“Waking Dreams at a Glance”

Reading Time: 4 minutes

By Michael Avery

Being somewhat of an antique car fan, I enjoy pointing out vintage cars to anyone who will listen whenever I see one. ’66 Mustangs and green ’68 Dodge Chargers like the ones I once owned are my favorites. When I realized that I could use “seeing a particular car” as a means of communicating with Spirit, I added vintage cars to my list of waking dream symbols.

One of my earlier symbols involved a Ferarri. I decided that “seeing a red Ferarri” would mean that better times were ahead for me. It didn’t mean that I would win the lottery—not much chance of that since I didn’t gamble—it would just mean that I would be entering a new cycle with the potential for greater happiness and opportunities to expand my capacity to love.

Mistaken Identity

One day, while driving along a country road, I glanced in my rear view mirror and saw a red Ferarri approaching rapidly. Instantly, I remembered my Ferarri symbol, and smiled as I recalled its meaning. I was about to enter a new and better cycle. Whew! It was about time.

But as the vehicle raced past me, my heart sank. This was not an exotic sports car as I had first thought. It was only a common Mazda. (No offense to any Mazda drivers out there.)

During a contemplation that night, I had a revelation. My first impression, my belief that I was witnessing a red Ferarri telling me that good times were coming, was a legitimate waking dream. That the car turned out to be a Mazda, was inconsequential. Once I filed this piece of information away in my mind, Spirit was then able to communicate with me through, what I called, “Waking Dreams at a Glance.” 

Was that An Eagle?

Eagles symbolize different things to many different people. For me, when I see an eagle or an eagle image, I interpret this to mean that Spirit is always with me. Spirit will also send an eagles to confirm important decisions. In one such case, I was considering changing careers and studying water treatment methods and watershed management. I asked Spirit to deliver an eagle to confirm that a return to college would be the right course to take.

Shortly thereafter, I drove up the North Umpqua River Highway and stopped at a favorite sanctuary of mine, the Colliding Rivers viewpoint. As I sat on a wooden bench overlooking the water, I caught a glimpse of a large bird as it flew overhead and landed in a tall Fir tree. Was this sighting a message from Spirit confirming that I was on the right track pursuing a stable career in water treatment?

I had only caught a glimpse the bird when I’d glanced across the river at an Oak covered hill. The bird appeared the be larger than a crow and didn’t fly like a hawk or a heron. It had to be an eagle. What else could it be?

Relatively certain that Spirit had brought me “my eagle,” I turned my attention to preparations for a radical change in my life. But, alas, after half an hour, the bird took off with a loud call, giving away its true identity, and flew upriver in search of a fishing hole. It was clearly an osprey.

Dejectedly, I walked toward my car. But then I happened to remember my earlier experience with the Mazda. While the circumstances were different, this experience fit the category of Waking Dreams at a Glance, too. I drove away confident that Spirit had given me the green light to return to school for another two years.

Messages Through Songs

Have you ever been listening to the radio and discovered that a song you were ready to sing along with was not the one you first thought? If so, you probably shrugged it off, changed the station, or struck up a conversation with a passenger riding with you.

The next time this happens, before passing the incident off as a case of mistaken identity, please flash back to the definition of Waking Dreams at a Glance. Ask yourself, “What message would Spirt be sending me if the song had actually been the one I was expecting to hear?” 

Looking back, you may recall times in your life when Spirit was sending you a message via “Waking Dreams at a Glance.” In the future, if you should hear yourself saying something kin to, “Oh, I thought it was an eagle,” pause for a moment and ask yourself, “Is Spirt sending me an important message through this seemingly inaccurate observation?” Chances are, It is!”

For more information on waking dreams, please see “3 Common Types of Waking Dreams” and “3 ‘Exotic’ Types of Waking Dreams.”