When I am asked what scares me most about going to sleep at night, my answer is going to sleep and not dreaming at all. I am afraid of not dreaming. Why? When I dream, I still feel that I am alive, and my life doesn’t just blank out for the entire period that I am asleep.
Personal Dream Experiences: A Small Survey
I am someone who loves to ask questions, so I asked five close friends if they dream when they go to sleep. Two of them said they never dream, while the other three said they dream occasionally. From this small sample, I found out that there are people who don’t dream at all. To me, that is unusual because I just don’t like the feeling of going unconscious for a period of time, even though during that time, you absolutely don’t know anything.
I then asked the two who don’t dream how they feel about it. Their reply was that they feel normal, and when they wake up, they feel completely rested. I found this quite unusual. When I asked the other three how they feel about dreaming, they said they would prefer not to dream because dreams can sometimes be scary. You can sometimes see people who have passed on in your dreams and experience many other scary incidents. They concluded by saying that when they don’t dream, they feel fully rested in the morning as well.
In contrast, I share the opposite view. I am afraid of being unconscious even if it will feel short. I do dream a lot; during an eight-hour night of sleep, I often have at least five different dreams. Sometimes they are short, while at other times they are lengthy. What I agree on with the others is that when I have these lengthy dreams, I can sometimes feel like I didn’t get proper rest in the morning.
Survey Findings: How Dreams Affect Sleep Quality
From this small survey among the six of us, we found that dreaming can make you feel unrested in the morning. When you dream, you get to experience similar things that happen in real life, including seeing spiritual beings from the spiritual realm.
Garifuna Culture: The Deep Meaning of Dreams
In Garifuna culture, dreams are taken very seriously. Every dream is taken seriously, and people try to find meaning in it. For example, if they dream of a white bird flying past them, they will share the dream in the morning to figure out its meaning. This shows that we don’t let any dream pass by without interpreting it because if we do, we might let a sign of something important slip by. Nobody wants that to happen. Everybody wants to at least be aware of something to see if it can be avoided if the sign is a bad one.
The Significance of Dreams in Garifuna Tradition
It wasn’t yesterday that people started becoming interested in dreams. Within my culture, dreams have been used from generation to generation as a sign. We believe every dream brings some meaning to it. Sometimes it is easy to interpret, while other times, it will have you trying to figure it out for the entire day.
But from generation to generation, people didn’t just interpret dreams for the sake of it. They started doing this because they noticed that these dreams do come true. I will use a dream I had as an example to show what I am talking about. I dreamt one night that I was at a gathering, as if it were a repass, but I couldn’t see if it was a repass or not. When I woke up, the dream had me figuring out what it was about until someone died later on and I attended the funeral and repass.
So you see, for generations, Garinagu have been seeing dreams coming to reality, which is one of the reasons they believe in them.
Dreams and Ancestral Messages in Garifuna Culture
Dreams are also used as a way for our ancestors to relay messages to us. I can agree to this as well because I have had dreams where a deceased family relative visited me and relayed messages to me. This has also been reported by other relatives and friends within the culture.
Not only do people experience visits from ancestors, but they also experience visits from angels and God. I have been around when people would recall their dreams of seeing spiritual beings described as angels or as God. I have personally had similar experiences in my dreams.
Using Dreams for Boledo: A Cultural Practice
In Belize, there's a popular game known as boledo, where balls are mixed and one with a number between 00 and 99 is selected as the winning number for the evening. Not only the Garinagu but people from various other cultures use dreams to try to interpret and get the winning boledo number. And I know what you would want to ask next: does it work? Yes, I would say it is a method that does work if you are able to interpret your dreams effectively.
I recall finishing work and going to sleep. In my dream, I saw the number 02 on a cross. Immediately when I woke up, I went to bet on 02 for the boledo that would play later that night, and you know what? That number did play. I am sure that others have won the boledo based on dreams. But again, while my dream was straightforward, others might dream of a toad and then ask what number the toad plays in boledo.
So dreams are heavily used to try and win the boledo in Belize. Again, remember that boledo is a game of chance, and not all the time will your dream let you win. It depends on how you interpret it. But I must note that boledo is not a game created for dreams; people just use dreams to assist them with winning the game.
My Beliefs About the Spiritual Power of Dreams
I believe dreams are a gift from God to humans to communicate or interact with the spiritual realm. It is also a way for humans to receive warnings and guidance. But some people are just more gifted than others, which is why some may experience more dreams while others may receive less. Nevertheless, I agree with my ancestors that dreams should be seen and taught as an important thing.
Being able to recall and interpret dreams is something we must unlock from within ourselves and practice. Keep in mind that we are looking at it from a spiritual perspective using my culture as an example. I am sure that other cultures may have their own perspectives on dreams, whether similar to mine or different. Regardless of what perspectives people may have across the globe, each may have their perspective based on their experience and belief. So always remember to respect people's beliefs and experiences.
Dreams are more than just random images during sleep; they are a powerful connection to our spiritual and cultural heritage. Whether they bring messages from ancestors, serve as warnings, or offer insights, dreams hold a significant place in the Garifuna culture and beyond. Embrace your dreams, explore their meanings, and appreciate the unique insights they can bring into your life.
