Spiritual Meaning of Forgetting Dreams
Welcome back, my Fidus Achates!
I began this series to discuss scriptural truths on dreams. I established in my previous blog that dreams arise from three primary places. There are dreams from the Holy Spirit, dreams from the natural man, and dreams from the demonic realm. Please note that in this blog and subsequent ones, every reference to “dream” or “dreams” refers to Godly dreams.
Otherwise, that particular dream in question will be qualified. I continue in this blog by discussing the spiritual meaning of forgetting dreams. Buckle your seatbelt and let’s begin a take-off.
Mystery Behind Dreams
A dream is a general phenomenon. It is a secure way of communication between the Creator and His creation. It is not just for believers; God communicates with both believers and non-believers alike through dreams. It is worth mentioning that God is the first to deploy encryption and decryption techniques to hide information from unintended access. Encryption is a process which transforms the original information into an unrecognisable form.
This new form of the message is entirely different from the original message. That’s why a hacker cannot read the data, as senders use an encryption algorithm. Decryption is the process of converting encoded/encrypted data back to a form that is readable and understandable by humans or computers [1].
The main purpose of encryption and decryption techniques is to prevent information from being intercepted by unauthorised parties. Only the authorised receivers with the right “secret keys” can read the information.
God is a transmitter of dreams
Similarly, God is the sender and transmitter of dreams. We are the receivers. God encrypts whatever he wants to communicate to us and embeds it into our dreams, so as to conceal it from the devil. As I have stated earlier, everybody dreams; no one on earth has not had a vivid dream in their life. In fact, not just humans, animals too dream and experience similar virtual phenomena [2]. But the question is, “Who qualifies to comprehend the true meanings of dreams as given by God?” To answer this, Jesus, referring to his disciples, said
To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside, everything comes in parables [3]
Remember that one needs a ‘secret key” to decrypt encrypted messages. Jesus also said to Peter
I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. [4]”
I dare say that, much as everyone can dream, it takes the Church, those who are in a constant communion with the Holy Spirit, to understand the true meanings of dreams. Psychoanalysts may only scratch the surface of the actual meaning of dreams.
Deuteronomy 29:29 reads
The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the revealed things belong to us and to our children forever, to observe all the words of this law.
Why Vivid Dreams Disappear Soon After Waking Up?
Dreams are notoriously elusive. In many cases, we wake up from a dream only to find it already fading from memory [5]. What has Science got to say about vivid dreams disappearing soon after waking up?
Ernest Hartmann, professor of psychiatry at Tufts University School of Medicine and director of the Sleep Disorders Centre at Newton Wellesley Hospital, explains:
WE FORGET almost all dreams soon after waking up. Our forgetfulness is generally attributed to neurochemical changes in the brain that occur during Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep, a phase characterised by rapid eye movements and dreaming.
Perhaps the most compelling explanation is the absence of the hormone norepinephrine in the cerebral cortex, a brain region that plays a key role in memory, thought, language and consciousness. A 2002 study in the American Journal of Psychiatry supports the theory that norepinephrine enhances memory in humans, although its role in learning and recall remains controversial.
Certain Dreams Capture Our Attention
Although most dreams vanish, certain ones tend to remain. These dreams were so beautiful or bizarre that they captured our attention and increased activity in our DLPFC. Thus, the more impressive your dream or thought, the more likely you are to remember it. In general, we are very good at forgetting nonessentials.
In fact, many of our thoughts, not just those we have while dreaming, are lost. We tend to recall only the things that we think about often or that have emotional significance [6].
Reasons Why We Forget Dreams
While I readily admit the possibility of these scientific reasons, I would like to go beyond “the processes people go through to forget dreams” as explained by science, to “why people go through those processes to forget dreams. This is because, behind these scientific processes, are reasons that serve as the basis for their initiation.
In other words, neurochemical changes in the brain during REM sleep, along with the absence of the hormone norepinephrine in the cerebral cortex, may have triggered processes that cause people to forget their dreams. However, there are also reasons why those processes are triggered.
First and foremost, if dreams are transmitted by God in the same way our telecommunications transmit network signals, the general question we need to ask ourselves is “what may cause a disruption in the network transmitted by our telecommunications?” I would like to discuss a few reasons.
1. Transmission over long distance
If the distance to the nearest network transmission tower is relatively far, your device’s network will understandably be unstable. Too many of us have drifted far away from God, and that may account for why we barely wake up before our dreams fade away. James 4:8 asserts
Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
Thankfully, no matter how far we drift, God always makes us hear a sound behind us that draws us back to him. Isaiah 30:21 says, “Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it, Whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left.””
2. Bad Weather
Network transmission may be disrupted by bad weather. Some people wake up with forgotten dreams because activities interfere with the transmission of God. This could range from physical activities such as fatigue to emotional instability, illness, and sorrow. It may also be a purely demonic activity. In Genesis 37:20, the brothers of Joseph said
come therefore, let us now kill him and cast him into some pit; and we shall say, ‘Some wild beast has devoured him.’ We shall see what will become of his dreams!
Here, the attack was against the numerous dreams Joseph had, but to fight those dreams, they launched a raid against him. Such has been the devil’s strategy. He often launches attacks against our bodies so as to steal our dreams.
3. Weak Antennas
Network transmissions may not be effective due to weak or faulty antennas. Somethings may be weight or sin and may obstruct us from clearly receiving from God. The bible says
Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us [7].
Some things may not be sin in themselves, but may tend to weaken our antennas and deter us from clearly receiving God’s dreams. Another way our antennas can be weakened is the kind of music we listen to before sleeping. Never underestimate the power of music. Music is like a laser beam that cuts through your soul. One sure way to sharpen your antenna is to engage in spiritual activities such as fasting and prayer, reading the word of God, worship and praise.
Just as you have to pull out your antenna in order to receive sound transmissions, you must pull out your spiritual antenna so you can receive God’s transmissions. Get ready [8].
4. Dream Snatchers
One of the main reasons we lose dreams is that we have an enemy who is always waiting to snatch away the revelation the Holy Spirit brings to us through dreams. Let’s be clear about this: the devil is a thief and a liar. He will do everything he can to rob us of our dream. Jesus said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly [9].”
That is the devil’s only goal: to steal, kill, and destroy the works of God, the people of God, and God’s revelation to His people. Jesus, on the other hand, came to give abundant life. He came to “destroy the works of the devil.” This includes restoring us to a place where we can readily receive visionary revelation from the Holy Spirit [10]. Put your guards on, activate your spiritual antenna and receive wells of relations from our Maker through dreams.
What's Next?
After you have applied all these principles effectively. One thing you need to do to keep your dream memories fresh is Journaling. This is the practice of recording your dreams immediately you have them in a journal or notepad. One philosopher once said, “The bluntest pencil is better than the sharpest brain. This will invariably help in praying about the dreams.
Thank you for stopping by. Watch out for my next blog in this series. Subscribe to my newsletter below, and get notified of new posts. You may also drop a comment or question in the comment section below.
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References
[1] Matthew Martin, “Difference Between Encryption and Decryption”, Gurru99, Updated: November 9, 2021, Link: guru99.com/difference-encryption-decryption.html
[2] Victoria Price, Dreams: Interpreting your dreams and how to dream your desires – Lucid dreaming, Visions and Dream Interpretation, (2016), 9
[3] Mark 4:11
[4] Matthew 16:19
[5] James W. and Michal Ann Goll, Dream Language: The Prophetic Power of Dreams, Revelations and the Spirit of Wisdom, (Shippensburg: Destiny Image Publishers, 2006), 12
[6] Ernest Hartmann, “Why Do Memories of Vivid Dreams Disappear Soon After Waking Up?”, accessed on January 18, 2022, link: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-do-memories-of-vivid-dreams
[7] Hebrew 12:1 (KJV)
[8] James and Ann, Dream Language: The Prophetic Power of Dreams, Revelations and the Spirit of Wisdom, 76
[9] John 10:10
[10] James and Ann, Dream Language: The Prophetic Power of Dreams, Revelations and the Spirit of Wisdom, 66
Comments:
samueldaniels
Great.
Awura
Oh! …so there are reasons why dreams fade away? Wow ? Good to know.
I love this read.
DREAMS!!samueldaniels
Awesome
John Kennedy
Deep insight sir 🙏🏾
Nathaniel Afriyie
I’ve been experiencing the same thing sir
I’m very glad I got your piece
I’ll pass by to see you please
God bless you