Eavesdropping with the third ear

Dreams as spiritual signposts

Abstract

In many spiritual traditions and psychotherapeutic approaches, the dreams of a person are considered very important, also in Sufism, a spiritual schooling path, which is independent and free of a specific religion and culture. Dreams are regarded as messages, to which particular attention is to be paid. They bear testimony to the background knowledge of the soul. In the Sufi work with dreams depthpsychology and spiritual approaches and interpretations are combined. Dream work opens a door to the inner, spiritual world within us, but also supports us in perceiving problems of everyday-life within a greater perspective. The discussion of dreams in a spiritual group is especially helpful. For this purpose, the dreams need a net of mindfulness, empathetic listening and active resonance. The group provides a special space for this. The article examines the relevance of dreams and dream work and describes spiritual dream work within a contemporary Sufi group by means of examples.