Intruders in dreams

[Ginger Maynor]

I believe I have had visitations by those who have passed in dreams. Each time the dream has been very vivid, vibrant colors swirl, and I have even at times "felt" the person physically when I have held their hand and smelled their cologne. At times, I even felt overwhelming love and joy emanating from them, that I was sure this individual was coming from a place not of this physical world. I was never afraid.

I had a dream recently that was different from that and has left me questioning what exactly it was. It was my dad who passed recently. Our family had several conflicts. I had distanced myself from my entire family for my own peace of mind and wellbeing. I stopped talking to my sister several years ago, but still remained in contact with both parents but less frequently. Anyway, my dad never understood me. He frequently called me angry and accused me of hating the whole family. He never understood the wrong-doings he did or what others had done to cause me to move away. He died without us ever having any reconciliation on any of these dynamics. When he died, I told him in my mind that I hoped he finally understood me now, but if not then he could just stay away from me forever.

In my dream, I saw my dad standing across a room and wearing clothes I was very familiar with him frequently wearing. He looked tired and sad and was bent over. I told him to come over and he said across the room that I had told him to stay away. I told him we could talk and to meet me in the corner. We met in the corner and all he said was "so much pain". I took his hand and saw an image of our two hands joined in a ball of light. I hugged him and could feel his shoulders. I felt so happy to see him and I said I was glad he came through to me. Then that was over.

I woke up feeling like this was not actually my dad. I thought it was some other intruder masquerading as my dad. I felt manipulated. I did not want this individual to appear again. I really thought if my dad came through to me, I would know it without question.

Two nights later, I was dreaming and out of the corner of my eye I saw him again wearing the same clothes from the earlier dream. He just appeared by my side. I just said "No". Then he went away. Again, I did not feel like this was my dad. I did not feel the love and joy that I felt in past visitation dreams. It was not vivid. It was just bland.

He has not appeared since and I am grateful for that. Has anyone experienced similar? How do you know for sure when a visitation in a dream is real?

Thank you.

[Bluto]

I think you've answered your own question.

You asked: How do you know for sure when a visitation in a dream is real?

Further up your post you wrote: I really thought if my dad came through to me, I would know it without question.

This is interesting because you did not say that you would believe it, but that you would know it, and without question. You've expressed your inner knowing - that 7th sense we all have about all past, present, and future. We know it all inside. We just have to listen to it. We know when things are wrong, we know when things are right. We must trust that instinct. You know this was not your dad.

So my answer to your question is simple: continue listening to your inner knowing. That's how you know for sure. If the visitation is real, you will know it. It would carry an unquestionable knowing, it would be very vivid, it would impress more like an unforgettable memory than a transitory dream that's forgotten before you've even thrown back the duvet to get out of bed, and it would carry something deep and meaningful.

[Ginger Maynor]

Thank you, Bluto. It is for sure, as you point out, the "knowing" aspect.

Sometimes it is hard to trust that "knowing" because it is just a soft whisper that pulls me to a certain situation or an inner gut feeling. It does not hit me over the head with a large bat to get my attention or yell at me loudly. In a world where there is so much loudness trying to get our attention, it is those quiet moments that I trust the most.

Thank you.

[Bluto]

Originally Posted by Ginger Maynor

Sometimes it is hard to trust that "knowing" because it is just a soft whisper that pulls me to a certain situation or an inner gut feeling.

That's because it is very subtle. As you say, the noise of the world drowns it out.

I belong to on open circle, where a group of us learn, slowly over time, to receive messages from deceased people - spirits. I've been going for almost two years. It took me about 12-18 months to see exactly how subtle communication from higher realms is. It's not like a bat hitting you on the head (although this earthly realm certainly is). It's much MUCH softer. It takes practice and trust to fully appreciate it.

For example, while trying to connect, I might feel a slight pain in my left hip. At one time I wouldn't have even noticed it, but now I do. If I mention it, the person who I'm delivering a message to will tell me their loved one had a hip replacement that went wrong in their left hip. See what I mean? Or perhaps while I'm stood, facing the circle of people, trying to connect with spirits, I find myself standing with a more upright confidence than usual, or perhaps less. I might be more smiley, maybe more sad. I've learned that's the spirit's personality showing itself, which will always be confirmed by the person who I'm reading for. The communication from the other dimension is soft and subtle. I can only perceive it by being extra attentive to subtleties. A quiet mind allows one to perceive these subtleties.

Unfortunately, our ego thinking minds get in the way of all this. We over analyse, we second guess, we doubt, we judge, and so on. If meditation is practiced with commitment, discipline, and patience, one will, in time, become more sensitive and in tune with those inner channels of knowing and perceiving, and much more trust can be placed into them. It's a process many would call "opening the third eye". Meditation for some is a difficult and long-winded process, and less difficult for others. For me it is difficult, and it has taken me nearly three years to train my mind to have no inner dialogue for about one minute, and instead bu pure awareness. That might not sound long, but a whole minute with zero internal dialogue is something few people willfully practice.

I'll give you an example of the inner voice and knowing. I will meditate. I will get my mind into a space of silence, and will have every muscle in my body mindfully relaxed. This will take me about 20 minutes. Then, and only then, I will ask a question about something important, such as the direction I should take on a particular topic. The thoughts that come into my mind immediately after asking are, I believe, coming from my higher self which knows truth. THAT is the inner knowledge I spoke of in my previous post. I will know the thoughts which came to me were true. It's an inner knowing untainted by noisy earthly ego second-guessing. The answer will have a quality to it that feels exactly right. Your ego thinking will likely kick in and convince you it was "just you" making it up. In time it becomes easy identifying ego-thinking from higher-thinking. Higher-thinking comes with a deep inner sense of knowing, as opposed to thinking or believing.

Mental spirit communication appears to me indistinguishable from my own imagination. Yet I've delivered so much highly specific and accurate information time after time, that it could not have been my imagination - the odds are too steep. But it felt like it was. That's where the skill comes in: to know the difference between what might have been imagination, and what might have been something truer. It's extremely subtle, but it's possible to distinguish. One has to get in tune with their self, to know their self.

I hope this helps you.

[Ginger Maynor]

Thank you for sharing, Bluto. Yes, it helps.

Seven years ago I began regularly meditating. Quieting the mind and not letting the ego take over thoughts is indeed what I am working on.

I also will begin to meditate for just one minute, then frequently find once I get to a relaxed state I can stay meditating for longer. I feel tingling on my head which I believe is the crown chakra. Afterward, as you say, I obtain clarity and peace about certain aspects I was worried about or questioning. I believe the clarity comes from my Higher Self.

It is difficult to discuss such aspects with most people because they do not understand. Mostly, I keep these things to myself but it is nice to be able to express it here.