Premonitions, Dreams and Downloads: What are They Trying to Tell Us?

More than once in the past year, a woman has pulled me aside and asked if I’ve experienced, you know … dreams? I can tell by the hushed tone she uses (detectable even via email) or the way she leans in with her head tilted downward when she says it, indicating something more than the run-of-the-mill visions the brain racks up during the day and morphs into stories at night. It’s come up during conversations along the lines of,  “Can I tap into the same woo stuff that you do?” 

 

Spoiler: the answer is a big YES. I’ll get to that in a second.  

For as long as I can remember, I’ve had vivid dreams. But it wasn’t until the last few years that I started paying more attention to them. Were they some sort of portal or indicator of more beyond wacky weirdness?

 

Here’s an example. Last year, I dreamed that my cousin was running along the beach and swinging in a delightful circle embraced in her husband’s arms. There was glow to her, an unmistakable joy. In the dream, she wasn’t talking, just beaming. She never “said” the words baby or pregnant. But I just had this feeling a baby was on the way.

I woke up and texted my mom (the messenger of family news) asking if my cousin was pregnant. “Not that I know of,” she said. I dismissed it.Until a few days later, when she wrote me again. “You were spot on. Just heard [she]’s pregnant!”

The year before, I had another dream that a different extended family member was walking down a hospital corridor in men’s shoes hooked up to fluids. She looked frail, as if she was undergoing chemo. Again, I never heard the words “cancer” or “death” but the visions were hauntingly real.

 

The following morning, I woke up to a text from my mom. She shared: that exact family member’s father had passed away from cancer the night before. To my knowledge, no one in my nuclear family even knew he was sick. 

As I learn more about what it means to be clairvoyant, which means “clear seeing,” I see the connections of these visions adding up. But premonitions are just one type of message from the Universe, the Divine, Spirit, Source—whatever you want to call that higher power outside of us—that can be sent through us as channels. Yes, I said us.  

Because we all have the ability to tap into these heightened versions of our intuition. If you are a human, you were born with an intuition. And intuition is like any other muscle. If you work to strengthen it, the more your intuitive abilities will develop. I am living proof.

 

I wholeheartedly believe in the theory that downloads from the Divine—messages from loved ones, ideas, intel on future happenings— can only reach us if we’re open enough to listen and receive them. And when we sleep, we’re not multitasking or distracted, but very much “open” —making a perfectly squishy pad for those insights to land. 

Of course, I’m not an expert on dreams by any means. Just here to share the personal moments I’ve had so far that have shaken me awake. And speaking of us being open enough to receive, I’ve noticed that ideas and “aha!” moments don’t have to wait for dreams to come through. Clarity from seemingly nowhere pops into my mind when I am usually in one of two places. Actually, three.  

In bed. Or the bathroom (mostly the shower or bath). And sometimes, when I’m driving. It makes sense. In all of these places, I’m usually letting my mind wander. My phone isn’t in sight. And I’m quite calm, relaxed and … open.

 

When does that mystical lightning tend to not strike? When I’m engaged in heated conversation with another person (again, this is just me here. You might be different!). When I’m pushing to “fix or figure something out.” Definitely not when I am worried or anxious. I mean, it makes sense. Those are all states that make me curl in and feel constricted. The opposite of being open. 

When our shoulders are able to drape down our back, I’ve found, is often when the Divine [or your word here] finds its way to us. Have you ever walked around with your mind entirely focused on something else when ping! A solution to a problem you weren’t even thinking about descends? So cool.

 

I have to say, the most meaningful dream download I’ve experienced so far hasn’t been a premonition, but a special visit from my late pup, Ferguson. In the week that followed his crossing of the Rainbow Bridge, I was struggling with how and when to share the news with others. That week, he came wagging into my dream, spinning around on a patch of grass with his tongue flapping out the side of his mouth saying, “Mom! Mom! Look, my legs work now!” He was so happy. So free. And then he said, “You need to lean on your community.”

 

I knew both what he meant, and what I needed to do.

I sat down and wrote his tribute “announcement” in letter form, directly to him. Found the guts to share it publicly. And let my people surround me with their kindness and support. He had been right.

 

The same windblown, ecstatic face that greeted me in my dream

I’ve learned that these visits from departed loved ones are called visitations. And they’re incredibly special. Sometimes, what happens in dream-state can help us take the next right-for-us step in our waking state.

 

Again, we all have the ability to do this. To receive this. There’s nothing special about my abilities—just that I’ve spent a lot of time being curious enough to obsessively practice with them. 

 

If you’re keen for some fun little practice of your own, I offer this.

 

Ask yourself: When do you feel the most relaxed? Where were you when the last “aha!” moment floated to you? What were you doing? What space were you in? Lying in savasana after a yoga class? Riding your bike? Staring at the surface of a frozen lake?

Pay attention to that, because it signals when you’re truly open. Those crazy ideas and thoughts from left field might not be mere silliness conjured up within you, but a message meant for you from elsewhere. Someone, something, may be trying to wave down your attention and throw you a piece of insight. 

 

Likely, for good reason. 

It’s up to us to be open enough to receive it.

P.S. I love hearing about your experiences! A dream or woo moment of your own come up while reading this? Comment below or send me a message and let me know. #bettertogether You can also join the conversation by subscribing to my email list.