The Antecedents of the Experience of Light in Dreams
Abstract
:1. Introduction
- I mind how once we lay on such a transparent summer morning,
- How you settled your head athwart my hips and gently turn’d over upon me,
- And parted the shirt from my bosom-bone, and plunged your tongue to my bare-stript heart,
- Moreover, reach’d till you felt my beard, and reach’d till you held my feet.
- Swiftly arose and spread around me the peace and knowledge that pass all the argument of the earth,
- And I know that the hand of God is the promise of my own,
- And I know that the spirit of God is the brother of my own,
- And that all the men ever born are also my brothers, and the women my sisters and lovers,
- Moreover, that a kelson1 of the creation is love.
The phenomenon itself, that is, the vision of light, is an experience common to many mystics, and one that is undoubtedly of the greatest significance, because in all times and places it appears at the unconditional thing, which unites in itself the greatest energy and the profoundest meaning.
1.1. The Source of the Light
“The recognizing of the Clear Light is to be accomplished in the interval between the cessation of consciousness in this world and the arising of consciousness in the after-death state”.
If he [the disciple] has the power to die consciously, and at the supreme moment of quitting the body can recognize the Clear Light which will dawn upon him then, and can become one with it, all...bonds of illusion are broken asunder immediately: the dreamer is awakened into Reality simultaneously with the mighty achievement of recognition.
1.2. Purpose of This Study
2. Design
2.1. Subjects
2.2. Approach to Analysis
What is constructed can at best be described as a malleable field, in which received tradition and the lived experiences of individuals enter into dialogue and through their dialogue form and reform one another.
- (1)
- We summarized the “process narrative” (Sparrow and Thurston 2022), also referred to as the “theme” (Thurston 1978) or “non-interpretive summary” (Schredl 2015, 2019).
- (2)
- We highlighted any conflict or problem that confronted the dreamer.
- (3)
- We analyzed the dreamer’s responses (Sparrow 2014) and concomitant changes in the dream content.
- (4)
- We drew process parallels between dreams, where indicated, to establish common antecedents to the experience of light.
3. Results
3.1. Initial Dreams
The process narrative: The dreamer enters a familiar place and experiences a dramatic elevation of positive feelings and awareness. He remains alone throughout, without anyone to explain the meaning of the experience. As for the dreamer’s response, he merely opened a door and entered a room! However, this simple act might have been more critical than it seems. We are reminded of a modern spiritual teacher, Adi Da Samraj (1939–2008), who was once asked how to describe enlightenment. Speaking as an embodiment of enlightenment, he said, “I am like a light in a room. All you have to do is to enter the room”. While the dreamer’s response seemed simple and natural, the dreamer had begun meditating daily for several months before this dream. He was not yet consciously seeking the light and was thus surprised by the initial euphoric dream.[1] I have come home from school. I become aware that I am dreaming as I stand outside a small building with large black double doors on its eastern side. I approach them to enter. As soon as I open them, a brilliant white light hits me in the face. Immediately, I am filled with intense feelings of love. I said several times, “This can’t be a dream!” The interior resembles a small chapel or meeting room. It has large windows overlooking barren land like the Great Plains. I think this is somehow real in a three-dimensional sense. Everything is amazingly clear, and the colors are brilliant. No one is with me, yet someone needs to be there to explain the sense of purpose that permeates the atmosphere. At one point, I walk, holding a crystal rod (or wand) on which a flat, spinning crystal circle is poised. The light passes through it and is beautiful.
3.2. Initiation Tests
The process narrative: The dreamer searches for something, but it eludes him. He is told to appreciate the outward appearance of things to reach his goal. The woman asserts that the dreamer must seek the light, not directly, but through the world of mediating forms. Of course, at first, it is unclear which avenues will provide access to what one seeks. Therefore, unsure of what he should do next, our dreamer considered seeking a guru a few months after his initial light experience. One of his friends spoke so passionately about the impact of following a particular guru that he also considered becoming a devotee. However, before he could make that decision, he dreamt of going to see the guru.[2] I become aware that I am dreaming and decide to search for the white light. I see it in several places as it shines through the form of every ordinary object around me. I see a bicycle shining, so I concentrate on the shimmer, hoping it will expand into a full-blown experience of radiance. However, as soon as I do this, the shimmering disappears, and the bicycle becomes ordinary again. I repeat this effort several times, but the light dims each time I contemplate it. I am frustrated, when I notice a woman approaching. She walks up and says, “You must first learn to love the form before you can see the light within it”.
The process narrative: The dreamer looks for someone to guide him but is told that there is another avenue that he should pursue. He engages with another guide and experiences fulfillment. As for the dream ego’s responses, he accepts the guru’s rejection but remains engaged with the unfolding process. He could have asked more questions or left in resignation, but he followed an implicit course of action and was then overcome by the light experience.[3] I have gone to see the guru in India. I wait in line, and finally, it is my turn to visit with him. He smiles but says nothing, waiting. Not sure of what to say, I finally say, “Master…” He immediately interrupts me and asks, “Who is master?” I conclude that he is saying that he is not my Master and that perhaps Jesus is my Master. Suddenly, a woman enters the room and invites me to join her in performing a yoga asana, the cobra. We sit on the floor, facing each other. I stretch into the position, and the white light awakens. As the vibration becomes more and more intense, I can see the guru smiling and nodding through a cloud of light.
The process narrative: The dreamer becomes aware of an opportunity to encounter someone of significance and approaches the opportunity without hesitation. When he encounters the person, the person asks a question to which the dreamer responds. As for the dreamer’s responses, he initially pursues contact with Jesus without hesitation. Whereas he opened the door to the light in the initial dream, the dreamer walked through an open door in this dream. Then, when Jesus asks the question, the dreamer immediately knows where he stands and answers unequivocally. Indeed, the brief dream establishes contact with Jesus through the dreamer’s consistent intention and then assists the dreamer in becoming committed to doing “what he needs to do” in life.[4] Aware that I am dreaming, I am flying around inside a new building with my friend, Mark. We are praying for or consecrating the building. At one point, I see Mark standing in a doorway at the back of the auditorium, talking to someone standing beyond the threshold. I know it is Jesus! I anxiously walk toward the door, hoping he will still be there. I pass through the door and look toward where I assume he will be. At first, I am only able to see bright white light. However, then I can see a man in the midst of the light. I stand silent and awed by his presence. I feel great love emanating from him, but I feel sternness as well. He finally asks, “Are you ready to leave the earth yet?” I realize that he is asking if I am ready to die. Startled by the implications of his question, I say, “No”. He says, “Then go out and do what you know to do”.
The process narrative: The dreamer becomes aware of an approaching presence and is encouraged to view it differently. He approaches it and makes contact. The dreamer’s responses are simple but facilitative. He changes his perspective, meets Jesus halfway, takes his hands, and then meets his gaze. The dream shows how difficult it can be to entertain the presence of higher power. We will observe our dreamer’s characteristic forms of resistance in a few of the following dreams.[5] I am standing in the doorway of my father’s business, looking to the south, when I see a brilliant light descending. A voice says, “You need to learn to perceive this in three dimensions”. As I look more closely at the orb of light, it transforms into the luminous figure of Jesus. He begins to cross the street with hands outstretched. I meet him in the middle of the street, reaching out and taking his hands. Our eyes meet as I awaken.
3.3. Encountering Resistance
The process narrative: The dreamer decides to reveal an essential truth to those he loves, but it provokes a reaction that ends the display. He knows the process will continue and communicates his conviction to those who resist it. Concerning the dreamer’s responses to this dream, he shows courage and conviction in revealing his purpose to his parents. Then, when his parents attempt to defeat him, he accepts the temporary setback while asserting his commitment to his journey. The dreamer did not understand his words at the end of the dream, but they gave him hope that he would continue to progress despite his failure.[6] I dream it is time to reveal my purpose in life to my parents. It is just before dawn as I ask them to follow me out onto the driveway of my childhood home. I raise my hands over my head and begin to chant. Lightning arches across the dark sky, and when I lower my arms, it strikes the ground explosively nearby. As I do, light fills my vision. I repeat this gesture several times! Meanwhile, my parents are cowering behind me, obviously disturbed by the demonstration. Suddenly, my father picks up a lance and hurls it into my back. I fall to the ground, dying. My parents approach and bend over me with fear and alarm in their eyes. I say, “I was really your son. But I am the son of the unborn son, who is still to come”.
The process narrative: Someone feels pressure to fulfill an obligation, resists the pressure to make necessary preparations, and then fulfills it. Concerning the dreamer’s responses, he feels obliged to pay his respects but must resist his wife’s pressure to discharge his obligation before he is ready. Again, we can see these demands as both interpersonal and intrapersonal: The dreamer may face external judgment and the prospect of internalized guilt as he responds to a spiritual calling. However, when the dreamer is ready and returns to fulfill his sacred task, he surrenders fully to the moment, and the light arises in response to his self-care and timely service. In retrospect, the dreamer realized that “doing what he knew to do” involved timely and appropriate action.[7] I seem to be a member of an indigenous community. My friend has just died. I know I must pay my respects by visiting the funeral pyre and praying over his body. I have not done this yet, and my wife has become impatient. I decide that I need to go on retreat first. I withdraw into the desert for a period before returning to the village. Then I go to the funeral pyre and hold my hands over my friend’s body. As I pray for him, there is an explosion, and suddenly, his body and I are shooting into the sky from the energy of the explosion. Then, it is all over, and I am lying on the ground alone. As the sun sets, I hear a voice say, “He who heals himself can then heal others, and then comes the light”. At that moment, I am blinded by white light, and I awaken in ecstasy.
The process narrative: The dreamer faces someone else’s displeasure and, instead of reacting, expresses an attitude that respects and reconciles their differences. The dreamer’s responses are twofold: he resists the attack but then embraces the assailant. Of course, we do not know what may have transpired beforehand in the dreamer’s life or what the dreamer may have forgotten in the dream. Nonetheless, one is reminded again of the message, “You must first love the form to see the light within it”. While seeing anything positive in such an attack is difficult, the dreamer nonetheless yields to the “form” of the woman’s emotion.[8] I am with R.A., my childhood friend. She is angry with me over something and surprises me by trying to hit me. I block her hand and then reach out to embrace her. I say, “You are the emotional, the intuitive. I am the thinking, the rational. But together, we serve the same father”. At that point, light bursts into my awareness, and ecstatic feelings pour through me as I awaken.
[9] I enter a church and know that I am expected to speak. The congregation is singing hymn #33 from a red hymnal. While they go through the usual preliminary exercises, I go outside to gather myself. I am worried and afraid because I don’t know what I will say. I sit down in the grass and suddenly come up with a topic that feels right—“The Way of Surrender”.
The process narrative: The dreamer faces an obligation but does not feel prepared to fulfill it. He withdraws to consider his task and arrives at a solution. Regarding the dreamer’s responses, he is initially willing to deliver his talk but then becomes doubtful about his readiness. The dreamer withdraws temporarily from the task at hand to ponder and prepare for the task. He chooses a topic that feels right–surrender–which resolves his worry about his obligation and opens him to receiving the light.At this point, I look up in the eastern sky and see a giant orb of white light many times the size of the moon. I realize that I am dreaming. I yell out in joy, knowing it is coming for me. As soon as I do, the light withdraws into the sky as if it is awaiting a more appropriate response on my part. I know that I must turn my eyes away and trust. As I do, the light descends. As it approaches, I hear a woman say, “You’ve done well reflecting this light within yourself. But now it must be turned outward”. The air becomes charged, and the ground is brilliantly lit. The top of my head begins to prickle and be warmed by the light. I awaken.
[10] I am viewing caves in a rock wall from across a canyon. A golden white light emerges from one cave and begins floating toward me. I know it is an ancient enlightened being, so I sit down and meditate, hoping to experience communion with it. The light gets so close that I start to feel it. However, suddenly, my friend B. appears from behind me and asks, “What’s happening?” I try to get him to go away, but it is too late. The light disappears with my irritation.
The process narratives: The dreamer becomes aware of a momentous opportunity and prepares to receive it, only to become irritated by the invasive presence of someone unengaged in the process. Concerning the dreamer’s responses, his reaction to his friend’s intrusion seems justifiable but, in retrospect, represents the most significant problem: he could have welcomed his friend or ignored him momentarily, but the dreamer allowed his irritation to ruin the moment. Fortunately, the co-creative paradigm shines the light squarely on the dreamer’s reaction, at least initially, so that he can assume responsibility for its impact on the dream. Of course, it was also helpful to explore what the friend represented to him, both literally and as an aspect of himself. Upon reflection, our dreamer realized that B. had largely abandoned his spiritual practice and tended to be rather negative, as well. Thus, B.’s presence as a disruptive influence helped the dreamer become aware of and address his own deficiencies.[11] A couple of weeks later, I am dreaming and see a bell-shaped UFO approaching—glowing with golden white light and bearing the image of the Sphinx. I know it is the light, so I sit down and meditate, hoping to receive it. As it descends, its energy becomes palpable. Just before it lands a few feet from me, I hear my friend B. again from behind me say, “What are you doing?” Frustrated, I ask him to wait, but it’s too late. The light disappears.
The process narrative: Someone feels trapped by a negative influence and takes steps to free himself, but his effort creates a second problem that puts the dreamer in a no-win situation. By surrendering further effort, the problem is resolved through an unanticipated intervention. In this case, one can see how formulating the process narrative assists the dreamer in looking beyond the high drama of this dream and considering his response to the problem. Indeed, the dreamer’s initial conflict avoidance and eventual surrender become the pivotal responses determining this dream’s outcome.[12] I am the prisoner of the devil, along with a crowd of other people. The devil appears as an ordinary man who is very powerful, cold, and brutish. We are free to walk around, but the understanding is that there is no escape from his power. Even so, a woman and I try to escape while he is distracted. It is nighttime, and we run across a lighted expanse of lawn toward an area that is not lit by the light. As I run, a voice says, “If you go further, you will fall into a well”. I stop abruptly, not knowing what to do. Then, I see a shadow creep past me, alerting me to the devil’s approach. Feeling powerless, I turn around, drop to the ground, and say, “Lord have mercy!” However, instead of seeing the devil, I see a woman clothed in white, surrounded by light. She walks up, bends down, and touches my forehead. Immediately, I am infused with light and ecstasy, and I know that I have been healed. The light pours through me for some time before subsiding as I awaken in bed.
The process narrative: In pursuing his desires, the dreamer becomes aware of conflicting viewpoints resolved by turning his attention to something that can transcend or unite the differences. Concerning the dreamer’s responses, he initially expresses a willingness to pursue the fulfillment of his sexual desires with the woman but then feels exposed and rebuked by his father’s presence. Whether his father represents his actual father, a part of him who stands in judgment of him, or both, the dream initially provides no solution between these competing ideals. However, within the crucible of this apparently hopeless division, the light appears again as the unexpected solution that unites or supersedes the conflict. It seems that the key to the dream’s resolution is, once again, a subtle shift: he turns away from the conflict between himself and his father and instead recognizes the unifying influence of the light.[13] I am with Mike on the streets of a Mexican border town. It is evening, and we run into an attractive woman who may be a prostitute, but we are not sure. We flirt with her and make arrangements to get together later that evening. Just at that moment, I notice my father standing nearby. He looks stern as if to express his judgment of me. I am still trying to figure out what to do or to say. At that moment, there is an explosion to the east. I see that an orb of white light has appeared about 100 yards away, hovering above the ground. I yell to my father to look at the light. I then see his face is rapt with wonder and illuminated by the light. We stand together, transfixed by the sight. The orb approaches us and passes slowly over us. Again, there is an explosion, and the orb reappears to the east of us. It is so powerful that it begins to attract everything toward it. I feel the wind becoming so powerful that I lose my footing and rush upward into the light until there is nothing left of the dream but light and a sense of intense love and fulfillment.
The process narrative: The dreamer becomes aware that conditions are suitable for a new course of action but wonders if he is free to pursue it. After receiving an ambiguous message of support, he commits to independent action. The dreamer’s responses in this dream are subtle, so one might look to the visual content as an indication of what the dream ego facilitates or allows itself to perceive. After all, within the co-creative paradigm, the dreamer’s subjectivity and the evolving dream imagery are viewed as continuously tethered and reciprocally influencing each other. This paradigm can also be seen in Douglas Hollans’s self-scape dreams, which “reflect back to the dreamer how his or her current organization of self relates various parts of itself to its body, and to other people and the world” (Hollans 2003). With this lens, the light could be seen as a constantly updated snapshot of the dreamer’s cognitive–emotional process. In the initial phase, the light appears as two separate sources of light that become one. This coalescence of the lights may have indicated the dreamer’s acceptance of the underlying unity in the division of his life and surrendering fully to it. The words he heard were puzzling, but perhaps the voice acknowledged this reconciliation.[14] While still living in Virginia, I dream of being back at my childhood home in South Texas. It is late at night when I go out in the backyard and look eastward toward the Gulf of Mexico. A warm wind blows from the southeast, and I know that it will be calm by the morning, making for ideal conditions for fly fishing on the Laguna Madre, 50 miles to the east. I see a full moon through the trees as I look up at the sky. Then, I see another orb of light beside the moon. How can this be? I wonder. Is it the sun? Is it another moon? I am puzzled. Then I realize that I am dreaming. As I come to this awareness, the two orbs start moving together. I lay down on the grass and meditate on the light, knowing that what I perceive is the eternal light, not the moon or the sun.As the two lights join, they become a larger orb of white light upon which a more brilliant white star is superimposed. The new body of light now appears behind thick clouds, but a tunnel opens through the clouds, giving me a clear view of the light.Then, to my surprise, the new combined light pulsates, and a shimmering light comes down through the tunnel—down to where I lie on the grass and enters my chest. As it does, I am overwhelmed by a sense of love. Then I hear a voice say, “You have done well with this”.Then it is morning in the dream, and it seems that I have awakened from the dream. I am now with my sister and ex-wife, sitting in the grass near where I had received the light. I tell them about the dream and then realize that it is late in the morning and that I must leave for the Laguna Madre. I consider asking if it is okay, but then I realize it is my choice to make. So, I say nothing more and leave alone.
The process narrative: The dreamer becomes aware of something momentous and points it out to someone else. The event intensifies and conveys an experience of love, of which the second person remains unaware. Concerning the dreamer’s responses, he first becomes aware of the light and then opens himself to receive it. This might seem trivial, but we have observed how the dream ego can resist or become overly attached to the presentation of the light. Once again, the dreamer’s attitude of receptivity is significant, considering the challenge posed by this powerful presence. The partner’s obliviousness may point to the interpersonal problems created by such deep communion and allude to aspects of the dreamer that remain oblivious to the light’s immanence.[15] L. and I are outside at night. I look up and see a light moving from east to west overhead. I point and say, “Look, a shooting star!” However, it stops and begins to fall toward the earth as a brilliant white feather spins around as it descends. As it nears the ground, it expands into an orb of white light that hovers about 20 feet off the ground. I understand that it is the soul of my unborn child. As it approaches us and passes directly overhead, it sends a shaft of white light that enters my chest and overwhelms me with love. As the experience subsides, I turn to her and ask, “Did you experience that?” L. seems puzzled, not knowing what I am talking about.
3.4. Death as a Catalyst
[16] I seem to be a little girl, not myself, in the dream. I have suffered a deep emotional wound from the past and need healing. A medicine man appears and cups his hands over my pubic area as if providing protection. We suddenly move into total darkness, and Edgar Cayce is holding me. I know that Cayce is healing me in the darkness. Then it is morning, and the little girl has transformed into a falcon, and I am myself. The falcon hunts with me for three days before I remove her jesses and set her free.Then, I returned to the area later with a friend and tried to spot the falcon. A speck appears above the horizon and moves toward us. As it gets closer, I see that it is a giant bee. I turn and run from it, but it follows closely behind me, saying repeatedly, “Let me give you light! Your parents have left you without light. Let me give you light”. Afraid of the bee’s sting, I try to evade it and awaken in fear. Remembering the bee’s words, I immediately realize I have foolishly resisted an immense opportunity. So, I sit up in bed and pray for another opportunity to receive the bee’s gift.Then, after lying down and drifting off, I find myself again with Edgar Cayce, who begins talking to me about how some people cling to “the futility of keeping and bearing arms”. He seems to be referring to me, but I am not sure.Then I am standing with my friend Mark at night atop a grassy hill. I tell him, “There once was ghetto here!” Then, I see a pinpoint of white light moving across the western sky. I point to it and say, “Look, a meteorite!” However, then, it turns and begins to move toward us, pulsating as it comes and sending tendrils of light in all directions. As it approaches, the light fills the sky and obliterates my view of the landscape until it reaches me. I throw my arm up reflexively, but the wall of light hits me. I awaken in my bed and cannot see anything but light. Momentarily, I think the house is on fire, but then I realize the light is within me.
The process narrative: The dreamer becomes aware that he shares an intractable condition with someone else, which becomes resolved despite a sense of futility. This stark dream mirrors the theme of previous dreams, in which a sense of inner division, impoverishment, or disease, precedes the onset of the light. In each instance, the dreamer comes to terms with and surrenders to his predicament. What is more, for the first time in this dream, the dreamer shares the predicament and the light with another, inviting a theme not only of healing but of connection.[17] I am aware that I am terminally ill, and I am with a woman who also will soon die of an incurable disease. We are at a spiritual retreat and sleeping in open rooms. She and I have beds beside each other but do not sleep together. That night, we lie down in our respective beds and fall asleep. In the middle of the night, I am overwhelmed by a white light that comes in intense waves, subsiding briefly between each exquisite pulsation. For a while, there is only light. I am aware that the light is pouring through me into the sleeping woman beside me, and we are both healed of our illnesses. As I surrender completely, a voice says, “Your mortal life is over”. Later, we both awaken and realize that we have been healed. I know that she and I will remain together for all eternity.
The process narrative: The dreamer becomes aware of a wrongdoing that is denied by a perpetrator. After convincing the person of the error, he reports the wrongdoing more widely. Then, he becomes aware that something is moving toward its original place or condition. He becomes aware of different expressions of something and brings two of them together through his efforts.[18] I become aware that a group of hunters, of which my stepfather and father are members, have come upon a Native American man in the woods. Thinking of him as no more than an animal, they have killed him and beheaded him, keeping his head as a trophy. I am horrified and convinced that the crime must be reported. While most of the hunters express no remorse whatsoever, my father wears a pained, confused look about what they have done. As I talk to him about our need to take action, it is as if he slowly awakens from a deep sleep and finally acknowledges the truth. Then I call the authorities and tell them what has happened.As I hang up, I become aware that a cougar is making its way into deep South Texas and moving into the area near the Mexican border where I grew up. I am hopeful that it will thrive there.Then, suddenly, I am aware that I was dreaming. I walk through a meadow and look up to see a beautiful, dew-covered red hibiscus. I take a few more steps and affirm that when I looked up the next time, I will see the Holy Light. I lift my eyes and behold a huge orb of white light surrounded by a delicate, lattice-like corona that takes up most of the sky. I know that it is the light of Christ.Then, an elderly woman approaches from behind me. Her eyes tell me that she loves me. I reach out, put my arm around her, and kiss her forehead, knowing that she is Mary, the mother of Jesus. We turn back toward the light and see that a second light has appeared to the left, slightly below the white orb. The new light is bluish-violet and—with delicate, hairlike filaments of light—resembles the blossom of a passionflower. I turn to Mary and say, “Is that your light?” She nods.I turn back and look again to see that a third light has appeared to the right, slightly below the white orb. It shines from the window of a tower whose base now stands only a few feet away from us. “Whose light is that?” I ask. Mary replies, “It’s Mary Magdalene’s light”. Then I say, “Do you want to go there?” Again, she nods, so we walked forward and begin to climb the tower’s circular stairs.
[19] I am with an unknown man in an outdoor scene and suddenly become lucid. I tell my companion, “If you want to see the light, meditate on whatever you see”. Following my advice, I immediately see a children’s outdoor swing set. I lie down on the grass and meditate on the image of the swing set. The light comes after a moment’s hesitation, obliterating the imagery and leaving me to receive it in waves of ecstasy.
4. Discussion
“He was despised and rejected by others; a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity; and as one from whom others hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in no account” (NSRV, Isaiah 53:3).
Author Contributions
Funding
Conflicts of Interest
1 | The centerline of a ship to which the keel is attached. |
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Sparrow, G.S.; Hurd, R. The Antecedents of the Experience of Light in Dreams. Religions 2024, 15, 1228. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15101228
Sparrow GS, Hurd R. The Antecedents of the Experience of Light in Dreams. Religions. 2024; 15(10):1228. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15101228
Chicago/Turabian StyleSparrow, Gregory S., and Ryan Hurd. 2024. "The Antecedents of the Experience of Light in Dreams" Religions 15, no. 10: 1228. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15101228