Dreaming for Guidance and Healing

How your dreams can change your life

In shamanic terms, we often discuss and refer to this path as “dreaming a healed dream into being.” The material world is but one level of reality, created and influenced by the Otherworld, or the Dreamworld. It is here that everything begins, manifesting lastly in the material world (according to shamanic thought). We work to free ourselves, our clients, and society from nightmares we have created and are living, as individuals and as a collective.

When we dream, we can enter this Dreamworld and meet our guides, receive messages, and even receive healing. Dreams are not just random flashbacks of the day or the expression of subconscious fears or urges (though they can be that, to be sure). When we embrace dreaming as the gift that it is, we can access oodles of spiritual healing and guidance from the Dreamworld, which can and does have a very big impact on our lives.

In this article, I will explore different kinds of dreams, how to ask for and receive guidance in your dreams, how to interpret your dreams, and how to remember them.

Firstly, as mentioned earlier, there are different kinds of dreams.

Some of them are fears playing out, anxieties, desires, or the like. These don’t usually feel as potent, powerful, or palpable.

If you’ve ever had a prophetic dream (as in you dreamt that something would happen and then it did) or if you’ve had spirits visit you in your dreams or if you’ve received powerful guidance, the dream feels different. It feels like you went somewhere. And that’s because you did. To know if you had a healing and guidance dream, see how real it felt. If it felt potent, it’s like that kind of dream. If it didn't, it may have been a replaying of the day or old fears/desires.

We can invite these dreams in, though we can’t force them. There are times when our answers might not come from our dreams. So if you try to dream and it hasn’t worked, don’t despair. There may be some divine timing at play, and there may be better ways for you to receive your guidance and healing.

However, like I said, we can invite these in, so if you’d like to try, here is what I recommend.

One, cleanse your energy before bed. You want to be a clear channel to receive clear and accurate guidance. That means not eating heavy food or too much before bed, cleansing your room with salt water, sacred smoke, a singing bowl, or whatever you use to cleanse, cleansing yourself with either a shower, bath, or the above cleansing methods, and avoiding screen time before bed. All of this helps your mind and energies to be clear, so you don’t end up dreaming about the memes you saw before bed.

Next, ask for guidance and/ or healing. You can do this as a prayer as you lay down to sleep, or you can write out your request on a piece of paper. I like the latter, as this extra action adds intention and therefore energy to my request to receive healing and guidance in my dreams. Write out your request, something like, “thank you to my spirit guides for providing me with the healing and guidance for (insert situation) in my dreams".”

Now that your energy is clear, you have sent out a clear intention, it’s time to go to sleep.