Do you pay attention to your dreams? The Native American beliefs about dreams are one of the many reasons their mysticism is talked about all over the world.
Dreamwork is an essential part of Native American tribal culture. According to Native American mysticism, dreams are an extension of reality, an opportunity to travel to other realms, and communicate with ancestors and spirit guides.
They teach their children from a very young age to remember their dreams so that they can use them for spiritual guidance and healing.
Native American tribes have shamans or medicine men who are believed to heal the soul through dreamwork, meaning inducing altered dream states by using shamanic drums, breathwork, and Ayahuasca, a plant-based psychedelic.
Related: 31 Long-Forgotten Native American Herbal Remedies For Illnesses
The 7 Native American Beliefs About Dreams
Here are the seven Native American beliefs about dreams:
1) We Have Three Souls
According to Native American beliefs, human beings have three souls, each with a distinct purpose.
- The first soul is called the Ego soul which is embodied in the breath of an individual
- The second one is called the body soul and its main purpose is to give energy and provide life force to the body during the waking state.
- The third soul is the free soul that is free to leave the body and travel to other realms during the coma state, trance state, and dream state.
2) The Dream World Is As Real As The Physical World
According to Native American beliefs, in dreams, we experience the shamanic world. The Native American tribes believe that in this world, there is nothing inanimate and everything is connected to everything else.
We can travel to different realms and even talk to animals, spirit guides, and our ancestors when we astral travel in our dreams.
They believe that it is not our bodies or minds that dream but our soul that dreams and undergoes the entire experience.
“Your soul dreams those dreams; not your body, not your mind. Those dreams come true. The soul travels all over the world when you dream.”– Chippewa Elder John Thunderbird
Related: 20 Native American Life Rules To Live By
3) Our Souls Can Communicate and Astral Travel
Astral Travel is a technique by which the soul can leave the body for a temporary period of time and travel to the astral plane for learning and soul growth.
The soul can communicate with other souls, animals, or other entities to receive soul guidance.
Astral travel can be done both during the conscious waking state and the unconscious dream state.
Many people have done astral travel during their sleep without even realizing it. It is undertaken by the soul itself to progress rapidly on its spiritual evolution journey.
4) Life Is One Big Dream
As per Native American beliefs, life is an illusion or an elaborate dream. This belief is quite similar to the concept of Maya (illusion), found in Hinduism and Buddhism. This tenet emphasizes that everything is impermanent and we are all just living a dream.
Related: 10 Pieces Of Wisdom & Quotes From Native American Elders
5) What Happens in the Dream World Has Significance
According to Native American beliefs, whatever happens in our dreams has some deep significance or relevance to our physical reality.
For instance, in Native American dream interpretation, if we see ourselves meeting an old friend in a dream, it might be that they are thinking about us, or that we’re soon going to meet them in the 3D.
6) We Can Contact our Spirit Guides through our Dreams
Many people on their spiritual journey do a lot of soul work during their sleep. As per Native American beliefs, it is during sleep that their soul travels to meet spirit guides and seeks soul lessons and guidance.
- Most of the insights and learning come in the form of lucid dreaming.
- Therefore in the Native American dream mythology, dreamwork is a highly covered topic.
- People are encouraged to remember their dreams and seek help from Shamans to interpret the meaning of their dreams to progress on their spiritual journey.
7) Dreams Could be an Important Clue to healing Soul Loss
According to Native American beliefs, our soul can leave the body during times of stress or trauma, and this process is referred to as soul loss.
Related: 21 Signs You’re Experiencing “Soul Loss”
According to the Native American legends of the Shoshone tribe, soul loss is a common cause of illness. Therefore, “Soul retrieval” is a powerful Shamanic healing technique in their culture.
Shamans also engage in dream work with people to understand where the lost soul can be found; alternatively, Shaman or a medicine person would go into a trance state and search for the lost soul.
The lost soul would be then restored to the body and the person would heal and get their lost vitality and exuberance back.
Related: Soul Retrieval: 3 Powerful Ways to Heal Your Lost Soul
If you want to know more on this topic, please watch the video below:
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