How nature can affect your dreams
Next time you have a particularly interesting or vivid dream, pay attention to what the atmospheric conditions are. Some people have wild dreams when storms are imminent, while other people are affected by pressure systems. This is not all that unusual, when you think that our ancestors used to be much more in touch with our environment and the natural world than we are in our busy and civilised lives. It does not mean that we have lost the skill of understanding the weather, simply that we have forgotten how to pay attention, to listen to our instincts. Often our dreams will tell us things that we know instinctively, but our conscious waking minds no longer value as important and therefore relegate to the subconscious.
In previous centuries, detecting the signs that a storm was coming could have been a matter of survival if it meant avoiding flash floods or being caught out in the open and the risk of being hit by lightning. At the very least, knowing to protect your home and batten down the hatches, or ensure a crop was either harvested or protected before storms would have been a valuable skill. These days in Western society, knowing a storm is coming often (though of course in notable exceptions, not always) means little more than staying indoors or carrying an umbrella. Similarly, to our ancestors, knowing that you could relax and let the crops grow, or safely go on the hunt would have created a great peace of mind.
It is possible for us to re-tune ourselves to the subtle messages nature gives us, by re-tuning ourselves to our own subtle natures. One of these ways is through listening to our dreams.
Often our dreams will tell us things that we know instinctively, but our conscious waking minds no longer value as important and therefore relegate to the subconscious.
As you keep your dream diary over time, notice where particular images, themes or symbols seem to recur with certain weather systems, be they storms, lightning, a prolonged high pressure system, snow, rain or winds. You may also wish to pay attention to the cycle of the moon, and the way you may attune your self to periods of waxing (growing, expanding energy) and waning (retreating, introspective energy.) You may also see themes in your dreams change in line with the changing seasons, with periods of growth and counter periods of consolidation and inward reflecting. It can be fascinating to realise how nature can affect your dreams, and also your moods and even behaviour.
Being in tune to the world around us, and understanding the patterns, the drivers and the cause and effect of things is not the same as being a psychic, though with time you may develop your intuition and ability to sensitively read the weather to such a degree, that to other people your predictions may seem to be so!
To learn more about how different elements of the external environment can impact on dreams, please visit The Dream Well here.
