Throughout my life I have had more than one type of dream. There are the convoluted ones that make no sense. Some are nightmarish while others are quite pleasant. Most slip away as I move on to the reality of my day. Then there are others I have come to call True Dreams. These have a more specific quality about them. While they often still need interpreting, they generally leave me with the desire to reflect or take action.
Once in the early 90s, I had a True Dream while working in Bali, Indonesia. I dreamt about a young woman I knew who lived in Brooklyn, New York, half a world away. In my dream she had a rash on her chest and since she had been having unprotected sex with her boyfriend, she was worried she had contracted AIDS, which was prevalent at the time. I knew I had to call and reassure her.
At the front desk I made the long distance phone call. When she picked up the phone I said, “It’s just a rash on your chest. It’s not AIDS.”
Shocked, she said, “How did you know?”
Once, my dad, who passed away several years ago, came to me in a dream. We were at a party and he was leaning against a large doorway that separated one room from the other. As I approached, he reached out, and gave me a one armed hug. Looking down at me he said, “You look great.”
In the dream, I thought that this was an odd thing to say. It also felt strange that he didn’t let me nestle in for a full body hug but side-hugged me, facing the party, facing the world.
When I awoke, I still thought “You look great” was a strange thing to say, but I was happy to have had a moment with my dad, in any case. It is rare that he comes to me and when he does, he still is a man of few words.
As I got dressed, I caught my reflection in the mirror. Suddenly Dad’s message came clear. No need to worry about my hair, my face, my image – I looked just fine, great in fact. As I went about my day, doing Zoom meetings and seminars, I realized that I was perfect, exactly as I am – long hair or recent haircut, zits or no zits, makeup or not. I look (am) great.
Thanks Dad.
By Ariel Kane — © 1996 – 2026 www.transformationmadeeasy.com. Click to subscribe to our newsletter and blog.
Very, very touched by your article. Thank you!
What a wonderful man your dad must have been. What is his name?
A friend recently said to me, after a hug when we met: Your look great! My dad did say that to me too, not in a dream but when he was still alive. Often, I couldn’t really take in the compliment.
I clearly remember my reaction to what my friend said, though: I was happy to hear the compliment, stated like a fact really, and I felt that yes, I look great as I am. With transformation, it has become a beautiful new reality to take in such a compliment with joy, and to just quit comparing myself and my looks with that of others, or with when I was younger.
Love, Maren