Criteria for Discerning Vision from Elaborate Dream?

[Ophelia]

Hi everyone,

How do you know if you had a vision or just a weird dream? How do you know if you traveled to another plane, or if your imagination just created it? Is it a feeling you have when you wake up? Is it something specific about the dream itself?

In the past, I've had vivid dreams that turned out to be visions, but I typically don't find out until the puzzle pieces fit together later. I'd like to be more sure of myself knowing what it is a vision or traveling experience vs. just an epic dream or nightmare. I'm currently trying to work on meditative traveling vs. dream traveling to increase the accuracy of my experience.

I've been thinking about this because I just woke up from a long nap that featured a crazy dream:

It started with me walking around my apartment and I had 2 kitchens. I told myself that it's weird but it must have always been there and I'm just walking over here now (I have a small apartment, so this doesn't make any sense lol). Then I noticed an ex boyfriend of mine was walking around, and I realized that I didn't invite anyone over today, so he had to leave. I tried to find him but my vision got blurry, then I "woke up" back in my bed. I got up and walked over towards my bathroom, finding the second kitchen again. This time I decided something wasn't right, and clearly this was one of those inception type dreams with multiple layers.

I felt like someone was breathing down my neck right behind me, then a man was there and I started screaming and freaking out. He was just a shadow figure, very dark and hard to make out facial features. He was totally calm, just leaning against the doorway. The man brightened up so I could see his face, and it was an old family friend that I haven't seen in a long time. He told me that he just wanted to say hi because we haven't talked in a long time, and he heard I had a new apartment (I've been here since January, but my grandparents came over today to "see my new apartment" so I think that's where that came from.).

He got all sad saying he misses me and is lonely and just wanted to catch up and see how I'm doing (that's pretty creepy as is. He's my dad friend and would never check up on me like that), and I felt like he was being manipulative so I told him that he wasn't real and went to touch him (typically in nightmares, by putting my hand through a "character" I can make them disappear, or send lightning out of my hands to make them disappear (hey, the benefits of knowing you're dreaming, right?)) but it wasn't working and I could FEEL him: breathing, body heat, all textures of his fabrics and face. He told me "I told you, I'm real. I just wanted to stop in and say hi."

I was pretty scared because I've never felt something like that in a dream. They're always visual for me, sometimes scents, but never textures like that. Nothing else in the dream had textures except for him. I decided that since I'm dreaming, allowing myself to feel fear would only strengthen the nightmare, and I've NEVER had a texture experience like that. So I decided that he must have traveled into my dream during his nap too, and I told him that he can't go jumping into people's dreams, that we're dreaming, and he has to get out. Then he grabbed me and we fought, and I tried to just wake up.

So I "woke up" yet again, and found myself on my bed, facing the correct wall. The temperature was right, the lighting was right (I think I may have been dreaming with my eyes open here). But when I tried to roll over to get up, I couldn't. I felt my body roll over, but my vision didn't change. It started to scan the rest of the room, but the other walls were just a big black spot and my vision kept glitching, resetting to the original wall I was staring at. I finally ACTUALLY woke up by forcing myself to look at the blackness on the other side of my vision and woke up for real.


So, here's what I've got:

A 3 layer dream could be an elaborate nightmare, or something keeping me in a dream state.
The shadow figure changing forms into people that I feel safe around and saying things like "what, I'm real." yet feeling unsafe somehow because I didn't invite them in could be an elaborate nightmare, or something trying to get in.
The textures that I felt when I touched the figure disguised as my dad's friend could be a result of some mind expanding chemicals I ingested yesterday, or could be a malicious spirit invading my dreams.

What do you guys think? Is there certain criteria you use to know if something is freaky dream or spirits or visions?

[SpiritTalker]

Only thing I can suggest is look around the different dream levels for signs or symbols from past experience, that identify with that level and no other places. Those signs get to be fairly common to their own levels so you can subconsciously know where you're at. I dont have a one size fits all method. My own observations over my lifetime have noted private clues that reoccur over and over.

My pre cogs happen when I'm awake, just minding my own business, Wham! It's like "we interrupt this program for an important message" that overlays whatever I'm doing. Waking or sleeping, OOBEs dont allow me to get physical sensations (like when I go thru a wall, or dive into water, I don't feel anything) and I can be observing myself as a 3rd person. When im OOB, I usually ride inside something like a transparent tube & protected, or with my guide.

If I dream of my spirit guide, no matter what disguise he takes for his role in the dream, he let's me recognize him. He has fun with his disguises too . Interference by malicious spirits...? Ask yourself what you might be doing to leave yourself open/vulnerable to it & plug the hole. (There's no reason to put up with it. Some people sleep with their athame.) Most visiting spirits in my experiences, living or "other" are accompanied by their own guide or mine nearby. If no guide is there, I'll know something is off & I skeedaddle.

Don't know if that helps.

[Ophelia]

I don't feel like I have a hole that I need to plug, but rather that I accept a certain level of risk when it comes to dealing with spirits. They're not all benevolent! I had a bad experience a couple years ago and I'm extra cautious after that. I'm considering making some sort of dream catcher or maybe an amulet to wear to bed.

[SpiritTalker]

Those are both good ideas.

By the way, I'm reading a 2017 released book that you might be interested in. "Spirit Conjuring for Witches - Magical Evocation Simplified" by Frater Barrabbas. The author says he is a ritual magician and he breaks down the concept of evocation step by step. He advises working with one's chosen god-form and/or familiar spirit to oversee safety in the spirit realms. I'm only at chapter 3 but it's given me perspective I hadnt had. Food for thought.

[planewalker]

An AmerInd spirit guide can also be called on as "safety officer".