“I had a dream about a person I was involved with decades ago. I normally do not dream, and this dream made me wonder if there was anything to it. Without going into the specifics, other than to share that it was not a sexual or violent dream, I wonder if there is any good reason I should try to analyze it. And what do you think about your own dreams?”

G: Every morning that I wake up and recall I had been dreaming, I spend several minutes going over the details that stand out. Most of the time I can quickly determine whether it was a dream or a vision. There’s a big difference. From my spiritual perspective, a vision is prophetic. Those experiences have a different feel and look to them than what many would describe as being typical dreams.

Typical dreams, as I have experienced them, are more like scenes out of a movie. They may appear to have no basis in any current reality or truth, or be nightmarish with hardly any connecting thread or theme.

If I’ve awoken from just a run of the mill dream, confident it is not a vision, I do not bother to write them down or talk about them. But if I have a dream about a person who I have not thought about or seen in quite some time, I will put it in a file I have been keeping, and date it. I do this just to see over time if there had been anything in the dream that actually turned out to be prophetic. This is how I keep track of my accuracy of interpretation.

Sometimes a dream will compel me to pick up the phone to talk to the person. Or I may reach out to someone who I know is in touch with them. That’s if I have lost track or distanced myself from them. But I do not always do this as it comes down to priorities, and deciding how much time and attention is worth allocating to it.

I am convinced that my dreams are not always about someone else, but may have more to do with my own feelings or situation. Most of my dreams and visions are a tool for understanding what is happening in my own life, or in the lives of those I know pretty well. But sometimes I see things that are not directly related or connected to anything from my present or past, but may be a future event or possibility. One example of this was when I had a vision about a potential future terrorist attack that included the details of the type of transportation involved.

I had a haunting feeling that if I was successful in relaying this to the proper authorities, I might be able to help prevent a tragedy. For months I pursued various avenues for conveying the info. Finally, a chance encounter with the head of homeland security turned out to be my opportunity to deliver the details of the disturbing vision, and to someone who could actually take some action. Fortunately, I was taken seriously. I eventually got confirmation from a person who worked at the Pentagon that what had been in my vision was accurate.

I encourage people to consider their dreams, but not to the point that one overthinks them. Dreams sometimes are just the body’s mechanism for doing a reboot of the brain, to clear out the day’s debris, and are not necessarily a map to redirect one’s actions.

It takes time to develop a level of discernment regarding how seriously to utilize dreams. In order to build a track record of interpretation that reveals accuracy and not fanciful thinking will require consistent review. It even may involve a change in one’s diet. For example, when I remember a dream that is a bit far out, by that I mean it leaves me with a perplexed feeling or confusion, I know it is because I had some sugar not that long before I had gone to bed. That could be any type of dessert, and it doesn’t have to be processed like cookies or a slice of cake. A piece of fruit, like fresh pineapple or even some dried fruit, has enough sugar in it to increase the likelihood I’ll have phantasmagorical images. Making the connection to my nighttime sugar intake and nutty dreaming helped me to process and discard the images more quickly.

Dreams can also be a way to tap into the well of your own creative juices. Being open to contemplating the mystery of consciousness may ignite or deepen one’s spiritual exploration and artistic expression. It is for you to decide if they are a force for good, and what to do with them.

Giselle M. Massi is the author of “We are Here for a Purpose: HOW TO FIND YOURS” and the novel “Just Dance the Steps.” Her romantacy “WYNTER’S DREAM” is now available. Giselle was a journalist with The Denver Post for 16 years and writes the newspaper advice column TELL GISELLE. Contact her at www.gisellemassi.com.