CHAPTER TEN

SOMATIC DREAMS

Cultures with healing traditions that honor the connection between the mind and the body perceive that certain dreams offer insights that can help us to understand and improve our well-being. In this chapter, we’ll explore these types of oneiric visions, referred to as somatic dreams. We’ll do so by discussing the ancient dream temples, as well as the perspectives of physicians and philosophers esteemed throughout history. We’ll also look to several systems of traditional medicine in which dreams play an important role in both diagnosis and treatment. In addition, we’ll explore the range of expression that somatic dreams can take, as well as recent research that may shine light on what they can reveal, and how we can turn to our dreams for healing insights.

Sanctuaries of Dream Healing

Back in times past, dreams played an integral role in the collective approach to healing for many societies. One of the most stellar examples of this was the prominence in some ancient cultures of sacred dream temples. Think of them somewhat akin to our modern-day medical spas. Those seeking relief from illness would travel to these sanctuaries and engage in prescribed rituals, in hopes of having a dream that would include healing insights.

These sanctuaries include ones found in ancient Egypt that date as far back as four thousand years ago. Many of these dream temples were dedicated to Imhotep, once chancellor to pharaoh Djoser, who was later deified as a god of medicine and healing. As part of a healing regimen offered at these sites, those looking for respite would be lulled to sleep through hypnotic suggestions; these were given by the temple priests and priestesses, who would later interpret the supplicants’ dreams. The sleep-lulling prompts were thought to influence a person’s ability to connect to divine healing inspiration in their sleep. The Egyptian sleep sanctuaries laid part of the foundation for what currently remains one of the better-known dream sanctuary traditions: the Asklepieia, the ancient Greco-Roman dream temples.

THE ASKLEPIEIA

If you think back to the pantheon of Greek deities, you may remember Asclepius. While many recall him as the god of medicine, what is not as well known is how dreams comprised a large role in the healing system that he forged and practiced. According to Edward Tick in The Practice of Dream Healing, Asclepius’s father, Apollo, gave his son “prophecy and dream visitations as divine gifts.” Physician-priests who followed in the traditions of Asclepius created healing temples throughout the ancient Mediterranean region that were named after him: they were collectively known as Asklepieia, with singular temples called Asclepeion. About three hundred of these ancient temples of dream healing have so far been discovered. The most famous Asclepeion dates back to the fifth century BCE and is located in Epidauros, in the northeastern area of the Peloponnese region of Greece, which is said to be Asclepius’s burial site.

Those looking for healing would travel to an Asclepeion. There, they would engage in a series of purification rituals, which included dietary restrictions, ritualistic bathing, and the use of therapeutic herbs. Some of the temples featured large amphitheaters where dramatic productions would take place, meant to inspire the stirring of emotions and resultant cathartic release. This preparatory work was thought to invoke the supplicant’s conscious participation in the healing process, including cultivating their faith as well as their psychological readiness.

This was all done in advance of their entering into a special chamber, known as an abaton. Here, they would sleep, either on the floor or on stone beds covered with animal pelts. Walking barefoot and dressed in special robes, they would be escorted to the abaton by a physician-priest, who would lead them in a final prayer before they were left in silence to sleep and receive a healing dream. Temple sleep was known as enkoimisis.

Once asleep, they awaited the “arrival” of Asclepius or his proxies — snakes, dogs, and roosters — in their dreams. It was said that the dream god sometimes would ask questions and then offer curative suggestions, such as herbs, medicines, foods, or rituals. Other times, spontaneous healing was said to occur through a direct encounter; this could arise from just seeing Asclepius in a dream, or having his surrogate animals appear to touch the dreamer. There are even reports of some people recounting that they were operated upon. Often, Asclepius would invite the dreamer to create art — including composing songs or skits — as a means to further their healing, owing to the perceived ability of these activities in restoring emotional balance.

Still, it wasn’t always that the dream’s therapeutic value was immediately obvious. It’s said that sometimes Asclepius would incorporate riddles or puns into them, which needed to be deciphered. This was one of the reasons that part of the healing ritual included having the physician-priests act as interpreters, helping to discover and discern what came through in a dreamer’s nighttime visions, further amplifying the healing.

And while all this may sound extraordinary, there are numerous accounts of people arriving at Asklepieia with physical and emotional maladies, only to leave these sacred healing spots replete with health. These records include not only inscriptions carved into the temple walls but also plaques and votive offerings placed as symbols of gratitude; these votives were often in the shape of body parts, inscribed with the donor’s name, presumed to have been the area of healing in which they experienced relief. Reflecting upon these ancient temples gives us a historical and cultural context for the role that dreams played in ancient civilizations. It also shows us the inherent healing power that dreams may have.

Somatic Dreams: A Historical Perspective

When we view the dream temples through our current-day lens, they may seem rather odd. However, if we put them in the context of the times, it makes more sense. In ancient civilizations, part of the reverence accorded to dreams was their healing benefit, which was not just limited to the emotional realm; rather, dreams were also viewed as a means to further understand and bolster physical well-being. After all, for most of history, health was seen as unitive, with the body, mind, and spirit having an integrated relationship. If we see illnesses as having a psychospiritual component, we can further understand how dreams may be valuable in their ability to reveal insights about our physical health. Let’s take a look at some esteemed figures in the history of medicine to further frame the context in which dreams were understood.

HIPPOCRATES

Hippocrates, often referred to as the father of Greek medicine, was one of the first to write about dreams and physical health, including in his work On Dreams. Many of the medical treatises with which he is associated include reference to the role of sleep and dreams, and the diagnostic value they hold for understanding somatic symptoms. For example, in one of his books he noted that dreams of fountains may indicate a disorder stemming from the bladder.

ARISTOTLE

Aristotle wrote three books on the subject of sleep and dreams: On Sleep and Dreams, On Sleeping and Waking, and On Divination Through Sleep. He suggested that dreams evolved as a result of sensations we had in our waking life, as well as what our minds perceived occurring in our bodies during sleep. As such, he noted that within dreams, we may be able to find information on events taking place somatically, reflecting the notion that oneiric visions can have diagnostic functions.

GALEN

Galen of Pergamon was a well-regarded physician thought to have forged the foundation of Greco-Roman medicine. The author of On Diagnosis in Dreams, he did some of his early medical training at an asklepeian healing temple. One of the principles that he promoted was that dreams have healing and medical diagnostic abilities. He seemed to have believed that physicians had a special capacity to make prognostications related to dreams, noting that these were superior to those made by diviners and others who interpreted oneiric visions.

AVICENNA

Ibn Sina, also known as Avicenna, was a highly regarded physician of the medieval Islamic world whose work influenced medical-school curriculum for centuries to come. He noted how images in dreams may reflect different body constitutions; for example, those with hot temperaments may dream more of the Sun while those with cold temperaments may dream of being submerged in freezing water. He asserted that dreams could also help identify imbalances in humours, the four fluids that formed the centerpiece of medical thought in ancient and medieval medicine.

Types of Somatic Dreams

Even if our current medical approach doesn’t feature a consideration of dreams, that’s not to say that there aren’t people studying this field, nor numerous reports of dreamers who’ve had firsthand experience with health-related dreams. There are also many anecdotal reports of people who have had somatic dreams related to their physical health. Somatic dreams generally fall into one of four categories, including:

DIAGNOSTIC

These dreams, also called prodromal or pathognomic dreams, occur before either the onset of noticeable disease symptoms or a disease diagnosis. There are numerous accounts of people who have had dreams that contained imagery that had them wondering whether they had a health condition. While they may not have had outward symptoms reflective of a disease, and therefore remained without diagnosis from a physician, they convinced their doctor to perform the necessary tests, only to find confirmation. For some of these people, their dreams were able to save their lives; if left untreated, their illnesses may have led to health deterioration and/or death.

SYMPTOMATIC

These are dreams that a person may have after they realize that they are experiencing dis-ease or have been diagnosed with a health condition. Through these dreams, they may gain more insights into physiological shifts that have taken place in their body. These dreams may also allow for the working through of emotions that have been catalyzed owing to their condition or the impact that their symptoms have upon them.

PRESCRIPTIVE

Like in the dreams of asklepeian supplicants, many people have reported that they received oneiric insights about a pathway to take to resolve a current illness or stem the possibility of the development of one. One famous example of this comes from the account of British architect Sir Christopher Wren. Upon his taking ill, he postponed having a bloodletting treatment until the following day. The dream he had that evening included scenes of palm trees and a woman offering him some date fruits. The next morning he decided to eat some dates and subsequently found himself to be healed of his illness.

CURATIVE

There are also accounts of people being spontaneously healed in their dreams. While the imagery varies, some report that in the dream itself someone appears and says that they will help heal the sufferer and/or performs an act of healing in the dream. They then subsequently find that their symptoms have mitigated upon arising, or shortly thereafter.

Tuning in to Your Somatic Dreams

Now that you know more about these types of oneiric visions, survey your dreams to see whether you’ve ever had one (or several) that were somatically informed. For example, thinking back to the last time you weren’t feeling well, look back in your dream journal to the dreams you had around that time. See whether there are any symbols that appeared that, in retrospect, seem like they were reflecting the experience of dis-ease. If so, keep note of them in case they appear in subsequent dreams.

You can also use the dream incubation technique to try to discover curative solutions for when you’re feeling under the weather. Before going to bed, ask your dreams to reveal insights on dietary guidance and self-care practices that may help you feel better. In the morning, look to what arose in your dreams through the lens of your wellness inquiry. To learn how to practice dream incubation, see chapter 11.

Dreams in Healing Systems the World Over

Except for in psychotherapy, modern Western medicine does not generally carve out a place for dreams. That is not true, though, when it comes to traditional healing systems that offer a more holistic and body-mind-spirit paradigm, including Ayurveda and traditional Chinese medicine, as well as the integrative medical approach known as homeopathy. Dreams also play a role in the healing approaches of many traditional cultures.

AYURVEDA

Ayurvedic medicine is a classical Indian healing system. Noting that ayur means “life” and veda means “wisdom” or “knowledge,” it is seen as the science of life and longevity. Ayurveda honors the connection between mind, body, and spirit. It emphasizes the healing potential of diet, lifestyle habits, and nature-based medicine. While gaining popularity in the West in recent decades, it has longstanding roots in India, with the earliest texts on Ayurveda dating back thousands of years. Ayurveda notes that the character of our dreams is influenced by the quality and quantity of the sleep we have, itself influenced by our diet and lifestyle routines. Since ancient times, dreams were used in Ayurveda to offer insights on the diagnosis or prognosis of a disease. Dreams are referred to as svapna and thought to reflect the interweaving of four integral components: the physical body, mind, soul, and sense organs.

One way that Ayurveda addresses health is by ensuring that a person’s unique temperament is balanced. There are three constitutions, also known as doshas: these are vata, pitta, and kapha. According to Ayurveda, dreams can be used to identify a person’s dosha or see whether doshic imbalances currently exist.

▪ Vata dreams may include flying, climbing trees, and other general movements. They feature dry and arid environments, vivid images, and scenes that conjure anxiety.

▪ Pitta dreams may feature fire, lightning, the Sun, and the color gold. They may include action and adventure, as well as competition and conflict.

▪ Kapha dreams are more placid, and feature calming scenes in which nature or water may be highlighted. Birds, clouds, or milk may be included, and attachment is often a theme.

Another vantage point through which classic Ayurveda views dreams is their ability to infer the timing of an outcome of a prognostic dream. In one of the Ayurvedic texts, the Harita Samhita, it’s noted that if the dream took place in the first part of the night, the results were to occur in one year; in the second part, in six months; in the third part, in three months; and in the fourth part, in ten days. It was also thought that pregnant women could get a sense of the gender of their baby in their dreams. For example, if a dream featured flowers such as lotus or water lily, the baby was likely to be a boy. Alternatively, if a dream included flowers such as rose or hibiscus, the woman was likely to give birth to a girl.

Know Your Dosha

Interested in learning more about the intersection of Ayurveda and dreams? One of the first places to start is by learning which dosha (constitution) you are. While consulting with an Ayurvedic practitioner is the most thorough way to receive a dosha determination, you can also find quizzes online that will help you to understand which one you may be. Once you know your dosha, see whether your dreams accord with the qualities noted for each (see here). If you track your dreams over time through this angle and find that your dosha-associated themes significantly shift, it may be signaling that your body and mind are somehow out of balance. As you make adjustments in your diet and pursue practices that reduce stress, see how that may be reflected in your dreams.

TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), which has been practiced for thousands of years, has also gained prominence around the world in the last decades for its holistic and efficacious approach. It features body/mind practices such as acupuncture, herbal medicine, nutrition, tui na massage, qi gong, and other modalities. TCM addresses the energetic flow of the body, identifying different symptoms and emotions associated with each major organ.

Dreams are given high accord in this medical approach. They themselves are explained in a unique way; as Giovanni Maciola shares in his book The Practice of Chinese Medicine, dreams are due to the nighttime wanderings of the mind (known as the Ethereal Soul). During the day, the Ethereal Soul resides in the liver, while at night when it moves to the eyes, it inspires dreaming. TCM doctors usually ask about the frequency and nature of a patient’s dreams in order to further assess their health status. It’s thought that a healthy person should have sleep not disturbed by excessive dreams; although what excessive constitutes isn’t clear, some practitioners characterize it as frequent nightmares or anxious dreams, or waking up exhausted after having many active dreams.

In the TCM classic text The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Medicine, it’s noted that dreams are influenced by the balance of the complementary, yet opposing, forces of yin and yang. Another factor that’s discussed is how dreams may reveal whether there exists an energy deficiency or excess in one of five organs (liver, heart, spleen, lung, and kidney). According to TCM, what you dream about can also be helpful for diagnosing health imbalances. Within the ancient Chinese texts, you will find many dream images and what they represent healthwise. For example, they note that if your liver is deficient in energy, your dreams may include fragrant mushrooms or forests. If it’s spring and you dream of lying under a tree and are unable to get up, that may reflect liver deficiency; alternatively, dreams in which you’re angry may point to liver excess. Being immersed in water, swimming after a shipwreck occurs, or overlooking an abyss are thought to reflect weak kidneys, while if one dreams of volcanic eruptions in the summertime, it may signal that the dreamer’s heart is not strong. Different colors in dreams are thought to also reveal insights. Red is associated with the heart; white, the lungs; black, the kidneys; green, the liver; and yellow, the spleen.

HOMEOPATHY

Created in the late eighteenth century by the German physician Samuel Hahnemann, homeopathy is a holistic medical system that is currently practiced worldwide. Homeopathy maintains an integrative vision that takes mental and emotional well-being into consideration along with physical health. Homeopathic remedies are very dilute forms of natural substances, thought to restore health through operating on a subtle energy level.

To find the correct remedy, a homeopath will do an extensive consultation with a patient, inquiring into an array of subjects, including ascertaining details related to their medical history, lifestyle, personality traits, and dietary preferences. Additionally, they not only gather information about sleep patterns, but also ask about a patient’s dreams, including how well they recall them, the tone of their dreams, and any striking recurring images. They will then take all this information and use it to find a remedy that will be a match for the person, one that may restore their client to better health. Part of the way that they do this is by turning to a book known as a repertory. Within it, they can look up the personal factors — including dream reflections — that their patient recounted to see which remedy may accord with them.

One look at The Phoenix Repertory by Dr. JPS Bakshi can yield insight into just how dreams are used in homeopathy to determine a person’s correct treatment. Within this classic book is an entire thirty-plus-page section dedicated to dreams, featuring hundreds of different oneiric qualities and the remedy, or remedies, associated with them. For example, dreaming of a hot stove points to the remedy Apis, visions of picnicking refer to Nat Sulph, the appearance of elephants suggests Kali Mur, and being lost in the woods points to Sepia. Further underscoring how dreams can be used for therapeutic purposes, there is an array of different remedies depending upon key nightmare features. For example, nightmares occurring in the morning indicate different remedies than those that may have been dreamt before midnight, which differ from those that occur after midnight. A nightmare dreamed by a woman after her period yields one remedy, while one dreamed in her premenstrual cycle indicates another. And if you’re a person who frequently has nightmares during Full Moons, this will have your homeopath further research whether it’s Nat Carb that is the right remedy for you.

MAASAI MEDICINE

The Maasai, an ethnic group who live in parts of Kenya and Tanzania, ascribe a lot of meaning to dreams, honoring them for their guidance and valuing them as a vital part of life. Morning rituals often include sharing dreams with those with whom you gather. Part of the approach that spiritual healers, known as laiboni, use to treat those seeking counsel is through interpreting their dreams. There are additional ways that dreams serve as founts for valuable insights: for example, according to Dr. Tanya Pergola in Time Is Cows: Timeless Wisdom of the Maasai, elders seeking more information about the sacred sites where they could potentially host an orlpul — a healing retreat — often look to their dreams to discover it.

YORÙBÁ MEDICINE

Also known as Orisha medicine, Yorùbá is a healing system popular in West Africa and the Caribbean. To help the community, traditional healers use a variety of techniques, including herbal medicine, the telling of folktales, intentional dancing, and dreams and dream interpretation. As the ancestors are thought to visit in a person’s dream, Yorùbá healers receive healing wisdom from them in their oneiric visions. Additionally, the healer will not only ask their client about their recent dreams to try to further understand what may be ailing them, but they may also rely upon information that came through in their own dream for this aim. This can inform not only the diagnosis but also any helpful remedies and treatments that they may prescribe.

TIBETAN MEDICINE

Dreams have played an ongoing role in Tibetan medicine. Even before the arrival of Buddhism to Tibet in the seventh century, dream analysis maintained an integral role in medical knowledge as well as spiritual practice. Not only do physicians inquire about their patients’ dreams, but they may also conjure a dream about them before their visits in hopes of attaining more insight into their prevailing condition. It’s thought that dreams can be informative in all stages of a disease: before it manifests, during its process, and after it’s been cured. Dream images are seen as representing symbolic snapshots of the parts of the body that may be infirmed.

Research into Health-Related Dreams

At this point, there is a dearth of scientific research into the intersectionality of dreams and health. That said, some exploration has been undertaken and has yielded fascinating results. One of the leading contributors to this realm was the Russian psychiatrist Vasily Kasatkin. Over a forty-year period, he created a database of over ten thousand dreams compiled from more than 1,200 people. Through analyzing their dreams, he found that many contained symbols that served as precursors to the development of illness; that illness-catalyzed dreams are filled with distress and are generally longer than other dreams; and that dreams can point toward the physical location of a disease. His findings are included in his book Theory of Dreams, which has recently been translated into English. In it, he notes, “Describe me the dream of a person and I will tell you what illness he suffers from.”

Another person known for their research exploring how dreams may be related to illness is psychiatrist Robert Smith of Michigan State University. In the 1980s, he undertook two studies on the subject: “The Relationship of Dreaming and Being Ill” and “Dreams Reflect Biological Function.” One of the striking findings suggested by his studies is that the severity and deterioration of a health condition is associated with themes portrayed in dreams. For example, he found that in men, it was dreams of death that correlated with the subsequent worsening of disease symptomology, while in women, it was dreams that featured themes of separation.

Another pioneer in the field is Patricia Garfield, PhD. One of the founders of the International Association for the Study of Dreams, Garfield has done a lot of exploration into the role that dreams play in health and well-being. In her book The Healing Power of Dreams, she recounts not only the role that dreams played in her own recovery from an injury, but also those of countless others whose oneiric visions provided them with diagnostic and therapeutic insights. In her book, she includes an amalgamation of numerous dream images and the health conditions with which they have been found to be associated.

Envisioning Your Health Through Dreams

This is not to say that every dream you have that features a certain image or scene means that you have an undiagnosed illness. Still, it may be interesting to pay close attention to your dreams to see if they offer you a compass that can further help you tune in to what you are experiencing on a somatic level. If you find yourself having a dream with a recurring theme, and you intuitively feel that it may be pointing to some underlying physiological weakness, consider discussing this with a doctor or other health-care professional. If you are under the weather, or dealing with a physical condition, remember the ability of dreams to provide us with under-the-radar wisdom. Listen in to your dreams to see if you can gather insights on how to bolster your health and well-being. Perhaps use this as a focus of your dream incubation, asking your oneiric visions to bring you awareness about curative suggestions that you could then research. (For more on incubating a dream, see chapter 11.) Additionally, some people have noted that through lucid dreaming, they are able to overcome some underlying stress associated with health conditions that they may have. If this is of interest to you, consider consulting a health-care practitioner who practices lucid-dream therapy.

In the West, our vision of the healing potential of dreams is mostly limited to a psychotherapeutic perspective, rather than a somatic one. However, as more and more people turn to their dreams for insights, and we continue to move toward a health paradigm that embraces mind, body, and spirit, perhaps one day doctors will not only inquire about your sleep but will also routinely ask you, “How are your dreams?”