People sometimes ask me, “how did you learn to tap into your dreams as a child?”

It wasn’t anything I actively set out to do, any more than I consciously decided to “play school” and pretend to be a teacher. It was just the form my imagination took to amuse myself.

And so it was with dreams. In the twilight of sleep, I’d image what kind of adventure I wanted to have. I imagined myself in a setting—often a Western—the new kid in town—and I crafted the dialogue and actions. At some point, I fell asleep and the dreams continued.

Dream expert and author, Robert Moss, talks about children and their dreams in his book, Dreaming True, How to Dream Your Future and Change Your Life for the Better. He says children “are wonderful dream teachers because they emerged from the dream world very recently and haven’t yet learned that dreams are anything but real…”   Very young children, age two or three, cannot distinguish between events that happen during dreams and the adventures that happen while awake. So if you know a very young person, ask him or her, “Where did you go last night when you were asleep?” Sit back and enjoy the answer. Did he play on the moon’s surface? (An example of an astral traveling dream.) Did she battle a dragon? (Symbolically represents a challenge currently facing her.) Ask how did the events turn out, and be amazed by the answer.

One of the most potent dreams I’ve heard was from a young boy who faced a giant and he took total control, shouting, “Go away, monster!” The monster disappeared on command. We are so powerful in our dreams, and young children know this. If your little person has similar nightmares, coach him or her to command the monster, “Go away!” Taking charge in dreams will eventually play out in the challenging real situation, as well

Want to learn more about your dreams? Check out our upcoming Dream Interpretation Fundamentals class and our Share & Practice sessions. Once you know how to prepare to dream, capture and interpret your dreams, you’ll be introduced to a whole new side of yourself!