavenly dream will be so clear in your mind that you will recall it vividly when you wake up. You do not forget it, because God and human beings are meant to be united for eternity.

On the other hand, satanic dreams are quickly forgotten because any relationship with Satan is temporary. They do not sway those of you who remain in constant contact with the good spirit world, because you have experienced heavenly dreams and know how to recognize them.

Still, you are beset by nightmares and temptations from Satan’s world.

Psychologists call them manifestations of the subconscious. Still, they are easily forgotten. They are not like dreams from God, which are vivid, unexpected, and unforgettable. (91:272-75, February 27, 1977)

Don’t ignore revelations or dreams. Pray and make sincere, devoted efforts to receive such experiences. How to adapt them to our real lives, and how to apply them to the practical reality: this is most important in a life of faith. (76:153, February 2, 1975)

First, you may have a premonition (amshi). For instance, while casually walking down the street, you see a sitting bird on the wall of a house suddenly fly away in front of you. You sense something unusual; it is an indirect hint that something special is about to happen.

The next stage is to have unusual dreams (mongshi). They are not like the dreams you normally have in a deep sleep. Saint Paul experienced the third heaven in a dream-like state. Never let such an experience slip by.

You should, instead, put it all together and analyze it from a scientific perspective, seeking to understand its meaning for you. When it can speak to you about what direction you should take, you will definitely see a result. These unforgettable dreams are 100 percent accurate. Have such experiences in your life.

If you reach that level, what will happen next?

You will receive a revelation (gyeshi) or a direction (jishi).

Revelations require interpretation but directions do not; that is the difference between the two. God can teach you through a voice or a vision. You may have a vision of a pair of deer drinking water at a brook and looking at the distant mountains on a beautiful spring day; this is an excellent sign that something good might happen.

Soon after you have the vision, a corresponding event will occur; it is never a coincidence. Through this, God is cultivating the field of your heart. Beyond the stage of revelations, you will reach the stage of trance (mookshi).

A trance is like traveling to the spirit world and experiencing its wonders. When you can connect to that world, you can even arrive at the realm of God’s feelings.

Treasure all these experiences, and apply their lessons to your life. Your life of faith is precious, and you should cultivate it.

Finally, you reach the point where you can experience the great resultant world of God in your daily life. At this stage, God’s instructions will be in your mind. You try to talk pleasantries to someone, but you cannot speak.

You want to say a few words of encouragement, but instead you utter a reproach.

When such incomprehensible phenomena take place, you must learn to control the situation. Otherwise, people might think you are insane.
(76:130-35, February 2, 1975)