Updated at: 14-04-2022 - By: Jane

It’s not surprising that you’ve had a few disturbing nightmares in your life, given most people sleep for at least two hours per night. If you’re in the 17.8% to 38% of people who have had at least one precognitive or premonition dream, then you’re not alone. These are dreams that appear to foretell the future.

To qualify as precognitive, a dream must meet a number of requirements:

  • As soon as you wake up, you should document or tell someone else about your dream.
  • In order for a dream to be unlikely to be fulfilled by chance, it must have a substantial number of unique details
  • Premonition dreams aren’t those in which a prediction comes true or in which the dreamer’s knowledge influences the outcome.
  • Premonition dreams cannot be influenced by dream telepathy or communication with others through dreams.

Can Dreams Predict the Future?

There is very little evidence to show that dreams may foretell the future at this time. The onset of sickness or mental decline may be predicted by specific sorts of dreams, according to certain studies. There is a link between bad dreams and future cognitive deterioration in Parkinson’s disease patients, for example.

Precognitive Dreams: Examples, Causes, How to Stop

Dreams and nightmares can change as you go through different stages of life and experiences. It is common for pregnant women to suffer from nightmares or vivid dreams. Trauma and mental health concerns are linked to more frequent occurrences of nightmares, which can have a negative impact on your quality of sleep. As a result, nightmares might have a negative impact on your overall sleep quality.

A lucid dream occurs when you become aware of your surroundings while you are sleeping. Despite the fact that lucid dreams cannot predict the future, they provide you the ability to recognize that you are dreaming. While you’re lucid dreaming, you could even be able to direct the course of your dream.

Instances in Which Dreams Have Been Premonitions

According to legend, some historical events could be foreseen through the interpretation of dreams. Because these events occurred in the past, there is no method for verifying that the dreams met the criteria for precognitive dreams.

Abraham Lincoln’s Assassination

Abraham Lincoln was said to have had recurring dreams of his own death8. It was later reported in detail by Lincoln’s longtime friend and law partner Ward Hill Lamon.

When Lincoln had a bad dream about crying individuals, he decided to investigate. He discovered a body in the White House’s East Room, complete with a casket and funeral corsage. Lincoln inquired about the events of the dream with the characters he saw there. An assassination attempt against the president, according to one of his informants. Lincoln was visibly shaken and terrified when he told Lamon about his experience.

Lincoln went on to explain the dream to Lamon later. In his dream, Lincoln was not assassinated, but another president. The night before his murder on April 14, 1865, he had this dream.

Lincoln frequently had a more upbeat dream that could have been a sign of things to come. It appeared as if Union ships were pursuing a stricken enemy vessel. Furthermore, he saw Union soldiers on the verge of victory, with a commanding position. According to legend, Lincoln awoke from this dream during a time of great significance, such as the Battle of Antietam and the Battle of Gettysburg.

Aberfan Landslide

Aberfan, a small village in South Wales, was devastated in 1966 by a landslide caused by coal mine waste. The landslide wiped down the local school, killing 144 children and staff.

After the landslide, a British psychiatrist, John Barker, arrived in the hamlet. To better understand what happens to persons who fear death, Barker conducted study. He collected 76 accounts of premonitions of the Aberfan landslide, 60 of which he followed up on.

After the landslide, a British psychiatrist, John Barker, arrived in the hamlet. To better understand what happens to persons who fear death, Barker conducted study. He collected 76 accounts of premonitions of the Aberfan landslide, 60 of which he followed up on.

Robert Kennedy’s Assassination

John Barker, a British psychiatrist, arrived in the community soon after the avalanche to help those affected by it. A study conducted by Barker looked into what happens in the minds of those who fear death is imminent. He collected 76 tales of premonitions of the Aberfan landslide, 60 of which he followed up on.

Several days after the landslide, a British psychiatrist, John Barker, arrived in the town. A study conducted by Barker looked into what happens in the minds of those who fear death is imminent. He gathered 76 testimonies of people seeing visions of the Aberfan landslide, and he investigated 60 of them.

Lincoln’s death

Several days after the landslide, a British psychiatrist, John Barker, arrived in the town. To better understand what happens to those who are afraid of dying, Barker did a study. His research yielded 60 confirmed cases of the Aberfan landslide’s foretelling, out of the 76 he collected.

After the landslide, a British psychiatrist, John Barker, arrived in the hamlet. To better understand what happens to persons who fear death, Barker conducted study. He gathered 76 reports of people seeing visions of the Aberfan landslide, and he followed up on 60 of them.

Carl Jung

Several precognitive dreams and experiences were also described by Jung, one of the founders of contemporary psychotherapy.

His mother’s death was foretold in one of his nightmares. A “darkened” Europe gripped by calamity was the setting for three nightmares he had in early 1914. These dreams were later linked to the outbreak of World War I.

Titanic

Premonition of the sinking of the RMS Titanic is a typical occurrence. There are two dreams that stand out as precognitive, though.

Aboard the Titanic was Isaac Fruenthal, and Eugene Daily was also on board with him. Prior to his departure, Fruenthal had a premonition that the ship he was about to board had collided with something and sank. He had the same dream after boarding the Titanic. The narrative of Fruenthal’s dream has become a well-known example of precognitive dreaming because he escaped the sinking.

Daly’s experience was a little different. His first words out of the gate on the Titanic were, “I dreamed about the ship going down.” He had the same horrific dream every night he was on board. As soon as Daly realized that the ship was about to sink, he notified his pal that it was going to happen that night.

In my opinion, that’s the strongest evidence I’ve ever seen for precognitive dreams.

Mark Twain

Twain, an American author, had a vision of his brother’s metal casket sitting in his sister’s house. His brother was killed just a few weeks after he had a dream about him.

Why do we dream?

It was customary to be buried in a wooden casket in the past. In spite of this, a close friend had paid for Twain’s brother to be laid to rest in a metal casket. Exactly as he had imagined it, Twain witnessed the scene play out in front of him.

Mrs Julius Caesar

Calpurnia, the wife of Julius Caesar, was haunted by nightmares the night before her husband’s death. Upon awakening, she begged Caesar to stay, but he refused. Look how that turned out!

On the night before Julius Caesar’s death, his wife, Calpurnia, was haunted by frightening dreams. When she awoke, she begged Caesar not to leave, but he would have none of it. Look at the results!

How common are they?

Up to a third of people, according to some studies, claim to have had precognitive experiences, frequently manifesting as a dream that came true.

More than half of people have had a prophetic dream at some point in their lives, according to informal studies by Psychology Today.

Depending on who participates in a survey, the results can be skewed. A belief in psychic experiences, including precognitive dreams, increases the likelihood that a person will interpret a dream as precognitive, according to this study.

People who don’t believe in psychic experiences, on the other hand, likely won’t even consider the possibility of their dreams predicting the future.

When it comes to psychic encounters, those who don’t believe in psychic experiences are unlikely to think about their dreams predicting the future.

What could be behind them?

There is no scientific evidence to support the assumption that dreams might be predictive, but experts have come up with several other reasons.

Selective recall

Study findings from 2014 suggest that selective recall could be a contributing factor.

Researchers handed them fictional dream diaries and factual event diaries to 85 participants, telling them both to be the work of the same student for a different study.

There was an entry in the event journal that either validated or disproved each dream that had previously been documented in the other notebook.

After reading both diaries and writing down their dreams and diary events, the participants were invited to complete a short survey. People would recall more about occurrences that corroborated their dreams, they reasoned, compared to events that didn’t.

Exactly as predicted by the researchers, participants were able to recall their dreams more clearly based on diary entries. Regardless of whether or not they believed in precognitive dreams, individuals always displayed this selective memory recall.

You’re more likely to remember the similarities than the differences when something in your waking life looks to mirror an occurrence in a dream.

It’s possible that your dream involves a lengthy, convoluted stroll in the woods, where you get lost and lose your shoes, and miss your closest friend’s birthday celebration. You leave your shoes on the beach, and the tide takes them away a few days later.

Even if only a small portion of the dream was realized, your brain concentrates on the part that went as planned. That’s why your dream seems to predict your lost shoes, even though none of the other details fit.

Association of unrelated events

Despite the fact that only a small portion of the dream was realized, your mind is fixated on the part that went according to plan instead of the rest. That’s why, despite the fact that no other elements line up, your dream seems to anticipate your misplaced shoes.

Participants were given four pairs of dream diaries and news stories to read and record as many connections as they could. There were more connections between news stories and dream diaries among those who reported higher degrees of paranormal belief and precognitive dreams.

Real-world examples:

When you sleep, you fantasize about fighting someone. After a bad night’s sleep, you remember being enraged the next morning. In your dreams the following night, you get visions of being depressed. You do remember crying, despite the fact that you don’t remember many specifics.

You’re in an automobile accident a few days later. Your relatively new car gets a little scuffed up but nobody gets hurt. You’re upset and depressed about your car, and it’s bringing back memories of your childhood fantasies.

Even though they appear to be a premonition of the accident, there is no clear connection between them.

The reasons for feeling angry or sad are as varied as the people who experience them. Nothing prevents them from appearing in your dreams if you have them in your day-to-day life as well.

Coincidence

Coincidence is also a possible cause of precognitive dreams.

A major part of this stems from the law of large numbers: You’re going to have a wide range of dreams over the course of your life. It’s only natural for things in your life will align every now and then.

This isn’t just normal; it’s inevitable, no matter how unlikely it seems now. And the more dreams you recall, the more likely it is that you may see something that appears to be in sync with your memories.

Subconscious connections

Having a dream about something you think about a lot is quite normal, especially if it is something that causes you anxiety.

In the event that you have a premonition of breaking up with your lover, you may be able to recall it quickly. Breakups, on the other hand, don’t happen out of the blue.

You may have been experiencing problems that made you fear that your relationship was about to end. It’s possible that your dream was a result of your awareness of difficulties even though you weren’t actively worried about them.

You may not even be aware of some of the connections your mind makes while you sleep, and they may come to light in your dreams.

Let’s say that you’ve been having nightmares about a horrible fire. When you wake up in the morning, you see on social media that a neighboring tree was struck by lightning, causing the local library to catch fire in the middle of the night.

It’s possible that you’re thinking about fire since it’s summer and you live in a dry location that is prone to wildfires. Your brain may have connected lightning to fire because you heard a weather forecast predicting storms with a high likelihood of lighting.

The Difference Between Precognitive Dreams & Intuitive Dreams

Precognitive dreams are notoriously difficult to understand. There’s a good chance you’ve had a few without even realizing it!

Premonition dreams may be real if you’ve had any experiences with them. There are more of them out there than you might think!

Intuitive dreams, on the other hand, have a more rational explanation in some circumstances.

Consider the following case: Angela has a recurring nightmare that she has been diagnosed with a debilitating medical condition. The results of a blood test two months later show that she has cancer.

The time leading up to the dream may lead you to believe this is a precognitive dream. The last few days have seen Angela experiencing extreme exhaustion, shortness of breath, and a general malaise. Just to recharge, she’s taking more naps lately. Three years prior, her mother succumbed to cancer.

In this case, there’s plenty of unconscious leading towards this dream. Angela’s own intuition, not a paranormal foresight, is the source of the dream.

Many things in your subconscious are pointing you toward this particular dream. Intuition, not paranormal foresight, is the source of Angela’s recurring dream.

Why Do Some People Always Remember Their Dreams, While Others Almost Never Do? | Discover Magazine

What Does Science Say About Precognitive Dreams?

There are billions of people on the planet, and the majority of them have up to five dreams a night, which is astounding. There’s a good likelihood that at least a handful of those billions of dreams coincide with actual occurrences.

For a long time, scientists’ views on precognitive dreams were mostly in agreement. Scientists are beginning to believe that dreams that foretell the future may be true, thanks to some intriguing new study.

How Do They Happen?

Researchers have admitted that precognitive dreams are a real phenomenon, but they have no idea how they occur.

There are a number of possibilities:

  • Statistically, there must be some dreams that appear to be precognition because of the enormous quantity of dreams that occur each night.
  • In this scenario, it’s possible that the future is influencing the past. Science has plenty of data to support the notion that we are living in a time warp.
  • In other words, you’re in charge of shaping your own destiny. Occasionally, a person’s dreams have such an impact on them that they unwittingly begin to manifest the world they saw in their dreams.

Researchers believe that there is still a lot of work to be done in this area, and that we don’t know too much about it! Keep an eye on this space, though, because there’s likely to be some interesting stuff in the near future coming out.

Why Do They Happen?

Regardless of the reason of a genuine precognitive dream, there is almost always a lesson to be learned. It’s possible that:

A Warning

There is no doubt that we are interconnected with the cosmos and all of its wonders in ways that we do not yet comprehend! A precognitive dream can serve as a foreshadowing of what’s about to occur. An entity, angels or spirits of deceased loved ones could be sending you a message to be more careful.

Showing That You’re On The Right Track

Not all precognitive dreams are horrible or frightening. In some cases, they could be quite pleasant. Imagine waking up in a butterfly field of your own making. The following week, you and a friend decide to go trekking and, lo and behold, you’re engulfed by colorful butterflies.

Not all precognitive dreams are horrible or frightening. They could be extremely enjoyable in some situations. Imagine yourself in a butterfly meadow in your dreams. The following week, you and a friend decide to go trekking and, lo and behold, you’re engulfed by colorful butterflies.

How Do I Know If I Had A Precognitive Dream?

Imaginative premonitions need not be terrible or frightening. Perhaps even enjoyable in the right context. Imagine yourself in a butterfly meadow in your dreams. On your next hike, you and a companion discover a swarm of lovely butterflies.

Precognitive dreams don’t have to be horrible or terrifying. In certain situations, they could be rather enjoyable. Imagining yourself surrounded by colorful butterflies is one way to achieve this goal. You and a friend go hiking the following week, and lo and behold, you’re surrounded by gorgeous butterflies.

Is there any way to stop them?

Precognitive dreams may become more common in times of widespread disaster, according to some theories.

Take a look at Jung’s visions of war. There were numerous indicators that a conflict was imminent. The unease Jung felt at the time was well-documented.

You’re more likely to dream about the upheaval in your life while it’s happening all around you. When you’re dealing with a slew of unpleasant situations at once, you’re even more inclined to fantasize about a comparable scenario.

I think it more reflects how deeply life experiences can alter one’s consciousness, but I could be wrong.

Constantly worrying dreams might keep you up at night and make you feel worse. It’s bad enough to be preoccupied with worries during the course of the day. Getting some shut-eye is a good way to refresh your batteries.

Despite the fact that you may never be able to completely stop dreaming, you can treat stress and lessen nightmares.

Talking to a therapist when you’re feeling lonely, depressed, or deeply impacted by current events can help you sleep better since reducing stress during the day can help you sleep better at night.

A good night’s sleep can help you feel more awake and alert during the day, and therapy can teach you how to better control and cope with challenging emotions.

The bottom line

Is it possible to have dreams that foretell the future?

Is it possible to answer this question definitively? Dreams may play a part in scientific study, but researchers are still unsure of their significance.

So, listen to what your subconscious has to say. It’s time to experiment with new sleeping habits if your old ones are keeping you from getting enough shut-eye.

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