I recently received two queries about dreams from separate individuals.

Jane (not her real name) dreamt of a pink bus that became a total wreck after it figured in a serious accident. She warned her mom not to ride on a bus, especially on a long trip.

“Less than five weeks after the dream, I saw in the news about the pink bus that fell into a ravine in the Mountain Province,” Jane said.  Many passengers died in that incident.

“Just this week, I dreamed of big waves and heavy winds. In the dream I was a tourist but couldn’t tell in what country. This dream was very vivid, too, and unforgettable,” she noted.

“I frequently experience déjà vu and know exactly when somebody will call or text me. Am I clairvoyant? And how do I deal with the signs I dream about,” Jane asked.

Another female reader, who also requested her name be withheld, says she often dreams of things that would eventually come true. She used to shrug these off until they became too frequent to be ignored.

She gave specific examples of her dreams and wondered why she experiences them.

“Is this normal?” she asked. “What are dreams made of?”

Kernel of truth

To adequately answer these interesting and important questions will require a lot of space, for they go deep into the very nature of dreams. So, let me answer them in general terms.

Dreams are products of one’s unconscious (or subconscious) mind. Most dreams may appear trivial, insignificant or meaningless. Therefore, they are likely to be brushed aside or ignored. But we should change this common attitude of people about dreams.

For even the most apparently trivial or meaningless dream may contain a kernel of truth or wisdom upon deeper analysis.

There are many reasons why we dream: to remind us of something we have to do but keep on ignoring; to psychologically satisfy a desire we couldn’t have in the waking state; to point out a potentially serious health concern; to help solve a particularly difficult personal problem; to bring up some past life memories; to receive a message from a departed relative or loved one; to warn of possible danger ahead of time.

There are few universal meanings of the symbols that appear in our dreams. That is why dream dictionaries are practically useless.

A dream should be interpreted in the context of a particular dreamer’s likes and background. Without the issues facing a dreamer in his or her waking state, it is almost impossible to interpret a person’s dream correctly.

Dreams of future events that come true are called “precognitive” or “psychic” dreams. Since our subconscious mind is not subject to time as we know it in our waking state, a dream may indicate past, present or future events.

A good number of our dreams pertain to future events. If they occur often in one’s dream, this could indicate some psychic ability in the person.

Yes, it is normal for people to dream of future events, just as it is normal for them to dream of present and past events.

Dreaming of future events that come true does not indicate clairvoyance. But it could indicate some precognitive psychic ability.

Clairvoyance means seeing something which cannot be seen normally by ordinary sight. Seeing something happening from afar or describing correctly a person or a place you have never seen before are examples of clairvoyance.

A dream can be either literal or symbolic. An example of a literal dream happened to me in 1979. I was dreaming that robbers entered our house and were carting off some small appliances. Then my teenaged son knocked on our door, waking me up. The reason? There were robbers inside the house who ran away when they saw my son.

Symbolic dream

Here’s an example of a symbolic dream: A woman dreamt she was at home and saw her husband go up the stairs to the second floor. When he got there, he picked up a mirror, threw it down and broke it.

I asked the woman what the mirror meant to her. She said she didn’t know. I asked whether it could mean a reflection of what is happening in real life. Could the mirror indicate wholeness? Since the husband broke the mirror, could going up the stairs indicate he is leaving and that the marriage is broken?

The woman suddenly left me crying. She understood the meaning of her dream, which her conscious mind refused to accept. So, it was symbolically presented to her in a dream.

That was a fairly easy dream to interpret, but some dreams are a tough nut to crack.

I’ve had dreams I could not interpret meaningfully, no matter how much I tried. But they are not too many.

Most dreams can be interpreted correctly with a little patience and a questioning mind.

Attend the next ESP and Intuition Development seminar on May 10-11, from 9 a.m.-5 p.m., at Rm. 308 Prince Plaza I, Legaspi St., Greenbelt, Makati City.

For individual past life hypnotic regression, personal consultancy, reservation in seminars and other inquiries, contact 8107245 or 0908-3537885.