How do I know if it's just a dream or a premonition?

Tanya Faramarzian

Growing up, I was obsessed with finding out what my dreams meant. I found my first A-Z of dreams in a second-hand book shop (I felt drawn to it), I had been walking through an alley and had this feeling to go right, it was like a push from behind, and I actually found it in a big sales bin in the middle of the shop. If memory serves me, I was 14 and after I started reading it, I never looked back. I also knew a bit about it based on superstition and folklore from my mother (stories she had been told from the old country). I knew that when you dreamt of teeth falling out, you would lose something, my grandmother would know if someone was going to get sick if she dreamt of them overeating. I know that there was a few more, but honestly, I can't remember; it was a long time ago.

Interpreting dreams is not as easy as it may seem. It's not like having a premonition, as the mind will throw in events that are stressing you out or you have been neglecting on a subconscious level. Events of the day can pop up, the last TV show you watched, and even what someone randomly said during the day, the mind is a mysterious thing.

If you have been longing to map out your dreams but lack the gift of dream premonition, don't worry, there are easy ways to track your dreams (try some of these):

- Learn about common symbols (This can be found in books like the ones I read growing up. You have so many to choose from, choose the one that you feel drawn to). 

- Keep a dream diary (This is the easiest one; if a certain topic keeps coming up, it just might be the sign you are looking for).

- See if you can remember who was in the dream (When trying to remember real people see if you can focus in the dream on their features).

- You can work with your therapist or a dream consultant.

I want to bring up another reason that you might want to know what your dream may mean when you see a family member or friend who has passed on. As a rule of thumb, superstition suggests that it is okay to talk to loved ones who have passed on, but it is not okay to touch them (very bad luck, bad juju, even sickness). I was told that it might even invite them to stay on.

I remember when I was a teenager and have never forgotten it (it was my first encounter/premonition about death), my old best friend was supposed to visit me, she had moved away 2 years prior,r and I had a horrible feeling that I wasn't going to see her. I tried to call her at home, but no one answered. That night I had a dream, I was on a bus and she came to sit next to me, she told me that she was sorry she wouldn't be making it to my house this weekend, I don't remember the rest, but my mother woke me up soon after.

I found out 2 days later that she had died in her sleep after taking migraine medication. I wrote a poem and asked her cousin to read it for me, and I didn't go to the funeral (I have never been good at cemeteries). It's weird, when you start writing, what you start to remember and what we store away in our memories.. hmmmm...

I will leave it at that today, just remember what you might think is a premonition could just be your left over anxiety from work or a memory from the past. The key is to look for symbols.