beliefnet_ellen

: Welcome to tonight's chat with Robert Moss. Beliefnet is proud to bring you an hour with this well-known author, speaker, and dreamworker.

beliefnet_ellen

: Hello everybody and welcome to tonight's chat with Robert Moss. And welcome Robert. Your most recent book is "Dreaming True" ... how did you come to write this book?

bnet_spirituality

: Folks, Mr. Moss answers will be under this name for the time being.

bnet_spirituality

: I've been dreaming things before they happened in waking life for as long as I can remember.

bnet_spirituality

: I've come to the conclusion that our dreams give us glimpses of our future very frequently.

bnet_spirituality

: In our dreams we are all psychic. We need to wake up to the fact that our dreams contain information about the possible future and that when we use that info we may be able to reshape the future for the better.

LSheahen

asks: Dr. Moss, on Beliefnet.com you say that Harriet Tubman saw the path to freedom in her dreams. Did other famous people receive guidance in dreams?

bnet_spirituality

: Yes. The role of dreams in human evolution is part of the unwritten history of our species.

bnet_spirituality

: Harriet Tubman's story of scouting the paths she used to lead escaping paths to freedom in her dream is a wonderful example of how we can dream a better life for whole communities.

bnet_spirituality

: Geronimo, the famous Apache leader, used his psychic dreams to elude the U.S. Army for many years

bnet_spirituality

: There are plenty more examples from history, but what fascinates me, is the stories of present-day Americans who are dreaming their dreams the same way.

bnet_spirituality

: All of us can learn to dream true the way Harriet Tubman dreamed true.

bpbearly

asks: Can dreams lead you to self-healing?

bnet_spirituality

: Absolutely! Dreams offer us fresh and vital images that our body can use to stay well.

bnet_spirituality

: Or to recover from illness.

bnet_spirituality

: Every night we have access through dreams to a personal doctor who can give us an impeccable readout on our emotional, physical, and spiritual health.

bnet_spirituality

: Our dream doctor makes housecalls, warns of possible symptons years before they develop and does not charge a penny.

bnet_spirituality

: If we're not using our dream doctor's services we are crazy!

bnet_spirituality

: Dreams also show us the spiritual source of health and disease and offer keys to reclaiming soul energy and our soul's purpose.

mvolbrecht

asks: Why can't I remember my dreams?

bnet_spirituality

: Maybe you simply need to make a date with your dreams. Write down a juicy intention tonight, e.g., I'd like to meet my soulmate, I'd like to vacation in Hawaii, I want to be healed and be ready to write something down when you wake.

bnet_spirituality

: Even if you don't rememeber a dream, write down your first thoughts and feelings upon waking.

bnet_spirituality

: When we do this, we are saying to the source of our dreams, "I am here, I am ready to listen. Talk to me."

ilove2x

asks: Mr. Moss, what about using dreams to sort out events from our past in order to fully understand their impact on us?

robert_moss_live

: this is a very important function of dreaming.

robert_moss_live

: Dreams invite us to deal with unfinished business and reclaim energy that we may have left stuck in an old relationship or situation

bnet_spirituality

: Robert Moss is now chatting under the name of robert_moss_live. Thanks for your patience.

bnet_spirituality

asks: What does it mean if you have recurring dreams?

robert_moss_live

: Well, a recurring dream is like a friend who persists in trying to give you helpful infomration

robert_moss_live

: even when you don't want to listen

robert_moss_live

: the dream comes again and again

robert_moss_live

: because it is inviting us to get the message

robert_moss_live

: and above all, take appropriate action

aurora_green77

asks: do you think there is a collective human psyche, and if so, do you think it has become lost to some people?

robert_moss_live

: The answer is yes to both questions

robert_moss_live

: Dreams put us directly in touch with the collective mind.

robert_moss_live

: Dreams take us back throughout the whole history of our

robert_moss_live

: Human evolution goes back to the ancestral

robert_moss_live

: In dreams, we tap into the realms of the gods and of mythologies and spirits.

robert_moss_live

: I remember a woman in one of my workshops once asked if anyone was famiiiar with the name Orpheus

robert_moss_live

: She had never heard of Orpheus yet in her dreams she had met a radiant musician who had led her on a journey to the underworld and back

robert_moss_live

: The gods and goddesses return in our dreams if we can only remember them.

tennisms31

asks: Is it true that you dream about what ever you think about when you fall asleep?

robert_moss_live

: This might influence the early dreams you have in the night

robert_moss_live

: and of course you can program yourself to dream on specific subjects

robert_moss_live

: or to travel in certain places during the night

robert_moss_live

: but because dreams come from a deeper source

robert_moss_live

: than the little everyday mind

robert_moss_live

: dreaming is always likely to take us to more interesting places

tr5302000

asks: What does it mean when we dream of dead people?

robert_moss_live

: I have been talking to "dead people" in my dreams all of my life

robert_moss_live

: I believe that indigenous people are correct when they maintain that it is natural

robert_moss_live

: for us to have communication with the departed in our dreams.

robert_moss_live

: Dreaming takes us right into the environment where people live after dying.

robert_moss_live

: Therefore, there is nothing weird in the idea that we can talk to the departed in dreams

beliefnet_ellen

: If you have any questions about your nightly adventures, ask him now.

robert_moss_live

: I have personally received vitally important information from the departed in dream encounters: information that has provided life-helping guidance to my own family and others.

robert_moss_live

: In my own book "Dreamgates" I offer many examples as well as techniques for embarking on conscious dream travelinto this territory

whims

asks: I wanna dream specific things.. is that possible?

robert_moss_live

: Yes. You will want to write down your intentions and I would suggest that you put the piece of paper under your pillow and literally dream on it!

robert_moss_live

: Be ready to write something down whenever you wake up so you can hold on to the dream.

robert_moss_live

: Some people find it helpful to put a physical object under their pillow to provide a focus, a travel brochure maybe?

planetsave_com

asks: Is it unhealthy not to dream?

robert_moss_live

: Let's say this,

robert_moss_live

: if you don't remember your dreams

robert_moss_live

: you may be missing out on a world of self-healing possibilities

robert_moss_live

: The Navajo Indians say that dreams keep humans in contact with the spiritual world.

robert_moss_live

: I would say that dreams give us direct access to our deepest sources of self-healing, intuition, creativity--and to the gods we can talk to.

robert_moss_live

: To miss out on that connection is maybe to miss out on our life's fundamental meaning

bnet_spirituality

: On to some specific dreams ...

tr5302000

asks: What about if it is a dream about the past? I keep dreaming I go back to high school and can't find my locker.

robert_moss_live

: This is a dream that resonates with anyone who remembers dreams.

robert_moss_live

: If it were my dream, I would ask myself whether I am facing a learning challenge in my life right now and whether I need to find resources to deal with this.

ErinVelvet

asks: I honestly dreamt about Freddy Krueger trying to kill me and my brother by setting our house on fire. Should I take this seriously as a hint that something bad is going to happen to my house, me, or someone I know? I've never ever dreamt about a character that kills or dies in a movie before!

robert_moss_live

: Well, it was Halloween recently, but I guess I would ask myself if this were my dream if I know anyone in waking life who has a tendency towards violence or might actually identify with the character Freddy.

girl_cvr_n_nega

asks: I often have dreams of someone breaking in my home, is there a hidden meaning?

robert_moss_live

: Once again, before I look for hidden symbolic meaning, I am going to check whether my physical house is secure. Any dreams rehearse us for challenges in waking life so it would be foolish to neglect the possibility that there could be a warning of a literal break-in

robert_moss_live

: If it were my dream I would then ask whether the intrusion could be of a different kind, for example, the intrusion of an illness.

LSheahen

asks: My friend has a lot of dreams about being chased by wild animals. Does this mean she should make changes in her life?

robert_moss_live

: If these were my dreams, I would try to go back inside the dreams and face the wild animals inside the dreamscape period. Our power comes hunting us in dreams.

robert_moss_live

: Shamans might say that the animals in these dreams could be powerful allies once the dreamer braves up to them and is willing to receive their guidance

robert_moss_live

: I am struck by how often Western dreamers are running away from dream animals that are actually offering them medicine and power.

bnet_spirituality

: A good follow-up to that ...

ann765432

asks: I had a dream about dolphins..what does that mean?

robert_moss_live

: I bet you enjoyed them!!

robert_moss_live

: I would want to go back inside these dreams and swim with the dolphins some more.

robert_moss_live

: It is fascinating how much fun, healing, and insight we can gain by learning to go back inside a dream and enter the fuller dream experience.

indianaflower

asks: Do you believe that close family member who are dead may come to let us know that there may be danger for us?

robert_moss_live

: I have had this experience in my own dreams.

robert_moss_live

: In my new book "Dreaming True" I report personal examples of departed family members warning not only of dangers (and opportunities) for the family but also for the broader community.

robert_moss_live

: In one case, I describe how a departed family member--a fellow Australian--warned me about the massacres in East Timor three months before they took place!

robert_moss_live

: Because they understand that they are not confined to the body, the departed are often more successful than we are in bringing information from all over the place.

romantico99

asks: what about went you have a sexual dream?

robert_moss_live

: Well, you might be having sex in your dreams!

robert_moss_live

: In our dream bodies, which in Eastern philosophy is called desire bodies'we know pleasure and pain

robert_moss_live

: sometimes more visibly than in the physical body.

robert_moss_live

: Sex in dreams can also be a metaphor for intimacy of a different kind.

robert_moss_live

: Just as we might use the phrase "getting into bed with somebody" to mean something other than having sex with them

hoarsefeathers

asks: How do you know when a dream is a "true" or meaningful one, or when it is just consolidating "day residue," or do you assume all dreams are meaningful?

robert_moss_live

: I assume all dreams are meaningful even the quote "spicy pizza" that is commenting on what is put into our bodies the night before

robert_moss_live

: In my new book I offer specific guidelines for recognizing "true" dreams--dreams that preview future events and other kinds of important dreams.

robert_moss_live

: In Shamanic dream tradition

robert_moss_live

: they say that if you are having a big dream, one of two things is probably going on:

robert_moss_live

: Either you are traveling outside the body

robert_moss_live

: {and outside space time}

robert_moss_live

: Or you are receiving a visitation from another dreamer, an ancestor, or maybe a spiritual guide.

robert_moss_live

: Your feelings will help you to recognize the importance and character of your dreams.

robert_moss_live

: Always trust your feelings in relation to dreams.

bridget3332000

asks: is it true that you can have a bond with someone through your dreams?

robert_moss_live

: The Kahuna healers of Hawaii say that there is a psychic cord that connects us to anyone who has touched our life

robert_moss_live

: In dreams, I often observe a connection that may be as large as a psychic bridge between dreamers who have an important bond

robert_moss_live

: We not only visit each other in dreams and share each other's feelings we sometimes seem to dream dreams for other people.

robert_moss_live

: One of the most gifted dreamers I know

robert_moss_live

: sends me e-mails fairly regularly.

robert_moss_live

: They begin with the words "I had another of your dreams last night."

robert_moss_live

: That's okay with me; we have a strong loving and healthy psychic connection.

robert_moss_live

: It may be less than okay if you are picking up stuff in this way from someone you would prefer not to know about!

robert_moss_live

: Sometimes our dreams show us the need to cut a psychic cord that has become unhealthy.

robert_moss_live

: In my book and workshop I talk a lot about this kind of psychic clean-up.

cooper_30047

asks: My dreams always come true. what do you think of that?

robert_moss_live

: Well, if some of the events that come true are undesirable I might ask myself if I could develop the ability to recognize precognitive messages before the dreams are played out in order to change the possible future for the better.

robert_moss_live

: I believe that we dream the future all the time!

robert_moss_live

: One of my Iroquois Indian friends says nothing happens before it is dreamed!

robert_moss_live

: So the fact that we dream the future is not exotic to me.

robert_moss_live

: What is exciting to me is the possibility that when we wake up to the fact that we do dream th future we can use the information to change the future for the better.

robert_moss_live

: The future we see in dreams are possible futures. We can alter the probability that any specific scenario will be played out by reading our dream messages and taking appropriate action.

robert_moss_live

: This is the central theme of my book "Dreaming True"

bobchajo

asks: What does the feeling of falling mean

robert_moss_live

: If you are falling, maybe you can learn to fly!

robert_moss_live

: The dream could be about having gotten too high up and having to come down a peg or two.

robert_moss_live

: It could also reflect the experience of falling back into the body out of after an out-of-body dream experience which is extremely common.

bnet_spirituality

: For more information on Robert Moss' books and workshops, please visit www.mossdreams.com

miahamm9rules_2000

asks: When you awake from a dream is it possible to re-enter that same dream, and how?

robert_moss_live

: It is very often possible to go back into a dream soon after waking

robert_moss_live

: You need to focus on the images and sensations of the dream you recall

Wed Nov 8 16:59:33 2000

robert_moss_live

: follow the flow of your breathing and make it your intention to flow gently back into the dreamscape.

robert_moss_live

: You can think of it as something like having stepped out of the house and now deciding to go back in.

robert_moss_live

: In my workshop, we use monotonous Shamanic drumming to facilitate dream re-entry.

robert_moss_live

: I find that in less than 15 minutes the typical left-brain oriented Westerner can manage to embark on a dream journey by this method

robert_moss_live

: and that partners can enter the same dreamscape for the wonderful experience of shared conscious dreaming.

robert_moss_live

: By the way, learning to go back inside a dream is the royal road to conscious dreaming!

robert_moss_live

: This is the easiest way to embark on conscious dream travel, a technique prized by shamans and mystics throughout human history.

bnet_spirituality

: Another question from miahamm9rules_2000, but one that's appropriate to be the last question for tonight's Beliefnet, the place for religion and spirituality on the Net -- chat ...

miahamm9rules_2000

asks: What does it mean when you dream about a god or a religious figure that you deeply believe in? (ex. jesus)

robert_moss_live

: I believe that dreams connect us to the gods. In dreams our sacred teachers appear in the forms we are ready to receive

robert_moss_live

: Sometimes they put on conventional appearances, sometimes they appear in humorous or shocking form

robert_moss_live

: Whatever works best to help us reawaken to our spiritual purpose in this lifetime

bnet_spirituality

: Robert Moss, thank you so much for being with us tonight. Thanks to all of you for the great questions. For more information on Robert's books and workshops, please visit his site www.mossdreams.com. For more on dream work in general, please visit www.beliefnet.com.