Elder, can one foresee something that will happen to him – from his dreams?
“No, don’t pay any attention to dreams. Whether they are pleasant or unpleasant, you are not to pay any attention to them, because there is the danger of being deluded. Ninety-five percent of dreams are deceptive. This is why the Holy Fathers say that we should not pay any attention to them. Very few dreams are from God, but in order for someone to interpret even these, he must have purity and other prerequisites, much like Righteous Joseph and the Prophet Daniel in the Bible, who both had the gift from God. Daniel said to Nabuchadnezzar, I will tell you what dream you had and what it means. But consider the Spiritual maturity he had attained!”
Saint Paisios the Athonite
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Elder, I am being plagued by some really ugly dreams.
“When you have a bad dream, never examine what you saw, how you saw it, or whether you’re guilty or how much you may be at fault. The evil one, having failed to tempt you during the daytime, comes to you at night. Sometimes, God will allow it to approach us in our sleep. in order for us to realize that the “old man” inside us has not yet died. At other times, the enemy approaches a person in his sleep and presents various dreams to him in order to get him worried when he wakes up. This is why you shouldn’t pay any attention to them. Cross yourself and the pillow, place a Cross and an Icon on your pillow, and say the Jesus Prayer until you fall asleep. The more importance you attach to such dreams, the more the enemy will come to disturb you. This is something that happens to children, too, even though they are little angels. The enemy comes and scares them in their sleep, and they wake up frightened, running into their mother’s arms. Other times, they are approached by Angels who make them smile in their sleep out of joy, or they may wake up from their great joy. As such, dreams brought about by temptation are an external influence of the enemy upon man while he’s asleep.”
Saint Paisios the Athonite
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“Your dreams are delusions, leading to deception those who do not guard themselves against them. Do not believe in any dreams, and may God’s Mercy protect you.”
Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov
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“Therefore he who believes in dreams is like a person running after his own shadow and trying to catch it.”
Saint John Climacus
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“In fact, the devil can even take on the form of a person or a Saint and present himself in a person’s dream. Once, the devil appeared to a patient in his sleep, in the form of Saint Arsenios, saying to him: “I am Saint Arsenios. I came to tell you that you will die. Do you hear? You will die.” The man was scared out of his wits. A Saint never speaks to a sick person in such a manner! Even if the sick person is to die and a Saint appears in order to inform him of his death, he will inform him in a gentler manner: “God has seen your suffering, and that is why He will take you away from this world. You should prepare yourself.” A Saint would never say “Do you hear? You will die!”
Saint Paisios the Athonite
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