Visions: Experiencing God Through Dreams

One way we can experience Paramatma is through our dreams. Many wonder if their dreams of God is just their imagination like other dreams. Basically, there are two types of dreams. The first type are the normal dreams we usually have that is arises from the memory of our daily waking experiences from our past and current situations. These are, in spiritual term, called subconscious dreams. Subconscious dreams are part of our mind’s cleansing process. When we wake up these dreams fade from our memory quickly. You will find that even if it has only been a minute after waking, you will be hard pressed to recollect the details of these dreams.

The second kind of dreams are the spiritual ones. These are dreams where we meet with God or our ancestors. We often receive instructions or blessings during these dreams. Dreams that are premonitions are also in this category. My guru had explained that such spiritual dreams are visions. These spiritual meetings are events that actually took place in the heavens while our physical body slept. One of the characteristics of visions that distinguish them from normal subconscious dreams is the way they impress our memory. We remember spiritual dreams vividly. They never fade from our memory with time. In fact each time you remember the dream, you will feel as if it had just happened.

Another characteristic of visions are the sublime or profound feelings of peace and/or awe that accompany them. We have these feelings because we are directly experiencing the natural environment of the heavens where these visions take place or in the event we are seeing God or hearing God's voice we are experiencing the tremendously peaceful and powerful energies emanating from God. Such emotions cannot be manufactured by our imagination.

Visions happen as Grace from God. However, we can seek for visions of God through our dreams by meditating or praying before going to sleep or repeatedly chanting a mantra softly until one falls asleep. Such practices will help our consciousness enter the deeper realms of the astral plane, where divine visions occur as we sleep. Keeping a diary to record spiritual visions is a good practice. It will be a wonderful source of inspiration whenever it is read.