Really Weird Dream

[DanielRB]

Ok, the title is a bit silly--have you ever had a "really normal dream? ;)

I had this dream that I was in hell, and it was being closed for business--well, sealed really, because everyone was still inside. It was being closed because there wasn't anyone new in the living world that deserved hell--all the "big sinners" were gone.

I didn't want to get sealed in, so I escaped. Some cops stopped me and thought that maybe I really was one of the damned, but they didn't think it was possible for anyone to escape, so they let me go.

I walked around the city, and saw new sites (I had been in hell for many years.) I then went into a Church (it must have been Catholic--liturgical, but with pews ;) ), and the service had started. I figured no one knew that I had escaped from hell--I figured that I didn't deserve it anyway. I knew, however, that I needed the Eucharist in order to be purified, because though I didn't deserve hell, I knew I didn't deserve life.

I debated within myself, "If I'm not a Catholic, how can I take the Eucharist?" As I was thinking this, a woman said she knew where I was from, but she would help me.

Then, like a movie, the scene changed to the entrance of hell, where another inhabitent was escaping--this time a demon. He was looking for me. He made his way to the Church, and then another spiritual figure started attacking him half-heartedly (it was like a "neutral angel", if you can imagine that.) The demon couldn't quite recognize me, but I knew he would soon. Then I woke up.

Thoughts, anyone???

In Christ,

Daniel

[Oblio]

Too much pepperoni ?

^_^

[ExOrienteLux]

An undigested bit of mustard, perhaps?

[MariaRegina]

Ok, the title is a bit silly--have you ever had a "really normal dream? ;)

I had this dream that I was in hell, and it was being closed for business--well, sealed really, because everyone was still inside. It was being closed because there wasn't anyone new in the living world that deserved hell--all the "big sinners" were gone.

I didn't want to get sealed in, so I escaped. Some cops stopped me and thought that maybe I really was one of the damned, but they didn't think it was possible for anyone to escape, so they let me go.

I walked around the city, and saw new sites (I had been in hell for many years.) I then went into a Church (it must have been Catholic--liturgical, but with pews ;) ), and the service had started. I figured no one knew that I had escaped from hell--I figured that I didn't deserve it anyway. I knew, however, that I needed the Eucharist in order to be purified, because though I didn't deserve hell, I knew I didn't deserve life.

I debated within myself, "If I'm not a Catholic, how can I take the Eucharist?" As I was thinking this, a woman said she knew where I was from, but she would help me.

Then, like a movie, the scene changed to the entrance of hell, where another inhabitent was escaping--this time a demon. He was looking for me. He made his way to the Church, and then another spiritual figure started attacking him half-heartedly (it was like a "neutral angel", if you can imagine that.) The demon couldn't quite recognize me, but I knew he would soon. Then I woke up.

Thoughts, anyone???

In Christ,

Daniel


Dear Daniel:

Please go and attend an Orthodox Divine Liturgy but realize that you cannot receive Holy Communion until you are chrismated or baptized into the Holy Orthodox Church. This is not to punish you, but to protect you from receiving Holy Communion unworthily and being burned by the purifying fire, which is Christ.

God does sometimes does work through dreams, but usually not. It is best not to give too much significance to a dream unless it is very lucid and real in every way, without strange things being mixed in. For example the luke-warm angel who appeared in your dream is not a spiritual reality, as angels are either hot (forever on fire with the Love of God and obedient to God in all things) or cold (the demons who forever oppose God).

If you have a very lucid dream that appears to give you a message, then it is best to confide that dream to a good Orthodox Priest, who can best advise you. Be careful because one monk on Mt. Athos had a dream which convinced him to abandon Christianity and join Judaism. In his pride, he did not seek advice but left monasticism and fell into sin.

Just before my conversion to Orthodoxy, I kept dreaming that I was going to a monastery for Holy Confession where I did receive actual spiritual guidance. After I was received into the catechumenate of the Orthodox Church and came under the guidance of my new spiritual father, those dreams abruptly ended.

Hope this helps.

Lovingly yours in Christ our God,
Elizabeth

[Oblio]

Daniel,

I have really weird dreams, they are in a recurrent milieu, which I affectionately call Bob's World

IOW, I was not trying to make light of your dream, but rather to lighten it in empathy which was, I am sure, not apparent in my first post.

[DanielRB]

Thanks for everyone's reply. I agree; sometimes God speaks to us in dreams, but sometimes it's just heartburn.

I'm pondering meaning about the dream. I agree that there are no neutral angels--they are either good or evil. But I'm thinking that it could be a symbol of something else--what I don't know. Perhaps the half-hearted attempts of the scismatic church to combat evil. They don't really have power over it because they're not fully experiencing life in Christ.

As to the church being Catholic, I don't find any particular meaning in that--I don't view it as a call to the Catholic Church. I think it was the symbol of the ancient Church, and my mind usually thinks in western symbols.

I've attended Orthodox services many years ago, and I hope to start again soon. I know that I cannot partake of the Eucharist, but I thank you for the information anyway. A lot of visitors don't know that.

Really, the main thing that stuck with me in the dream is that I am spiritually hungry for the flesh and blood of Jesus Christ, and I know that unless I truly convert to the Orthodox faith, I cannot partake. It's like seeing a wonderful banquet in front of me, and I cannot taste of it...and the only thing stopping me is my own stubborn will.

In Christ,

Daniel

[vanshan]

I agree with the other posters that you should be careful not to make too much of your dreams--they can be deceiving. It's best to be skeptical of any messages you think might be contained in them. If God is trying to tell you something you won't miss it by taking a cautious, distrustful attitude toward your dreams. I think most of our dreams are more representative of the wonderings of our sub-conscious mind and nothing more.

What you said about the eucharist is interesting though. I know in some of our prayers in preparation for receiving the Holy Mysteries we do mention how taking communion is a defense at God's judgement.

Basil.

[LordHaveMercy]

The only dreams I would believe are the ones that are, at the very least, unsettling. The only reason I say this is that most monastics rarely if ever have "pleasant" spiritual dreams. Their dreams (at least the ones they speak openly about) tend to be very unsettling. I don't know why this is -- perhaps it's our need to be constantly reminded that we all, regardless of where we are in our Christian journey, need the full measure of God's grace.

Another note on dreams, which has already been said -- sort of:

If you were to rate sources of spiritual guidance, dreams would have to be at the very bottom. There are far too many reliable and sure sources of help and assistance to rely on dreams for guidance.