A Transpersonal Exploration of the Use and Meaning of Dreams in Christian Scripture

This paper examines the use and implications of dreams in the Bible, both Old Testament and New, from a transpersonal perspective. An initial examination of the biblical references to dreams, dreamers, and dreaming, generates four broad themes: 1) reference to a message received, or a report of the actual content of the dream; 2) reference to a person (i.e. the authority derived from receiving a dream or the ability to interpret); 3) the word 'dream' as a metaphor for something that is fleeting and unreliable; and 4) dreams as a tool of false prophets. It should be noted that a clear distinction between the first two themes is sometimes difficult to make: the actual text may be a reference to a dream, but the context carries implications about the person. In these instances an interpretive decision has been made, tending to include these references under the second theme. This paper concludes with a brief response to the biblical texts from a transpersonal perspective.
Introduction In the Broadway musical 'Fiddler on the Roof (and the movie of the same name) the main character is a Jewish milkman, in a small Russian village, in the [...]