Dreams don’t come true, do they? Dream Meanings

You may have dreams that appear to predict the future. Whilst many of these dreams can be easily explained, there are a few that seem impossible to explain and which might therefore be genuinely supernatural. During some periods of its history, the Christian Church regarded dreams as a way in which God showed his chosen people the future: St Augustine, for example, ‘saw’ his conversion in a dream ten years before it took place. The Bible itself is packed with predictive dreams and, as late as the sixteenth century, bishops would take careful note of their dreams to predict events.

Although there is some evidence that dreams may be able to reveal the future or events, they are perhaps best explained by anticipating what is likely to happen. For example, many dreams predicted the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. However, it must be remembered that President Kennedy was one of the world’s most well-known men and presidents are always vulnerable to assassination. Such dreams, as Jung put it, ‘are not more prophetic than a medical diagnosis or weather forecast. They are merely an anticipatory combination of possibilities which may coincide with the actual behavior of things but need not necessarily agree on every detail.’ Dreams of personal disaster are usually a common cause for concern; for example, a plane crash or car crash. However, such dreams are typically born out of apprehension.

Even though there is no scientific evidence that dreams can reveal the future, some dreams do seem to be genuine predictions. Just before his title fight in 1947, Sugar Ray Robinson dreamt he was in the ring with Jimmy Doyle. ‘I hit him a few good punches and he was on his back, his bland eyes staring up at me. Doyle never moved and the crowd was shouting, “He’s dead! He’s dead!”’ Robinson was so upset by the dream he asked Adkins, his trainer and promoter, to call off the fight. Adkins told him: ‘Dreams don’t come true.

If they did, I’d be a millionaire.’ In the eighth round, Doyle went down from a hook to the jaw. He never got up and was dead the next day.

If you are interested in this aspect of dreaming—whether you yourself have had predictive dreams or simply want to study the subject—it is vital to keep a detailed diary of your dreams.

If you do have a dream that seems to predict a serious event or important event, such as an explosion or a tornado, make a note, have it dated and witnessed, seal it in an envelope and send it to a reputable institution such as your bank with instructions to date it on arrival.

See also Precognitive dreams entry in DISASTERS.