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Nightmares: Your God-Gift-in-Disguise from Above
Last updated on: August 10, 2021 at 12:52 pm by kathleenokeefe
Nightmares: Your God-Gift-in-Disguise from Above 2021-08-10T12:52:15-06:00 kathleenokeefe
Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.
by Kathleen O’Keefe-Kanavos
Who’s to say that dreams and nightmares aren’t as real as the here and now? ~John Lennon
Do you know that your nightmares may be a God-gift in disguise? It is easy to forget a sweet dream, but a frightening nightmare can last a lifetime. How can we stop a recurrent nightmare? Perhaps “God” is the answer.
It is easy to dismiss a sweet dream that allows us a good night’s sleep. On the other hand, by sending us nightmares, God can show us something to change in our lives. Perhaps it is to remember not to forget a vital childhood event, so we don’t make the same painful mistake again as adults. All our life challenges, no matter how sad, were and still are learning experiences.
Often finding the hidden Divine-nugget-of-gold or God-gift-in-disguise stops the nightmare forever. If you have ever had a nightmare that was so horrific, you were afraid to go back to sleep. Good for you! Nagging nightmares do not terrorize us for fun. They have a positive purpose.
According to Dr. Deirdre Barrett, a psychologist at Harvard University, “Nightmares are helpful to our survival or else they probably would have been done away with by evolution.” Barrett theorizes nightmares act as the brain’s way of focusing attention on issues the dreamer needs to address.1
A nightmare may be a call to action by your Higher Power, Inner-guidance, Spirit-guides, or Guardian angels to help you revisit painful incidents in your childhood so you can heal emotionally now. Your dream world is the perfect opportunity to try out new solutions to an old problem. The frightening emotion you awaken with could be a piece of something bigger, like your future.2
A Latin proverb dating from the 16th century says ‘praemonitus, praemunitus’, which loosely translates as ‘forewarned is forearmed.’3 Might our nightmares be arming us? Could this be our gift in disguise? The trick is to remember the details between our many nightly dreams.
We shift in and out of our dream doors approximately four to six times during the night.4 Between our dream cycles, we can have a significant nightmare while in the deep sleep level of REM; Rapid Eye Movement.
But what is the agenda of nightmares so disturbing they wake us in the middle of the night?
Nightmares have three essential purposes:
- They get attention using fear because fear works.
- Then they keep your attention by making the experience unforgettable.
- And, thereby gift you important information for your waking world.
This dream guidance could be a call-to-action with specific verbal directions, another God-given golden nugget in your nightmare.
Your nightmares are personal gifts from God for your waking life. Embrace your nightmare’s gift in disguise, decipher its meaning and message, follow the call to action, and thank your Higher Power for the opportunity to use the fearful information to live a more joyful life.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Kathleen (Kat) O’Keefe-Kanavos: aka The Queen of Dreams, WEBE Books Publishing, Syndicated Columnist, PR Guru, VIDEO Podcaster/Show Host Dreaming Healing, 3-time Breast Cancer Survivor, multi award-winning author, and Dream Expert seen on Dr. Oz, DOCTORS, NBC, & CBS. Divine Dreams diagnose her illness. Kat and Duke U Radiologist Dr. Larry Burk co-wrote, (2018 Nautilus Award Winner) Dreams That Can Save Your Life. She’s a Lecturer/Keynote who promotes patient advocacy and connecting with Divine-guidance through Dreams. “Don’t tell God how big your problems are. Tell your problems how big your God is.” Learn more @** www.KathleenOKeefeKanavos.com
Photo Credits:
piranhas-123287_1280 Das Wortgewand pixabay.com Public Domain, Free Commercial Use, No Attribution Required
httpspixabay.comengod-religion-cross-christianity-1772560Sspiehs3 Free for commercial use No attribution required
References :
- https://www.livescience.com/32730-why-do-we-have-nightmares.html
- Dreams That Can Save Your Life: Early Warning Signs of Cancer and Other Diseases; by Larry Burk M.D. C.E.H.P. and Kathleen O’Keefe-Kanavos, Findhorn Press; 2018th edition (April 17, 2018) https://amzn.to/2lPkm0p
- https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/forewarned-is-forearmed.html
- https://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/dreaming-overview#:~:text=Dreams%20can%20happen%20at%20any,to%20six%20times%20a%20night.
Above & Beyond the 5 Senses Patheos Blog
Dream Expert Kathleen O'Keefe-Kanavos
Nightmares: Your God-Gift-in-Disguise from Above
About Kathleen O'Keefe-Kanavos
Kathleen (Kat) O’Keefe-Kanavos: aka The Queen of Dreams, WEBE Books Publishing, Syndicated Columnist, PR Guru, VIDEO Podcaster/Show Host Dreaming Healing, 3-time Breast Cancer Survivor, multi award-winning author, and Dream Expert seen on Dr. Oz, DOCTORS, NBC, & CBS. Divine Dreams diagnose her illness. Kat and Duke U Radiologist Dr. Larry Burk co-wrote, (2018 Nautilus Award Winner) Dreams That Can Save Your Life. She’s a Lecturer/Keynote who promotes patient advocacy and connecting with Divine-guidance through Dreams. “Don’t tell God how big your problems are. Tell your problems how big your God is.” Learn more @ www.KathleenOKeefeKanavos.com You can read more about the author here.
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