Dreaming is one essential part of the spiritual practice and tradition of Native America.
Since an early age, Native Americans teach their children to remember their dreams, so that they can learn how to interpret them, and then utilize them as spiritual tools for guidance in life.
There are some reasons why Native Americans believed dreaming is an extremely significant part of their lives.
They have the next seven beliefs when it comes to dreaming:
1. They believe every person has three souls.
Native Americans believe that people have three souls, and they are:
Ego soul – this is the soul embodied in the process of birth;
Body soul – this is the soul that gives energy to the body and life force at the time of their waking state;
Free soul – this is the soul which leaves their body at the time of dreams, and trances, and also explores the dream realm in the brain, while the other two souls are attached to the body.
2. The dream world is important for them as the physical one.
Native Americans believe that the mind and the body do not dream anything. Chippewa elder John Thunderbird specifically explained this, saying that our soul dreams those dreams; not our body, not our mind. Those dreams come true, and our soul travels worldwide when we dream.
3. Souls can communicate.
Native Americans believe that they can communicate with other souls, or humans, and even animals when the soul disconnects from the body and goes into the dream realm. For them, the dream world is as real as the physical one.
4. Life is a big dream.
These people believed that through dreaming, we could remember how impermanent the world is. Life is just one big dream for them, saying that a difference between the dream world and the waking life does not exist.
5. The dream world also has its consequences.
Native American people believed that anything that may occur in the dream world would have important consequences in waking life. For instance, if we get injured in our dream, we must get treatment when we wake up.
6. Dreaming helps in connecting with spirit guides.
According to Native Americans, every one of us has a spirit guide that communicates with us through our dreams.
When we wake up from a dream journey, we sought help from our elders in order to help them interpret the dreams and understand what the spirit guides try to say, ensuring that they get the message right.
7. Dreaming is where souls receive spiritual guidance.
According to Native Americans, sometimes dreams are even more significant than when being awake as it is where our soul receives spiritual guidance and gains insights into the future or connect with its spirit guides.
The dream world is not only an ordinary place but an astral plane where our soul has to travel for growth and self-exploration.
Therefore, when we start wondering where our soul goes when we dream, we should remember that it explores the dream world where it also receives guidance from our spirit guide, and can even bring us answers to the questions that we were asking for that long.
