Dreams as Non-Verbal Communication in Contemporary Psychology of Religion: A Religious-Psychological Approach

Dreams function as a primordial, non-verbal mode of communication, predating articulated speech by hundreds of millions of years and observable across species. Operating as a psychosomatic interface linking conscious and unconscious processes, dreams connect the human realm with what is perceived as metaphysical. Within the Christian tradition, from biblical accounts to patristic writings, dreams have been interpreted as vehicles of divine disclosure—prophetic encounters or experiences of God. Today many Christians affirm that God communicates through dreams, imparting guidance and spiritually charged experiences. Symbols of transition such as the ladder, flying, and upward movement express ontological transformation, the resolution of crises, rebirth, and transcendence of spatial and temporal limits.

Study at a glance

Abstract

The article examines dreams as a primordial, non-verbal mode of communication within the framework of contemporary Psychology of Religion. Dreaming—especially in the REM phase—predates articulated speech by hundreds of millions of years (around 500 million years), is observable across both vertebrate and invertebrate species, and operates as a psychosomatic interface linking conscious and unconscious processes, as well as the human realm with what is perceived as the metaphysical. Within the Christian tradition, from biblical accounts to patristic writings (e.g., Clement, John Chrysostom, Augustine), dreams have been interpreted as vehicles of divine disclosure—prophetic encounters or experiences of God and angelic beings. In the present day, a considerable number of Christians still affirm that God communicates through dreams, imparting guidance, warnings, or spiritually charged experiences that shape everyday religious life and personal spirituality. The study concentrates on symbols of transition (such as the ladder, flying, and upward movement), drawing in part on Desoille’s technique of the guided waking dream (rêve éveillé dirigé). These symbolic motifs are understood to express ontological transformation, the resolution or surpassing of crises, rebirth, and the transcendence of spatial and temporal limits. In this perspective, dreams arise from multiple sources and function as ritualized passages that mediate movement toward psychological or religious forms of reality.