Intuitive Dreams

During my most recent pregnancy, I read Annie Murphy Paul’s Origins: How the Nine Months Before Birth Shape the Rest of Our Lives. She shared a small study conducted by researchers at Johns Hopkins University which found that “women who rely on dreams and emotions to guess their babies’ sex have a surprisingly good chance of being correct.”  Within their study group (45 well-educated pregnant women) were seventeen who had a “feeling” about the sex of their baby.  Only four of those women were wrong.  And, of the eight women who had dreamed about their baby’s gender, “every single one of them was on the money.”  These findings were “contrary to expectations,” and the researchers acknowledged, “It is always possible that this was a spurious finding.  It is equally likely that there is simply much about the maternal-fetal connection that we do not know” (p. 126).  I’d wager it’s probably the latter.

I do pay attention to my dreams (and the dreams of others).  Perhaps this is because dreams have been key bits of communication and insight over and over throughout my life.  I have a vivid dream partially to thank for prompting me to pursue the reserved, unaggressive young man who became my husband over 10 years ago. Before that dream, I hadn’t really paid much attention to him, but how grateful I am that I got a nocturnal nudge in the right direction.  Some frightening dreams have alerted me to intense emotions lingering under the surface of my consciousness, enabling me to work through them and move on. I have seen my deceased brother and his wife many times in dreams, and those have brought me joy and comfort. And there have been many dreams of my children before they were born.

I’m thinking about one of those dreams today. Before I became pregnant with my fourth baby, I had several dreams about a daughter who would be joining us in the future. In several of those dreams she was a newborn, but in one of those dreams she was a feisty older toddler, probably three-years-old. I’m thinking about that dream today because my baby girl has been ill for several days.

We spent several hours in the E.R. last night and left without any clear explanation for her situation. There is almost nothing that fills my heart with fear and stress more than having a sick child. The Lord has assured us that my baby girl will be healed, but I still find my faith wavering and fears filling my heart. So, it was with a glimmer of hope that I recalled my dream from a couple of years ago. I have seen her as a thriving three-year-old child in my dreams. God has promised me she will get better. I just need to trust Him.

I have also been reminded of Barbara Bishop’s piece, “Dreams as Gifts of the Spirit,” published in Segullah in summer of 2009. She says, “In contrast with other versions of modern Christianity, Mormonism has an established and ongoing tradition that encourages individuals to seek personal revelation. The idea that dreams offer valuable information has been reiterated by many Church leaders throughout our history.” I loved Barbara’s piece and nodded my head in agreement all the way through it. I suspect that some individuals are more likely to receive revelation through dreams while others will hear God’s voice better through other means. For me, there is no doubt that dreams can be powerful messages from the Divine. I especially love Barbara’s closing words: “Like other forms of revelation, we have to ask and then wait for understanding. If we trust that God’s love manifests itself in dream narratives, spending time with them will yield the equivalent of a banquet table, overflowing with spiritual food that we can partake of regularly.”

I have seen God’s hand and felt His love through my dreams, especially in my role as a mother. Have you?