Mar 16, 2010

Dreams and Coincidences


A few nights ago I had a dream I was in a room with a bunch of people who shared my birthday.  We were all gathered around in a circle, looking at each other.  And saying, "hey we were all born on the same day."

That's all I remember about the dream.  I would not have even remembered that, except that an acquaintance who shares my EXACT birth date, emailed me the morning after the dream and  said, "I don't have anyone to celebrate with, want to fly up to Canada and celebrate?"

Two nights later I had a fragment of a dream about the "the two Coreys,"   Corey Feldman and Corey Haim. I don't even remember anything associated with the dream except the phrase, 'the two Coreys."

The morning I woke up, I found out that Corey Haim had died.

This got me thinking to a very dramatic dream I had probably 15 years ago.  I dreamt I was on a plane heading to the Telluride film festival. I'd gone a previous year with a bunch of people from church. They kind of used the festival as a way to corner people at parties and talk to them about Jesus. I didn't like they way things were done, and I never went back to the festival. Not with them anyway.    But I had this dream I was on a plane heading to Telluride with other Christians. I was sitting next to film director Sydney Pollack. he was sharing some difficult moment in his life, and I really wanted to talk to him about god. except I was afraid or embarrassed, or didn't want ot be "one of those" people who introduce Jesus like an Amway product. So I didn't say anything to Mr Pollack in my dream.

I woke up from the dream and that afternoon, a small plane crashed near my apartment in Santa Monica.  Sydney Pollack's son had been the pilot, and he died in the crash.  It was so freaky.   Not long after that I had a terrible, abusive thing happen at my church that sent me running from God for a while. The church had been very involved with prophecy and dream interpretation. I closed the door on all of that mystery, maybe to my detriment.

These past few weeks in Lent I have thought about the silence and the mystery. Perhaps I cheated myself out of some important ways that God communicates with us.  After all, those dream fragments of the past few days.   Perhaps if I spent more time in silence, more time writing down my dreams, what else might I discover about God or myself?

9 comments:

Kristin Russell said...

"the eye sees a thing more clearly in dreams than the imagination when awake."

Leonardo da Vinci

I am glad you are finding some sleep, and that God is speaking to you in it.

Sharon said...

Speaking of coindidences . . . I just had to visit your blog to tell you that I was reading your book, Angry Conversations, this morning. And I got to the part where you were talking about the significance of 3/16 and all of a sudden I realized that I was reading about your birthday, 3/16, ON your birthday, 3/16. So, happy birthday!

jenna said...

I grew up in a church that taught that prophesies, etc no longer happen. Over the past 5 or 6 years, I have had a hand-full of blatantly prophetic dreams, and despite any effort on my part, I saw how He worked through those dreams. Making me aware of things to pray for, people to comfort, words of truth to speak, and even an awareness of a major life change in my own life... Those experiences have opened my eyes to God's movement in my life-- movement that I didn't even believe could happen. I love it.

Susan Isaacs said...

Kristin: What a great quote, I'd never heard it.

Sharon: now that is TOO wacky! Thanks for the birthday wishes. :)

LJ said...

I too am a larger than life dreamer. But I have only once had a dream that became remotely close to reality. I do believe that God can use dreams to speak to us, I just wish mine were a little less cryptic - if they're from Him.

P.S. Happy 3/16/62 my friend! And I mentioned you in my blog today too. Hugs!

Unknown said...

If you ever dream that I die, don't tell me, K?

Susan Isaacs said...

Oh Emily, you've got the gift of prophecy!

alma wad said...

didn't want ot be "one of those" people who introduce Jesus like an Amway product

I like this sentence .. too many people goes on that path ....

it is sometimes frightening to get warning dreams
but it can be life saving

my teen daughter saved the life of her little brother who was just as big as a date's stone and about whom i had no knowledge at all . but she got the dream that her brother was on danger ...

we are a dream teller family
I wrote more about our personal experiences You can read more about it .

Annie Salness said...

At age 38, I had a dream about a cousin I hadn't seen since I was six! Puzzled as to why he came to mind I decided to Google him. I found him, emailed him with the subject line, "Are you my cousin?" (I'm surprised he even opened it!) and reconnected with him six weeks before he moved to Europe! He and my mother were able to clear up a misunderstanding that had caused their lapse in communication and have reestablished their relationship! I like to think that it was a nudge from God. He knew I was goofy enough to Google my dream! Oh, and I got to go to Rome with my parents to visit our cousin! Since then, I have tried to keep alert for any more nudges.... :)

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