What Was Written in the Media about Me and My Method of Telling Dreams?
The fate hidden in dreams
A Dream as a Reality
Interpret Your Own Dream
What Is behind Our Dreams
Dreams Point to Our Yearnings!
Forget about Dream Books
Most Dream-Books Apparently Do Harm
Close your eyes and perceive the message coming to you
While dreaming, according to the expert, we return back into the innocence of our childhood and it is when secret sign can come to us.
They express who we are, where we are going and what we should change to be happy, Martin Benes, priest, asserts about dreams, a man, who helps people through dreams to unveil their true self.
Twenty-nine-year-old Petra repeatedly dreamt about a peculiar childbirth. Her waters had broken, but the painful contractions did not appear. The child couldn’t be born, the doctors were helpless, however, intriguingly enough, the solution of a Caesarean did not cross their minds. The dream was full of contradictions, and so was the situation of the woman. Without realizing this fact, she longed for a family, while her boyfriend had other priorities. Petra could not withdraw because she felt that the right time had come, and that feeling reflected in her dreams, Martin Benes explains.
He considers the art of interpreting dreams as a God’s gift, which he became conscious of after having dreamt a rather funny dream. Once, during his theological studies at Charles University at Litomerice, he ascended a nearby hill called Radobyl, where, according to ancient legends, underworld and celestial powers are running through.
"Having climbed the hill I had a rest and fell asleep. All of a sudden I found myself on a spiral staircase going somewhere into the depths. I set out down the stairs; however, there was no end to them. Unfortunately, having tried to get up again, I found the situation just the same - never-ending staircase. I set down, puzzled, on a step, whereupon the scene completely changed," Martin describes.
He was carried along by a bird of prey across the sky as far as the distant Palestinian town, the name of which was Nabulus, as he was told in the dream. "There, in a desert well, I fished out a diamond with my name engraved on the surface. Later on I have heard that at Nabulus the Old Testament Patriarch Joseph had been buried, the one, who become famous for interpreting dreams to the Egyptian Pharaoh. Thus Martin Benes got to know his own journey of life as well.
A person interested in his services ought to describe the dream in question in his or her own hand, give full details as to the time of dreaming, gender, and a rough age. Of great help could be marital status, number of children (and possibly grandchildren) and profession. Submitting mutual relationship "in the daytime" to individuals, as well as places or things, occurring in the dream, is advisable. By now, Martin Benes is able to enter into intuitive contact and sense the problem to be solved.
"A dream has its own special language, which to a rationally judging person, in other words, a person, who is awake, may appear to be illogical. I deal with a dream in a similar way as with biblical texts - even there we can find several levels of interpretation," he remarks.
Primarily he takes the verbatim meaning into consideration, the importance of which mostly being limited. "A woman, for instance, who was about to set off for Tatras, had a dream, that she had been eaten by a bear. Therefore, she decided to stay at home, whereas the heart of the matter was quite different," the visionary explains, while considering the psychical and in particular the highest spiritual meaning of the dream. "As a rule, animals express human emotions. She was scared that the bear would injure her, which means, she feels threatened with her own emotions, in fact, she is afraid of herself and ought to overcome this."
A repeated dream about being trapped somewhere, or being chased, or a staircase having possibly been fallen apart in front of a person means the necessity of solving a cardinal problem in one’s life. However, the meaning of individual symbols should be not generalized. "It is how books of dreams work. There is no single way of interpreting dreams. It is the dreaming person and his or her situation that is of the essence," Martin Benes says.
It is not easy, it not impossible to foretell what is coming immediately after the dream. The message concealed in a dream might be of long standing, even permanent in some cases.
"Through dreams we should conceive our way. That’s why they are sent down to us. They warn about false decisions, possible traps, at some other time they may be a challenge to embark upon something. They always get their timing right and it is only up to us, whether we will listen to them allowing them to help us," Martin Benes concludes.
For the North American Indians (the Sioux from the Lakota tribe) the ceremony of a dream vision was of fundamental importance. Before the boys became men, they would set off on a journey to a distant hill, where they even for several days would prey alone, call out and cry out loud until a Holy dream paid them a visit. The experienced men, according to what the dream searchers had dreamt, associated them with different societies (bison, deer, wolf, eagle…) and chose their careers (for instance the one, who had dreamt about a bear, became a healer…).
Should we wake up from such a waking dream, as if we had fully experienced it, we realize how narrow the boundary is between a state of alert and a dream. As soon as we realize the meaning of our dream, we will understand that it honestly reflects the reality. Through such dreams, we can come into contact with our particular sides which we would otherwise have known nothing about. The key opening an entrance to a space reflecting our present situation is also possessed by Doctor Benes, a dream teller, who for a number of years has been helping people understand the language of dreams to the extent that it can bring them as much spiritual enrichment as possible.
• Why and how long have you been dealing with dream interpreting?
It began on a sunny day in 1987 on Mount Radobyl in the Northern Bohemian town of Litomerice (I was then studying at the Catholic Theological Faculty there.) At the top of that hill I experienced a kind of very intensive day dream. I went down a turning staircase into the "bowels" of the mountain. Since there seemed to be no end to my downward movement, I started walking upwards again although I still could not find the exit from there. I thus sat down on a step and did not know what to do when suddenly my situation changed completely like "the waving of a magic wand", so to speak. I flew with a sort of a wild bird across the clear blue sky as far as to the Palestinian settlement of Nabulus. There I climbed into a desert well where I fished out a precious stone with my name inscribed on it. So much for the dream. Only ex post did I discover that the town of Nabulus was known as Sichem according to the Old Testament and near which the Old Testament Patriarch Joseph was buried. He had become especially famous for interpreting the Pharaoh’s dreams. Only then did things begin to take a quick turn when suddenly I awakened to the ability to interpret my own dreams and those of other people. After that it was about refining on my own intuition, gaining a certain experience and studying further. My sources are especially the Bible, Greek mythology, the Cabala and modern psychology.
• To what extent are you capable of deciphering the message of a dream, that is such a personal and strictly individual matter? Can the success of an interpretation be defined?
For me, the uniqueness of a dream message is no obstacle because in the course of my interpretation I base my orientation particularly on the intrinsic and essential circumstances of each dream. That is why over and over again I wish to warn everyone concerning any kind of dreambook. I explain to people that one cannot learn any kind of general rules and orders according to which anyone could easily find one’s interpretation of one’s dreams. Everything is actually endlessly more complicated but on the other hand much more simple. Interpreting a dream cannot be faulty should I follow a certain procedure before I piece the puzzle together. Before I start to put the interpretation down on paper, I shall look towards the soul of the person who had dreamt a particular dream and I can roughly judge the issue in question. Then the whole problem I will "carry up" several stories right before his Highness and ask Him in my prayer for his strength and power so that I could really help the dreamer with my interpretation. Things will then develop naturally. However, this is no added ritual, a so-called ornament of my own interpretation. Things would not work without this "rise"... I assume that a client in question will be sincere about his or her dream. Should a client aim at testing the interpreter’s qualities and should he or she intentionally give the wrong information to him, he or she will pay for it. Actually, the client is not asking the interpreter for any kind of help – he is unapproachable and so nobody can help him.
• How do you actually look "towards the soul of a human being"?
For a short while I simply halt my thought course and remind myself of a dream I would like to interpret. In this state I linger until I can think of a "shape" of the soul of a person whose dream I am interpreting. First of all, one’s dream serves me rather as a way of establishing contact with someone who had dreamt that dream. Only during that "rise" to higher spheres do I acquire a graphic view and a certain key to the meaning of a dream. Then I can set about doing the real and often quite exhausting work, the "translation" of the dream into a comprehensible language. It does not suffice that I myself can understand the meaning of a dream. I must still retranslate it to my client in question in a way that he or she can get the most out of it spiritually. This is the real meaning and goal of my work.
• Does everyone dream, even those who may claim to have never dreamt any dream?
Yes, everyone has dreams. For a human being, dreaming is as important a lifelong activity as breathing, for instance. Nobody can live without dreaming. People frequently do not remember dreams especially because their communication "string" with their inner ego had been cut off. Some dreams are simply forgotten by us because they contain something which is still too "indigestible" for our awake minds and thus threatening.
• What does a dream testify about us?
Almost everything, that is everything essential. Dreams are the loyal "mirrors" of our souls. However, it is important to note that dreams help us to understand our own selves. Dreams mainly determine why we are standing in our own light. Thus, half the battle is already behind us. Spiritual blocks actually tend to dissolve themselves as soon as their roots and concealed mechanisms have been revealed and "brought to the light". Afterwards, it all depends on how we will hear the silent voice of our internal ego that mediates the mysterious word of God for us. This only appears in certain dreams which in addition to a psychic meaning bear an even higher spiritual dimension. Through such "heavenly messages", basic changes sometimes occur concerning human beings.
• Could you mention something about frequently repetitive dreams as well as horrific ones, those that foresee the future and those in which a dying come to say farewell?
Most important are those dreams recurring incessantly. A human being would most likely want to let something essential be forgotten but his real ego does not let him or her sleep soundly. Over and over again, the same problem is pushed before his or her spiritual sight. So-called nightmares are also very important considering that they testify to the strength of one’s suppressed feelings. Our duty is to understand them and not try to do away with them. This is usually a lost battle anyway. Fortune telling dreams certainly exist as do people who are also capable of telling the future in their wakeful state. "Saying farewell" to a dying person is also possible, thus only testifying to the parapsychological abilities of our minds.
• "Whoever dreams of one’s wedding will never get to see the day," is that really the case? C. C. Jung claimed that should the discovered meaning of a dream comply with whatever is expected, one has the right to doubt the correctness of a dream interpretation.
Obviously, following the wedding statement, a certain amount of superstition is concealed in the sense that one should not "speak too soon". It should also be made clear that making desperate efforts can be rather counterproductive should one insist on fulfilled wishes. Perhaps Jung warned of the spiritual strength which Freud had already discovered and to which he had given the term resistance. Actually, one usually has huge mental blocks concerning the real entrance into one’s soul and to really honestly see what there is to be found.
•Can dream books really help or are they more entertaining?
They are definitely more entertaining, although they are not free from danger. What is seemingly humorous can be taken dead serious by the unconscious.
• Once I dreamt I was walking with a stranger through a church and he was telling me about that church while pointing to the turning staircase to the side. Several years later I met a Pole who invited me to visit that same church. All including the turning staircase became a reality for me. Dreams reflecting the future are quite frequent. Time is only a relative quantity at least for our minds. Can the story of a dream somehow refer to our linking to an akasha, that is cosmic memory?
Making clear in which sense it would be possible, I shall use a certain comparison. According to the Greek philosopher Aristotle, each object consists of two elements – a form and substance. For instance, if someone wants to build a house, a person basically needs two things – building material (substance) and an architectural plan which will give the building a certain concrete shape. Dreams are similar to this. For their construction, our inner concealed ego will use all "material" available. These may be only "ordinary" memories from the previous day as well as spiritual impressions which our minds had acquired in that so-called cosmic memory you made mention of. Usually, people are most fascinated by this dream dimension although this is not the most important factor by far. Much more important is the so-called architectural plan according to which the dream had been "built", that is the dream’s testimony alone. That we should unveil, understand and accept.
•How can one work with dreams while using their testimony on the truth of our lives? Can a dream discover a disease to be treated by a dream?
Dreams can be understood as a wise advisor and loyal guide on our path through life. Should we know what they want to tell us and should we take such a message really seriously, we then have a chance we will not lose our path. The practical applications of dream messages somehow mostly come automatically. Dreams very precisely unveil the spiritual causes and spawns of a disease in the body. Our minds undergo regeneration and our bodies become healthier. •Can the intentional creation of certain dreams bring a much required result, such as a medical recuperation, for instance? What procedure would you recommend to a person who wants to find an answer or solution to his or her problem and who wants to find it in a dream?
This is a rather hot issue. These days, people try to recall a particular dream in various ways. They either wish to achieve something concrete or simply to enjoy themselves, for instance. However, there is a certain danger concerning such a procedure. One thus tends to deal with one’s dreams as if they were one’s personal property which isn’t really the case. Dreams are generally much more dignified. Thus one should not make such foolish claims in that respect. Dreams come to us from those "places" that are essentially inaccessible. The messages they bring us are extremely basic and important for us in the sense that one should not "miss them" through one’s improper behaviour. Dreams are therefore very shy "beings" that prefer to "fly away" should they not succeed in finding a suitable "place" to rest. What do we actually gain should we alone decide to "program" the contents of our night dreaming? While only revolving within a circle of our own ego, each real dream message will tend to avoid us by far. However, this doesn’t mean that we should not under certain circumstances prepare the ground for easier receiving of such a message. The ancient Greeks had already undergone a so-called incubation, a ritual sleep accompanied by certain acts, prayers and ceremonies. Their goal was to receive an answer to a certain important lifelong question. Naturally, the entire process might have lasted a very long time, a whole year for instance. Incubation methods were still being practised in Christian Europe of the Middle Ages as well. As an indispensable part, such techniques contained a humble and reverential approach to a secret which is unseparably linked to the dream phenomenon. Certain contemporary techniques that bring about certain dreams rather remind one of magic. Today people are lacking in patience and they would like to have everything immediately and easily. However, this simply isn’t possible in most cases – unfortunately. Dreams tell us what is really important for us and get their timing right.
•Do you remember of a case when a dream changed your client’s life?
Such a case especially concerns so-called spiritual dreams which I have already spoken about. Following such dreams, human beings tend to change noticeably. One tends to find a new meaning and enthusiasm for life that is often followed by a sort of a remarkable form of wisdom. One is thus suddenly capable of resolving one’s lifelong problems whose weight had crushed him or her until a given moment. It was as if one had found one’s way out of a heavy fog onto a firm and clearly lit path. I have enjoyed many such cases.
•Can a part of a karma "be redeemed" in a dream which a human being would otherwise have to endure in his or her lifetime?
I don’t see any basic difference between events experienced by humans whether they be awake, daydreaming and night dreaming. Essentially, their values are all the same.
•Which dream(s) would you most prefer to experience?
I don’t know. Each evening I can’t wait to find out what the night will bring me once again.
•Have you ever had a dream that was fulfilled?
Yes. I’m a dream teller. Just as the Old Testament Patriarch Joseph.
Interview With Martin Benes
There is no universal method for interpreting dreams. This would be contrary to the nature of human existence and to its absolute uniqueness. The most reliable method is that of intuition. A dream interpreter must not usurp the status of a mechanic, programmer nor of an inquisitive psychologist. The spirit is a Holy mystery to which one must approach accordingly with respect and even humility. Nevertheless, dream interpreting cannot do without a thorough knowledge of psychology, mythologies and the theologies of various cultures, philosophy and esoteric studies.
•Has the Theological Faculty in the town of Litomerice where you graduated had an impact on your dream interpreting activities?
My studies at the Catholic Seminary in particular have given me a deeper understanding of dreams. Perhaps this might be due to the demanding circumstances that were there in those days. At that time, there was a basic episode that affected my future lifetime. I used to often visit the legendary Radobyl Hill that is located on the river Elbe. Once on its hilltop, a state of mind similar to sleep came on me, whereupon I began dreaming a strange dream. I saw stone steps emerging from the mountain right up to the clouds and then down, somewhere into the depths. I started to walk up those steps but there was no end to them. I sat down not knowing what to do. Suddenly, I noticed a falcon circling above my head in the bright hot sun. I soared up and flew with him across the blue sky to a distant oasis by the name of Nabulus where I pulled up a diamond from a well with my name inscribed on it. Only later on did I found out that Nabulus was the present name of the Palestinian town of Shekem near where is buried the Old Testament Patriarch Joseph who was well known in Egypt for dream interpreting talent. Soon afterwards, I found an understanding for my own dreams and those of my friends who were willing to entrust them to me.
The theological principle alone is extremely close to the dream structure. It tries to understand a revelation, the telling of something which is outside Man’s usual horizon. Dreams are similar to this. A Czech Priest and poet whose name was Jakub Deml once wrote that God was now speaking to us through dreams only – perhaps. This statement seems truly prophetic to me and it looks like it is being fulfilled on this very day.
Dreams mostly do not inform us about things around us or about the future – they give us the essence about us humans as such. If we do not live in harmony with our nature, and this happens very often, we acquire from dreams the most precious testimony one can barely imagine. With their help, we can once again reestablish severed contacts with the depths of our souls and understand the causes of pain and frequently those of diseases, and to realize our real desires and wishes which make our lives as happy and rich as possible. It is extremely important in our lives that we recognize our real wishes and obstacles that we create ourselves, thus preventing them from being realized. Otherwise we are just kidding ourselves. These realities are the real message of our dreams.
However, some dreams conceal within themselves an even higher platform. They appear only very rarely and are thus the most precious. Their source is concealed with a shroud of secrecy. They have a spiritual meaning and they announce the turning point in the life of Man and the oncoming metamorphosis of his personality.
• How much is one to believe in dreams?
Dreams do not lie – they only conceal their real contents into symbols and allegory. They thus become incomprehensible and confusing for most people. They do not disguise their messages out of sheer malice. They actually reflect the struggle of two basic forces that are active within our souls. We would always like to have something while at the same time denying it to ourselves. We long for felicity, but we are inflicting pain upon ourselves. We are desperately preventing our most secret "dreams" from being fulfilled. This struggle also reflects the structure of our dreams. We dream that our hopes are fulfilled, but we are also afraid of them and so we try to conceal our wishes, annihilate or at least retouch them. Sometimes we are less successful, another time more – it all depends on different things.
•Martin, in this magazine you will explain to us the symbols appearing in our dreams and to interpret the readers’ dreams. In this respect, what do you need from them?
They should describe their dreams as authentically as possible including every seemingly unimportant detail. Actually, these details are sometimes decisive. For a certain period of time after waking up, people have different thoughts while remembering a dream and it would appear there is nothing in common with it. Even these are important for interpreting a dream. One must also state basic personal data: Age, status, number of children and possibly grandchildren, and profession. Welcome is also determining lifelong experience, views, values and interests… A dream interpreter must actually tune in on the "wave length" of the respective dreamer and to establish a personal contact with him/her on an unconscious level, to say the least. Of great help to the interpreter is every possible seeming detail related to the questioner. However, there are certain difficulties in giving general lectures on dream symbols. These pictures do not actually "fly in" in one’s sleep ready made from a sort of source of knowledge so as to create our dreams without our participation. The reality is far more complex. When I try to explain it, I must once again resort to the field of religion. According to Catholic theology, the Bible has two real authors – God and Man. The holy inspiration of these texts does not mean that God had dictated text to a human author who would have recorded it mechanically. Not at all – the Bible is a work that is both fully human and divine. And analogically, this also concerns dreams. The inner human ego spins a web of our dreams under the veil of night using the eternal and constant symbols coming from an unearthly empire which certain psychologists describe as a collective unconscious. When I thus dream, I associate these symbols with my personal situation and I use them in the sense that they are just suitable for me right now. That is why it is not quite possible to make general use of a dreambook. Should we try to do so nevertheless, it is only with great reservations that we accept their claims.
Martin Benes graduated from the Theological Faculty in Olomouc. In 1987, he had a special day dream, and since then he has been dealing more with them. He has also been trying to see a deeper sense in them. During the following several years, he was completely absorbed in studying the necessary literature and started interpreting dreams to his friends. Today he explains dreams professionally.
•Explaining dreams is no common matter and a single telephone call will not suffice. How does one explain a dream?
I interpret either within the bounds of certain media and especially on a corresponding basis. Whoever is then more deeply interested can ask me for a personal consultation. Such an interview will last for about an hour. He or she can tell me about a certain dream which addressed him or her and that was of particular importance to the person in question. I get a general idea and my interview may also unveil new orientations in explaining the given dream. Further associations and other dreams, tied in with the dream my client want to be explained, may come to light.
If someone sets up an appointment with me, the contents of one’s dream must be described beforehand and in writing. Actually, not every dream is so transparent that it can be explained right away. I must meditate over each dream and I try to meet with the questioner on a deeper level, an effort requiring calm, concentration and time – thus no rush. Usually I need two to three days to think things through. After that we can meet to discuss the dream. During such a consultation, a client will obviously remember other facts. Nevertheless, an interpretation can thus be given so that one need not meet again.
• You have spoken of your very first interpretations of dreams and of a particular dream which started everything. What was your dream at that time and how did you decipher it?
Near the town of Litomerice on the Elbe river is the well known Mount Radobyl, which has its own special charm and atmosphere. Supposedly, both earthly and heavenly energies encounter each other there. That is where I had a kind of day dream where I found myself going down a winding staircase, which to me appeared to be endless. Considering that it led nowhere, I wanted to return which I did. I went up but I could not find the exit. In a kind of resignation a I sat down on a step and did not know what to do. The scene suddenly changed and I was accompanying a bird of prey. Together we flew through the heavens to the settlement of Nabulus, which I knew nothing about at that time. I had only remembered the name. It was a desert oasis and in it a well that I descended into. A gem was lying at the bottom of that well and on that gem was my inscribed name which made a very strong impression on me. Until then, I did not remember my dreams noticeably. Later I discovered that Nabulus was a Palestinian settlement known as Shekem in the Old Testament. The interesting thing about Nabulus is that the Old Testament Patriarch known as Joseph who became famous in Egypt as a dream teller of the Pharaoh’s dreams is buried there. By intuition, I felt it as a kind of an inducement for paying more attention to dreams. I concluded that it was something important to consider. Since then I began remembering dreams and learning more about their meanings and messages. Gradually I worked out my own dream-telling method.
• So that dream at the foot of Mount Radobyl was a kind of call for you to tell dreams?
I understand this dream like the awakening of my true self. Usually, Man does not know his very being. Sometimes, understanding it requires much energy and complex effort. Dreams alone are one of the ways of communicating with oneself. A dream is an artistic work of one’s own self. A dream wants to tell something to that empirical self in a watchful state. Should we be able to understand dreams, it is the way of communicating with oneself and with our own essence. My conclusion was that I should probably take this particular path. I have studied the works of Freud and Jung. After some time, I reached a view that studying dreams is not only important for treating various neuroses and for therapies, but that it is just as important for people who are searching for their own identities and paths and want to discover something, what they are fundamentally determined for.
•It is said that men have a greater imagination than women. Do men visit you more often than women?
Fantasies and dreams have a lot in common. The difference between a daily fantasy and a dream is that a fantasy is created by our active willpower, whereas in a dream, the unconscious or our hidden self talk to us straight. The problem is that men are more bashful and that they trust their common sense, and so dislike confiding. When something really shakes them up, only then will they really pay me a visit. Consequently, women come to visit me in greater numbers and do not hesitate to confide in me. To them, it appears normal to come and consult about the meaning of their dreams and how they should understand them.
•From time to time a particular dream is a nightmare for us because it repeats itself again and again. Do you also come across such a problem?
Yes, it happens that certain dreams repeat themselves. My greatest attention is paid to them because they are usually most important. This proves that our internal self is vociferously trying to tell us something. Should we ignore these signals and not pay attention to them, we will either suppress them in completely silencing that inner voice, or we shall finally succeed in understanding such a dream. Only when we somehow accept this fact, something will make us move and change, we will stop dreaming that dream.
• Do people confide in You with subjects and traumas that are similar to one another?
Especially women frequently dream of being followed by violent man. Naturally, each case must be considered on an individual basis. These dreams usually testify to one’s unresolved relationship with the opposite sex. In such cases, women have ambivalent relations with the opposite sex resulting in controversial emotional positions. On the one hand, they are afraid of men whereas on the other they feel the need for a valuable relationship. In the overwhelming majority of cases, a dream is a product of Man’s two mental powers, one of which has to do with instincts, feelings, emotions and passions. Against this is a spiritual counterforce – a conscience which is a control mechanism that should canalize the current of one’s lifelong energy and which should give a shape or boundaries to it. Between these two forms, a reasonable balance should really be found!
Within themselves, dreams also conceal a sort of a spiritual meaning. They frequently predetermine the basic lifelong dividing lines and changes of personality. Such dreams are most precious and it would be wise to pay exceptional attention to them.
For years, Martin Benes has been interpreting dreams. How did he manage to specialize in this profession? "When I was studying at the theological faculty, I had a daily dream, a kind of a vision. There exists a unique hill above Litomerice. It is a legendary place where the Earth’s energy meets with the space one. I was going down a long staircase through a long hallway with no end in sight. Shortly after, I stopped and wanted to return but I was incapable of finding the exit. And so I gave it up and sat down. Suddenly, the skies opened above me and I was able to fly upwards in the company of a bird of prey, thus reaching the town of Nabulus in Palestine. Having subsequently looked it up in my source of literature, I discovered that near this town was a small grave of the Old Testament Patriarch Joseph who became a famous dream teller. I took this as a call to the road to knowledge. A dream that sticks in our mind should make us wonder about the symbols brought to us and try to understand it through our inner self," explains Martin who tried to comment on the dreams of people we addressed.
And what does Martin say to that? "Should a woman dream of giving birth, it is very important. It indicates that she wishes to create something very significant in her life. In various mythologies, a crocodile replaces a dragon, a symbol of underground energy. Furthermore, in his natural surroundings, a crocodile has very few natural enemies. To me it seems that Zlata Adamovska feels the need to create a form of defense, a space for security. At present, she is afraid she must create this safety shield alone."
"Witches bear a female symbol within themselves. They’re capable of donating but also punishing. They frequently appear in children’s dreams at the time when we are starting to establish a relationship with our parents, we begin to respect and understand them. Thus a child is starting to discover that it not only receives something nice from its parents but that it can be punished for whatever tiny misdemeanours it has committed," says Martin Benes.
And what about that singer’s second dream? That dream kept being repeated after the death of her mother. "I was at a bus stop when I saw her enter a bus. I was terribly afraid she would leave without me and so I tried to prevent her from departing. But every time I wanted to touch her, the bus door would close and she would leave. And I had a feeling of anxiety," remembers Anna K.
"This is a typical dream just when someone close to us has left this world. She wanted to stop her mother so that she could stay with her because she loved her. Considering she had never succeeded in doing this in the dream, another explanation arises. Although her mother had to leave this world, her daughter wants to remain here. Actually, she is subconsciously afraid her mother would take her with her as well. The desire to live is actually stronger than her nostalgia for the loss of a close person," explains Martin.
"Mythology tells us," Martin remarks to the dream, "that when heavy clouds fall onto a woman, it symbolizes a visit of God himself. The Son of God descended on earth when the Holy Spirit had overshadowed the Virgin Mary and so she conceived to have a child. This is why this dream results in a partner relationship in the broadest sense of the word. The clouds’ pink color tells us that dreamer Jana who likes to idealize partnerships even sees them as something holy, divine. This red thread also continues in the second part of the dream. When she approaches the mirror, she wants to get to the essence and roots of her relationship, which is why she decides to walk through it. The breaking of the mirror into a thousand pieces symbolizes her fear of an exceedingly stable relationship which means she may loose her exceptional individuality and a feeling of inner freedom."
The explanation? "Flying dreams are mostly dreamt by women. I have not met many men with such dreams, although perhaps they are bashful about admitting this," a smile in the face of Martin Benes. "Such dreams mostly occur should we find ourselves in a more complicated lifelong situation and when we aren’t sure how to cope with a problem we would like to be rid of. Perhaps we don’t know what to do with ourselves, and so such a dream is a testimony to our own personalities. Such a dream often bears a sexually motivated and concealed meaning whenever an individual of the opposite sex is pursuing us."
"You should better forget about dream-books," Martin Benes advises with a smile – Martin Benes is a well known dream teller who claims, furthermore, that not every dream should be taken equally seriously.
On the average, Martin Benes devotes about an hour’s time to each client as far as each individual interview is concerned. Before the interview begins, he analyses the basic features of each dream submitted by his client in writing. "One of the basic conditions for a successful and most precise interpretation is an interest in cooperating. Should a client equivocate, and give evasive answers, he or she can expect only a vague outline of a way out."
The purpose of such an interview is to unveil a sort of a small window to the future. "It is here and right now that we are creating the future. The energies which are preparing following events, are working inside of us much sooner than they are appearing outside. The fact that they already exist can be seen through dreams that we can thus understand as a mirror of our inner self and the spirit."
"It’s definitely not necessary after waking up each morning to pick up the phone and call a dream teller," says Martin Benes with a smile. "Sensitive people will feel the need for an analysis. They select such dreams which clearly address their intuition. The others should pay attention to those night time pictures that somehow concern them personally, which have in themselves a peculiarity element and a sort of coded messages and answers to questions that worry them."
First level: Rarely does it occur in its pure form. It is basically and directly significant. In it there are no puzzles, nor symbolisms.
Second level: It’s the most frequent one. It reflects those phenomena occurring inside a human being and in his psyche. This is frequently due to the battles of two inner forces – the first concerns of one’s vitality, passions and emotions, the second with what one normally describes as conscience. An interpretation of one’s psychic dream level can contribute at least to a truce or even conciliation between both forces – that is an inner equilibrium and to tuning a human being to a life according to his real needs.
Third level: Dreams on this level come rarely and are the most precious ones. Their source is hidden with a veil of secrecy. They have a spiritual sense and proclaim the basic dividing lines in the life of a human being and the metamorphosis of his or her personality.
A very ancient joke from the workshop of folk art is rooted within a verified fact. "A dream symbol of a snake mostly points to the indestructible vitality of Man which is also very strongly linked to his sexual side. Should a woman dream of a snake, it is very probably the symbol of her sexual desires. As for a man, a picture of a snake is related to his potency and his masculinity in general. Actually, not everyone is totally identified with sex," explains Doctor Martin Benes to whom people pay visits for receiving advice in explaining the meaning of their dreams.
"As for me, this activity was caused by day-dreaming. In the 1980s’ I was studying at the Theological Faculty in Litomerice where I took walks up a nearby hill. Once I came across a turning staircase in front of me on which I started going downwards. There was no end to it and so I got into a panic and returned to where I had started. However, I could not find the exit. I helplessly sat down on a step when the staircase suddenly disappeared and I took notice of the sky, sun and a flying falcon with whom I suddenly flew to Palestine to the town of Nabulus. There I pulled out a diamond from a well with my name inscribed on it. The symbolism was more than clear because it was precisely in that town where the Old Testament Patriarch Joseph was buried who had told dreams to the Egyptian Pharaoh. Dreams had not really meant anything to me until then and I had not really remembered any of them and yet that experience aroused my interest in such things and I was given the ability to understand them intuitively. First I began to analyze my own dreams, then those of my friends, and since that time I have never ceased focusing on this question."
Within the first three months of pregnancy, women dream of animals living in the water such as tadpoles – in the second trimester puppies and small rabbits – and just prior to childbirth they will dream of monkeys and man apes… "The animal dream symbolism refers to the carnal components of man. By an overwhelming majority it reflects our mental processes and actions as well as our suppressed emotions. I don’t consider dreams to be a sort of a simple prophecy of the future. When someone comes to me for the very first time and tells me of his or her own dreams, I can intuitively meet his or her personality and thus get an idea of such a person. Dreams can make me recognize his or her basic current problem which can be completely different from that which he or she will confide me."
Martin Benes does not recognize most dream books that are currently sold in every bookshop. "Included are harmful stupidities, because in many cases they pass on to the reader an opposite explanation of his or her dreams unlike a real one. For instance, in one of them, the entry Bear will mean danger. However, to encounter a bear may mean one’s natural vitality, which on the contrary is a positive aspect! Each dream is a unique artistic work of a particular person, which is why they cannot be lumped together. To say the truth, there are general symbols, but you are never absolutely sure as to whether they always really mean the same thing."
One of these symbols is that of flying in a dream, for instance. "This means that man is longing for freedom and is escaping from the straitjacket of one’s daily responsibilities. One should then differentiate from someone who had started to fly because he or she was being chased - or simply out of sheer happiness. Such dreams can also be associated with sexual experience. In other words, this message is being sent by one’s concealed self to ourselves, and so one can precisely recognize one’s ego through this factor," adds Martin Benes.
A Dream as a Reality
Interpret Your Own Dream
What Is behind Our Dreams
Dreams Point to Our Yearnings!
Forget about Dream Books
Most Dream-Books Apparently Do Harm
The fate hidden in dreams
Close your eyes and perceive the message coming to you
While dreaming, according to the expert, we return back into the innocence of our childhood and it is when secret sign can come to us.
They express who we are, where we are going and what we should change to be happy, Martin Benes, priest, asserts about dreams, a man, who helps people through dreams to unveil their true self.
Twenty-nine-year-old Petra repeatedly dreamt about a peculiar childbirth. Her waters had broken, but the painful contractions did not appear. The child couldn’t be born, the doctors were helpless, however, intriguingly enough, the solution of a Caesarean did not cross their minds. The dream was full of contradictions, and so was the situation of the woman. Without realizing this fact, she longed for a family, while her boyfriend had other priorities. Petra could not withdraw because she felt that the right time had come, and that feeling reflected in her dreams, Martin Benes explains.
He considers the art of interpreting dreams as a God’s gift, which he became conscious of after having dreamt a rather funny dream. Once, during his theological studies at Charles University at Litomerice, he ascended a nearby hill called Radobyl, where, according to ancient legends, underworld and celestial powers are running through.
"Having climbed the hill I had a rest and fell asleep. All of a sudden I found myself on a spiral staircase going somewhere into the depths. I set out down the stairs; however, there was no end to them. Unfortunately, having tried to get up again, I found the situation just the same - never-ending staircase. I set down, puzzled, on a step, whereupon the scene completely changed," Martin describes.
He was carried along by a bird of prey across the sky as far as the distant Palestinian town, the name of which was Nabulus, as he was told in the dream. "There, in a desert well, I fished out a diamond with my name engraved on the surface. Later on I have heard that at Nabulus the Old Testament Patriarch Joseph had been buried, the one, who become famous for interpreting dreams to the Egyptian Pharaoh. Thus Martin Benes got to know his own journey of life as well.
Animals mean Feelings
A person interested in his services ought to describe the dream in question in his or her own hand, give full details as to the time of dreaming, gender, and a rough age. Of great help could be marital status, number of children (and possibly grandchildren) and profession. Submitting mutual relationship "in the daytime" to individuals, as well as places or things, occurring in the dream, is advisable. By now, Martin Benes is able to enter into intuitive contact and sense the problem to be solved.
"A dream has its own special language, which to a rationally judging person, in other words, a person, who is awake, may appear to be illogical. I deal with a dream in a similar way as with biblical texts - even there we can find several levels of interpretation," he remarks.
Primarily he takes the verbatim meaning into consideration, the importance of which mostly being limited. "A woman, for instance, who was about to set off for Tatras, had a dream, that she had been eaten by a bear. Therefore, she decided to stay at home, whereas the heart of the matter was quite different," the visionary explains, while considering the psychical and in particular the highest spiritual meaning of the dream. "As a rule, animals express human emotions. She was scared that the bear would injure her, which means, she feels threatened with her own emotions, in fact, she is afraid of herself and ought to overcome this."
They are here to warn us
A repeated dream about being trapped somewhere, or being chased, or a staircase having possibly been fallen apart in front of a person means the necessity of solving a cardinal problem in one’s life. However, the meaning of individual symbols should be not generalized. "It is how books of dreams work. There is no single way of interpreting dreams. It is the dreaming person and his or her situation that is of the essence," Martin Benes says.
It is not easy, it not impossible to foretell what is coming immediately after the dream. The message concealed in a dream might be of long standing, even permanent in some cases.
"Through dreams we should conceive our way. That’s why they are sent down to us. They warn about false decisions, possible traps, at some other time they may be a challenge to embark upon something. They always get their timing right and it is only up to us, whether we will listen to them allowing them to help us," Martin Benes concludes.
The dream searchers
For the North American Indians (the Sioux from the Lakota tribe) the ceremony of a dream vision was of fundamental importance. Before the boys became men, they would set off on a journey to a distant hill, where they even for several days would prey alone, call out and cry out loud until a Holy dream paid them a visit. The experienced men, according to what the dream searchers had dreamt, associated them with different societies (bison, deer, wolf, eagle…) and chose their careers (for instance the one, who had dreamt about a bear, became a healer…).
A Dream as a Reality
Should we wake up from such a waking dream, as if we had fully experienced it, we realize how narrow the boundary is between a state of alert and a dream. As soon as we realize the meaning of our dream, we will understand that it honestly reflects the reality. Through such dreams, we can come into contact with our particular sides which we would otherwise have known nothing about. The key opening an entrance to a space reflecting our present situation is also possessed by Doctor Benes, a dream teller, who for a number of years has been helping people understand the language of dreams to the extent that it can bring them as much spiritual enrichment as possible.
• Why and how long have you been dealing with dream interpreting?
It began on a sunny day in 1987 on Mount Radobyl in the Northern Bohemian town of Litomerice (I was then studying at the Catholic Theological Faculty there.) At the top of that hill I experienced a kind of very intensive day dream. I went down a turning staircase into the "bowels" of the mountain. Since there seemed to be no end to my downward movement, I started walking upwards again although I still could not find the exit from there. I thus sat down on a step and did not know what to do when suddenly my situation changed completely like "the waving of a magic wand", so to speak. I flew with a sort of a wild bird across the clear blue sky as far as to the Palestinian settlement of Nabulus. There I climbed into a desert well where I fished out a precious stone with my name inscribed on it. So much for the dream. Only ex post did I discover that the town of Nabulus was known as Sichem according to the Old Testament and near which the Old Testament Patriarch Joseph was buried. He had become especially famous for interpreting the Pharaoh’s dreams. Only then did things begin to take a quick turn when suddenly I awakened to the ability to interpret my own dreams and those of other people. After that it was about refining on my own intuition, gaining a certain experience and studying further. My sources are especially the Bible, Greek mythology, the Cabala and modern psychology.
• To what extent are you capable of deciphering the message of a dream, that is such a personal and strictly individual matter? Can the success of an interpretation be defined?
For me, the uniqueness of a dream message is no obstacle because in the course of my interpretation I base my orientation particularly on the intrinsic and essential circumstances of each dream. That is why over and over again I wish to warn everyone concerning any kind of dreambook. I explain to people that one cannot learn any kind of general rules and orders according to which anyone could easily find one’s interpretation of one’s dreams. Everything is actually endlessly more complicated but on the other hand much more simple. Interpreting a dream cannot be faulty should I follow a certain procedure before I piece the puzzle together. Before I start to put the interpretation down on paper, I shall look towards the soul of the person who had dreamt a particular dream and I can roughly judge the issue in question. Then the whole problem I will "carry up" several stories right before his Highness and ask Him in my prayer for his strength and power so that I could really help the dreamer with my interpretation. Things will then develop naturally. However, this is no added ritual, a so-called ornament of my own interpretation. Things would not work without this "rise"... I assume that a client in question will be sincere about his or her dream. Should a client aim at testing the interpreter’s qualities and should he or she intentionally give the wrong information to him, he or she will pay for it. Actually, the client is not asking the interpreter for any kind of help – he is unapproachable and so nobody can help him.
• How do you actually look "towards the soul of a human being"?
For a short while I simply halt my thought course and remind myself of a dream I would like to interpret. In this state I linger until I can think of a "shape" of the soul of a person whose dream I am interpreting. First of all, one’s dream serves me rather as a way of establishing contact with someone who had dreamt that dream. Only during that "rise" to higher spheres do I acquire a graphic view and a certain key to the meaning of a dream. Then I can set about doing the real and often quite exhausting work, the "translation" of the dream into a comprehensible language. It does not suffice that I myself can understand the meaning of a dream. I must still retranslate it to my client in question in a way that he or she can get the most out of it spiritually. This is the real meaning and goal of my work.
• Does everyone dream, even those who may claim to have never dreamt any dream?
Yes, everyone has dreams. For a human being, dreaming is as important a lifelong activity as breathing, for instance. Nobody can live without dreaming. People frequently do not remember dreams especially because their communication "string" with their inner ego had been cut off. Some dreams are simply forgotten by us because they contain something which is still too "indigestible" for our awake minds and thus threatening.
• What does a dream testify about us?
Almost everything, that is everything essential. Dreams are the loyal "mirrors" of our souls. However, it is important to note that dreams help us to understand our own selves. Dreams mainly determine why we are standing in our own light. Thus, half the battle is already behind us. Spiritual blocks actually tend to dissolve themselves as soon as their roots and concealed mechanisms have been revealed and "brought to the light". Afterwards, it all depends on how we will hear the silent voice of our internal ego that mediates the mysterious word of God for us. This only appears in certain dreams which in addition to a psychic meaning bear an even higher spiritual dimension. Through such "heavenly messages", basic changes sometimes occur concerning human beings.
• Could you mention something about frequently repetitive dreams as well as horrific ones, those that foresee the future and those in which a dying come to say farewell?
Most important are those dreams recurring incessantly. A human being would most likely want to let something essential be forgotten but his real ego does not let him or her sleep soundly. Over and over again, the same problem is pushed before his or her spiritual sight. So-called nightmares are also very important considering that they testify to the strength of one’s suppressed feelings. Our duty is to understand them and not try to do away with them. This is usually a lost battle anyway. Fortune telling dreams certainly exist as do people who are also capable of telling the future in their wakeful state. "Saying farewell" to a dying person is also possible, thus only testifying to the parapsychological abilities of our minds.
• "Whoever dreams of one’s wedding will never get to see the day," is that really the case? C. C. Jung claimed that should the discovered meaning of a dream comply with whatever is expected, one has the right to doubt the correctness of a dream interpretation.
Obviously, following the wedding statement, a certain amount of superstition is concealed in the sense that one should not "speak too soon". It should also be made clear that making desperate efforts can be rather counterproductive should one insist on fulfilled wishes. Perhaps Jung warned of the spiritual strength which Freud had already discovered and to which he had given the term resistance. Actually, one usually has huge mental blocks concerning the real entrance into one’s soul and to really honestly see what there is to be found.
•Can dream books really help or are they more entertaining?
They are definitely more entertaining, although they are not free from danger. What is seemingly humorous can be taken dead serious by the unconscious.
• Once I dreamt I was walking with a stranger through a church and he was telling me about that church while pointing to the turning staircase to the side. Several years later I met a Pole who invited me to visit that same church. All including the turning staircase became a reality for me. Dreams reflecting the future are quite frequent. Time is only a relative quantity at least for our minds. Can the story of a dream somehow refer to our linking to an akasha, that is cosmic memory?
Making clear in which sense it would be possible, I shall use a certain comparison. According to the Greek philosopher Aristotle, each object consists of two elements – a form and substance. For instance, if someone wants to build a house, a person basically needs two things – building material (substance) and an architectural plan which will give the building a certain concrete shape. Dreams are similar to this. For their construction, our inner concealed ego will use all "material" available. These may be only "ordinary" memories from the previous day as well as spiritual impressions which our minds had acquired in that so-called cosmic memory you made mention of. Usually, people are most fascinated by this dream dimension although this is not the most important factor by far. Much more important is the so-called architectural plan according to which the dream had been "built", that is the dream’s testimony alone. That we should unveil, understand and accept.
•How can one work with dreams while using their testimony on the truth of our lives? Can a dream discover a disease to be treated by a dream?
Dreams can be understood as a wise advisor and loyal guide on our path through life. Should we know what they want to tell us and should we take such a message really seriously, we then have a chance we will not lose our path. The practical applications of dream messages somehow mostly come automatically. Dreams very precisely unveil the spiritual causes and spawns of a disease in the body. Our minds undergo regeneration and our bodies become healthier. •Can the intentional creation of certain dreams bring a much required result, such as a medical recuperation, for instance? What procedure would you recommend to a person who wants to find an answer or solution to his or her problem and who wants to find it in a dream?
This is a rather hot issue. These days, people try to recall a particular dream in various ways. They either wish to achieve something concrete or simply to enjoy themselves, for instance. However, there is a certain danger concerning such a procedure. One thus tends to deal with one’s dreams as if they were one’s personal property which isn’t really the case. Dreams are generally much more dignified. Thus one should not make such foolish claims in that respect. Dreams come to us from those "places" that are essentially inaccessible. The messages they bring us are extremely basic and important for us in the sense that one should not "miss them" through one’s improper behaviour. Dreams are therefore very shy "beings" that prefer to "fly away" should they not succeed in finding a suitable "place" to rest. What do we actually gain should we alone decide to "program" the contents of our night dreaming? While only revolving within a circle of our own ego, each real dream message will tend to avoid us by far. However, this doesn’t mean that we should not under certain circumstances prepare the ground for easier receiving of such a message. The ancient Greeks had already undergone a so-called incubation, a ritual sleep accompanied by certain acts, prayers and ceremonies. Their goal was to receive an answer to a certain important lifelong question. Naturally, the entire process might have lasted a very long time, a whole year for instance. Incubation methods were still being practised in Christian Europe of the Middle Ages as well. As an indispensable part, such techniques contained a humble and reverential approach to a secret which is unseparably linked to the dream phenomenon. Certain contemporary techniques that bring about certain dreams rather remind one of magic. Today people are lacking in patience and they would like to have everything immediately and easily. However, this simply isn’t possible in most cases – unfortunately. Dreams tell us what is really important for us and get their timing right.
•Do you remember of a case when a dream changed your client’s life?
Such a case especially concerns so-called spiritual dreams which I have already spoken about. Following such dreams, human beings tend to change noticeably. One tends to find a new meaning and enthusiasm for life that is often followed by a sort of a remarkable form of wisdom. One is thus suddenly capable of resolving one’s lifelong problems whose weight had crushed him or her until a given moment. It was as if one had found one’s way out of a heavy fog onto a firm and clearly lit path. I have enjoyed many such cases.
•Can a part of a karma "be redeemed" in a dream which a human being would otherwise have to endure in his or her lifetime?
I don’t see any basic difference between events experienced by humans whether they be awake, daydreaming and night dreaming. Essentially, their values are all the same.
•Which dream(s) would you most prefer to experience?
I don’t know. Each evening I can’t wait to find out what the night will bring me once again.
•Have you ever had a dream that was fulfilled?
Yes. I’m a dream teller. Just as the Old Testament Patriarch Joseph.
Interpret Your Own Dream
In the days of our great grandmothers were dream books a very popular form of reading matter. Dreams are of interest to psychologists, psychiatrists and to most therapeutists of the human spirit. However, I know only one real dreams interpreter: Martin Benes. He will be running a column on this subject.Interview With Martin Benes
God is Speaking to Us Through Dreams
• What is your method for interpreting dreams, Martin?There is no universal method for interpreting dreams. This would be contrary to the nature of human existence and to its absolute uniqueness. The most reliable method is that of intuition. A dream interpreter must not usurp the status of a mechanic, programmer nor of an inquisitive psychologist. The spirit is a Holy mystery to which one must approach accordingly with respect and even humility. Nevertheless, dream interpreting cannot do without a thorough knowledge of psychology, mythologies and the theologies of various cultures, philosophy and esoteric studies.
•Has the Theological Faculty in the town of Litomerice where you graduated had an impact on your dream interpreting activities?
My studies at the Catholic Seminary in particular have given me a deeper understanding of dreams. Perhaps this might be due to the demanding circumstances that were there in those days. At that time, there was a basic episode that affected my future lifetime. I used to often visit the legendary Radobyl Hill that is located on the river Elbe. Once on its hilltop, a state of mind similar to sleep came on me, whereupon I began dreaming a strange dream. I saw stone steps emerging from the mountain right up to the clouds and then down, somewhere into the depths. I started to walk up those steps but there was no end to them. I sat down not knowing what to do. Suddenly, I noticed a falcon circling above my head in the bright hot sun. I soared up and flew with him across the blue sky to a distant oasis by the name of Nabulus where I pulled up a diamond from a well with my name inscribed on it. Only later on did I found out that Nabulus was the present name of the Palestinian town of Shekem near where is buried the Old Testament Patriarch Joseph who was well known in Egypt for dream interpreting talent. Soon afterwards, I found an understanding for my own dreams and those of my friends who were willing to entrust them to me.
The theological principle alone is extremely close to the dream structure. It tries to understand a revelation, the telling of something which is outside Man’s usual horizon. Dreams are similar to this. A Czech Priest and poet whose name was Jakub Deml once wrote that God was now speaking to us through dreams only – perhaps. This statement seems truly prophetic to me and it looks like it is being fulfilled on this very day.
Contact With the Depths of Our Souls
• What messages do dreams imply?Dreams mostly do not inform us about things around us or about the future – they give us the essence about us humans as such. If we do not live in harmony with our nature, and this happens very often, we acquire from dreams the most precious testimony one can barely imagine. With their help, we can once again reestablish severed contacts with the depths of our souls and understand the causes of pain and frequently those of diseases, and to realize our real desires and wishes which make our lives as happy and rich as possible. It is extremely important in our lives that we recognize our real wishes and obstacles that we create ourselves, thus preventing them from being realized. Otherwise we are just kidding ourselves. These realities are the real message of our dreams.
However, some dreams conceal within themselves an even higher platform. They appear only very rarely and are thus the most precious. Their source is concealed with a shroud of secrecy. They have a spiritual meaning and they announce the turning point in the life of Man and the oncoming metamorphosis of his personality.
• How much is one to believe in dreams?
Dreams do not lie – they only conceal their real contents into symbols and allegory. They thus become incomprehensible and confusing for most people. They do not disguise their messages out of sheer malice. They actually reflect the struggle of two basic forces that are active within our souls. We would always like to have something while at the same time denying it to ourselves. We long for felicity, but we are inflicting pain upon ourselves. We are desperately preventing our most secret "dreams" from being fulfilled. This struggle also reflects the structure of our dreams. We dream that our hopes are fulfilled, but we are also afraid of them and so we try to conceal our wishes, annihilate or at least retouch them. Sometimes we are less successful, another time more – it all depends on different things.
•Martin, in this magazine you will explain to us the symbols appearing in our dreams and to interpret the readers’ dreams. In this respect, what do you need from them?
They should describe their dreams as authentically as possible including every seemingly unimportant detail. Actually, these details are sometimes decisive. For a certain period of time after waking up, people have different thoughts while remembering a dream and it would appear there is nothing in common with it. Even these are important for interpreting a dream. One must also state basic personal data: Age, status, number of children and possibly grandchildren, and profession. Welcome is also determining lifelong experience, views, values and interests… A dream interpreter must actually tune in on the "wave length" of the respective dreamer and to establish a personal contact with him/her on an unconscious level, to say the least. Of great help to the interpreter is every possible seeming detail related to the questioner. However, there are certain difficulties in giving general lectures on dream symbols. These pictures do not actually "fly in" in one’s sleep ready made from a sort of source of knowledge so as to create our dreams without our participation. The reality is far more complex. When I try to explain it, I must once again resort to the field of religion. According to Catholic theology, the Bible has two real authors – God and Man. The holy inspiration of these texts does not mean that God had dictated text to a human author who would have recorded it mechanically. Not at all – the Bible is a work that is both fully human and divine. And analogically, this also concerns dreams. The inner human ego spins a web of our dreams under the veil of night using the eternal and constant symbols coming from an unearthly empire which certain psychologists describe as a collective unconscious. When I thus dream, I associate these symbols with my personal situation and I use them in the sense that they are just suitable for me right now. That is why it is not quite possible to make general use of a dreambook. Should we try to do so nevertheless, it is only with great reservations that we accept their claims.
What Is behind Our Dreams
You will certainly agree with my claim that interpreting dreams is no easy matter and that one should have certain respective dispositions. Which not everyone is capable of doing. Thus, people to whom the same dream is repeated over and over again and which has become a nightmare will gladly search for someone who can help them explain their nightly visions.Martin Benes graduated from the Theological Faculty in Olomouc. In 1987, he had a special day dream, and since then he has been dealing more with them. He has also been trying to see a deeper sense in them. During the following several years, he was completely absorbed in studying the necessary literature and started interpreting dreams to his friends. Today he explains dreams professionally.
•Explaining dreams is no common matter and a single telephone call will not suffice. How does one explain a dream?
I interpret either within the bounds of certain media and especially on a corresponding basis. Whoever is then more deeply interested can ask me for a personal consultation. Such an interview will last for about an hour. He or she can tell me about a certain dream which addressed him or her and that was of particular importance to the person in question. I get a general idea and my interview may also unveil new orientations in explaining the given dream. Further associations and other dreams, tied in with the dream my client want to be explained, may come to light.
If someone sets up an appointment with me, the contents of one’s dream must be described beforehand and in writing. Actually, not every dream is so transparent that it can be explained right away. I must meditate over each dream and I try to meet with the questioner on a deeper level, an effort requiring calm, concentration and time – thus no rush. Usually I need two to three days to think things through. After that we can meet to discuss the dream. During such a consultation, a client will obviously remember other facts. Nevertheless, an interpretation can thus be given so that one need not meet again.
• You have spoken of your very first interpretations of dreams and of a particular dream which started everything. What was your dream at that time and how did you decipher it?
Near the town of Litomerice on the Elbe river is the well known Mount Radobyl, which has its own special charm and atmosphere. Supposedly, both earthly and heavenly energies encounter each other there. That is where I had a kind of day dream where I found myself going down a winding staircase, which to me appeared to be endless. Considering that it led nowhere, I wanted to return which I did. I went up but I could not find the exit. In a kind of resignation a I sat down on a step and did not know what to do. The scene suddenly changed and I was accompanying a bird of prey. Together we flew through the heavens to the settlement of Nabulus, which I knew nothing about at that time. I had only remembered the name. It was a desert oasis and in it a well that I descended into. A gem was lying at the bottom of that well and on that gem was my inscribed name which made a very strong impression on me. Until then, I did not remember my dreams noticeably. Later I discovered that Nabulus was a Palestinian settlement known as Shekem in the Old Testament. The interesting thing about Nabulus is that the Old Testament Patriarch known as Joseph who became famous in Egypt as a dream teller of the Pharaoh’s dreams is buried there. By intuition, I felt it as a kind of an inducement for paying more attention to dreams. I concluded that it was something important to consider. Since then I began remembering dreams and learning more about their meanings and messages. Gradually I worked out my own dream-telling method.
• So that dream at the foot of Mount Radobyl was a kind of call for you to tell dreams?
I understand this dream like the awakening of my true self. Usually, Man does not know his very being. Sometimes, understanding it requires much energy and complex effort. Dreams alone are one of the ways of communicating with oneself. A dream is an artistic work of one’s own self. A dream wants to tell something to that empirical self in a watchful state. Should we be able to understand dreams, it is the way of communicating with oneself and with our own essence. My conclusion was that I should probably take this particular path. I have studied the works of Freud and Jung. After some time, I reached a view that studying dreams is not only important for treating various neuroses and for therapies, but that it is just as important for people who are searching for their own identities and paths and want to discover something, what they are fundamentally determined for.
•It is said that men have a greater imagination than women. Do men visit you more often than women?
Fantasies and dreams have a lot in common. The difference between a daily fantasy and a dream is that a fantasy is created by our active willpower, whereas in a dream, the unconscious or our hidden self talk to us straight. The problem is that men are more bashful and that they trust their common sense, and so dislike confiding. When something really shakes them up, only then will they really pay me a visit. Consequently, women come to visit me in greater numbers and do not hesitate to confide in me. To them, it appears normal to come and consult about the meaning of their dreams and how they should understand them.
•From time to time a particular dream is a nightmare for us because it repeats itself again and again. Do you also come across such a problem?
Yes, it happens that certain dreams repeat themselves. My greatest attention is paid to them because they are usually most important. This proves that our internal self is vociferously trying to tell us something. Should we ignore these signals and not pay attention to them, we will either suppress them in completely silencing that inner voice, or we shall finally succeed in understanding such a dream. Only when we somehow accept this fact, something will make us move and change, we will stop dreaming that dream.
• Do people confide in You with subjects and traumas that are similar to one another?
Especially women frequently dream of being followed by violent man. Naturally, each case must be considered on an individual basis. These dreams usually testify to one’s unresolved relationship with the opposite sex. In such cases, women have ambivalent relations with the opposite sex resulting in controversial emotional positions. On the one hand, they are afraid of men whereas on the other they feel the need for a valuable relationship. In the overwhelming majority of cases, a dream is a product of Man’s two mental powers, one of which has to do with instincts, feelings, emotions and passions. Against this is a spiritual counterforce – a conscience which is a control mechanism that should canalize the current of one’s lifelong energy and which should give a shape or boundaries to it. Between these two forms, a reasonable balance should really be found!
Within themselves, dreams also conceal a sort of a spiritual meaning. They frequently predetermine the basic lifelong dividing lines and changes of personality. Such dreams are most precious and it would be wise to pay exceptional attention to them.
Dreams Point to Our Yearnings!
One dreams in one’s deepest sleep. Through these dreams, we receive a special message from other dimensions, or our subconscious tells us the most concealed wishes and hopes. If only one could decipher them! What do famous personalities think of this?For years, Martin Benes has been interpreting dreams. How did he manage to specialize in this profession? "When I was studying at the theological faculty, I had a daily dream, a kind of a vision. There exists a unique hill above Litomerice. It is a legendary place where the Earth’s energy meets with the space one. I was going down a long staircase through a long hallway with no end in sight. Shortly after, I stopped and wanted to return but I was incapable of finding the exit. And so I gave it up and sat down. Suddenly, the skies opened above me and I was able to fly upwards in the company of a bird of prey, thus reaching the town of Nabulus in Palestine. Having subsequently looked it up in my source of literature, I discovered that near this town was a small grave of the Old Testament Patriarch Joseph who became a famous dream teller. I took this as a call to the road to knowledge. A dream that sticks in our mind should make us wonder about the symbols brought to us and try to understand it through our inner self," explains Martin who tried to comment on the dreams of people we addressed.
I gave Birth to a Crocodile
"I dreamt I was giving birth," confided to us the actress Zlata Adamovska. "I only saw the hands of the obstetrician, whereupon there came to us a big surprise. I gave birth to a small crocodile. It did not shock me until I woke up."And what does Martin say to that? "Should a woman dream of giving birth, it is very important. It indicates that she wishes to create something very significant in her life. In various mythologies, a crocodile replaces a dragon, a symbol of underground energy. Furthermore, in his natural surroundings, a crocodile has very few natural enemies. To me it seems that Zlata Adamovska feels the need to create a form of defense, a space for security. At present, she is afraid she must create this safety shield alone."
I was Being Hunted by a Witch
The woman singer Anna K. had quickly recalled two dreams remaining in her memory. "When I was a little girl, I dreamt of a witch who was following me with a large injection needle while I was running away from her. That dream occurred several times," she confided to me."Witches bear a female symbol within themselves. They’re capable of donating but also punishing. They frequently appear in children’s dreams at the time when we are starting to establish a relationship with our parents, we begin to respect and understand them. Thus a child is starting to discover that it not only receives something nice from its parents but that it can be punished for whatever tiny misdemeanours it has committed," says Martin Benes.
And what about that singer’s second dream? That dream kept being repeated after the death of her mother. "I was at a bus stop when I saw her enter a bus. I was terribly afraid she would leave without me and so I tried to prevent her from departing. But every time I wanted to touch her, the bus door would close and she would leave. And I had a feeling of anxiety," remembers Anna K.
"This is a typical dream just when someone close to us has left this world. She wanted to stop her mother so that she could stay with her because she loved her. Considering she had never succeeded in doing this in the dream, another explanation arises. Although her mother had to leave this world, her daughter wants to remain here. Actually, she is subconsciously afraid her mother would take her with her as well. The desire to live is actually stronger than her nostalgia for the loss of a close person," explains Martin.
She Went Through a Mirror
Moderator Jana Adamkova dreamt she was walking down a street. "I’m looking above me at pink lumpy clouds. They’re falling lower and lower and I wonder whether they will fall on me. At the end of the road, I see a mirror, which I try to walk through. At that very moment, that mirror breaks into thousands of small splinters that fall to the ground," she says."Mythology tells us," Martin remarks to the dream, "that when heavy clouds fall onto a woman, it symbolizes a visit of God himself. The Son of God descended on earth when the Holy Spirit had overshadowed the Virgin Mary and so she conceived to have a child. This is why this dream results in a partner relationship in the broadest sense of the word. The clouds’ pink color tells us that dreamer Jana who likes to idealize partnerships even sees them as something holy, divine. This red thread also continues in the second part of the dream. When she approaches the mirror, she wants to get to the essence and roots of her relationship, which is why she decides to walk through it. The breaking of the mirror into a thousand pieces symbolizes her fear of an exceedingly stable relationship which means she may loose her exceptional individuality and a feeling of inner freedom."
When I’m Afraid, I Fly Away!
The singer Martin Maxa has flying dreams: "I remember a dream in which I was flying. It was not very pleasant, however, because there was somebody chasing me. Nevertheless, I ran as quickly as possible up a hill and simply flew away. I must admit I felt relieved."The explanation? "Flying dreams are mostly dreamt by women. I have not met many men with such dreams, although perhaps they are bashful about admitting this," a smile in the face of Martin Benes. "Such dreams mostly occur should we find ourselves in a more complicated lifelong situation and when we aren’t sure how to cope with a problem we would like to be rid of. Perhaps we don’t know what to do with ourselves, and so such a dream is a testimony to our own personalities. Such a dream often bears a sexually motivated and concealed meaning whenever an individual of the opposite sex is pursuing us."
Forget about Dream Books
Through pictures and acts appearing in the sleep, one’s innermost self speaks to us
She woke up in a state of panic. She dreamt of a bride! That actually foretells the grief over the death of a close person. She sat on a bed and began to think the following: The girl in a night picture had a long white dress and veil on her head – according to the dream – book language, the symbols of good economic deals and general success. So what was that confounded night vision meant to be?"You should better forget about dream-books," Martin Benes advises with a smile – Martin Benes is a well known dream teller who claims, furthermore, that not every dream should be taken equally seriously.
The Message of a Concealed World
"I perceive a dream as an exceptional conversation between our own external self, that is that part of the personality determined by the common sense and willpower, and one’s innermost self that draws from the essence of the existence of an individual, his nature and which portrays the real needs of the body, spirit and soul," says Martin Benes. The message of our innermost selves can enter through symbols and often seemingly unclear scenes. "One should find out their real meaning by carefully analyzing one’s personality, lifestyle, the present state of mind of a human being, his or her present wishes, obstacles, happiness and sorrow. A single symbol can actually bring completely different messages to different people," he explains. "This is why I don’t consider it suitable for a person to throw oneself headlong into reading dream-books. A layman’s analysis of the general notions included in such a book can lead to completely subjective conclusions which can do serious harm to a reader and his or her near relations."On the average, Martin Benes devotes about an hour’s time to each client as far as each individual interview is concerned. Before the interview begins, he analyses the basic features of each dream submitted by his client in writing. "One of the basic conditions for a successful and most precise interpretation is an interest in cooperating. Should a client equivocate, and give evasive answers, he or she can expect only a vague outline of a way out."
The purpose of such an interview is to unveil a sort of a small window to the future. "It is here and right now that we are creating the future. The energies which are preparing following events, are working inside of us much sooner than they are appearing outside. The fact that they already exist can be seen through dreams that we can thus understand as a mirror of our inner self and the spirit."
Warning Signals
Only very few people can remember all their dreams. Some people have more of them and the others less. Sometimes we are able to remember all of them whereas another time only a single dream can be remembered. Some people claim to have no dreams or do not visualize them. "Should we dream regularly, we needn’t be worried if there’s a one - or two – week break. We should become unsure of ourselves if we cannot remember them for a longer period of time or if we’re convinced that there have been none. This reality actually proves that we’re forbidding ourselves from communicating with our inner selves so that we’re creating an obstacle against the needs of our own natural selves. Sometimes, such a situation is associated with a mental disequilibrium which in due time can bring about more serious mental disorders or physical diseases," warns Martin Benes.The Dream That Addresses Us
Should dreams become our more or less regular night-time companions, the question arises as to which dream should be confided to an expert."It’s definitely not necessary after waking up each morning to pick up the phone and call a dream teller," says Martin Benes with a smile. "Sensitive people will feel the need for an analysis. They select such dreams which clearly address their intuition. The others should pay attention to those night time pictures that somehow concern them personally, which have in themselves a peculiarity element and a sort of coded messages and answers to questions that worry them."
Dream Levels According to Martin Benes
We perceive three dream levels. Of course, each dream need not include all of them.First level: Rarely does it occur in its pure form. It is basically and directly significant. In it there are no puzzles, nor symbolisms.
Second level: It’s the most frequent one. It reflects those phenomena occurring inside a human being and in his psyche. This is frequently due to the battles of two inner forces – the first concerns of one’s vitality, passions and emotions, the second with what one normally describes as conscience. An interpretation of one’s psychic dream level can contribute at least to a truce or even conciliation between both forces – that is an inner equilibrium and to tuning a human being to a life according to his real needs.
Third level: Dreams on this level come rarely and are the most precious ones. Their source is hidden with a veil of secrecy. They have a spiritual sense and proclaim the basic dividing lines in the life of a human being and the metamorphosis of his or her personality.
Most Dream-Books Apparently Do Harm
What do pregnant women dream?
One woman says to another: "Yesterday I was reading a dream book where every dream is explained to you. For instance, when you dream of snakes, it means you’re obsessed with the idea of male penises." To which the other one answers: "Oh, well that’s a relief – I dream of male penises without a pause…"A very ancient joke from the workshop of folk art is rooted within a verified fact. "A dream symbol of a snake mostly points to the indestructible vitality of Man which is also very strongly linked to his sexual side. Should a woman dream of a snake, it is very probably the symbol of her sexual desires. As for a man, a picture of a snake is related to his potency and his masculinity in general. Actually, not everyone is totally identified with sex," explains Doctor Martin Benes to whom people pay visits for receiving advice in explaining the meaning of their dreams.
"As for me, this activity was caused by day-dreaming. In the 1980s’ I was studying at the Theological Faculty in Litomerice where I took walks up a nearby hill. Once I came across a turning staircase in front of me on which I started going downwards. There was no end to it and so I got into a panic and returned to where I had started. However, I could not find the exit. I helplessly sat down on a step when the staircase suddenly disappeared and I took notice of the sky, sun and a flying falcon with whom I suddenly flew to Palestine to the town of Nabulus. There I pulled out a diamond from a well with my name inscribed on it. The symbolism was more than clear because it was precisely in that town where the Old Testament Patriarch Joseph was buried who had told dreams to the Egyptian Pharaoh. Dreams had not really meant anything to me until then and I had not really remembered any of them and yet that experience aroused my interest in such things and I was given the ability to understand them intuitively. First I began to analyze my own dreams, then those of my friends, and since that time I have never ceased focusing on this question."
She Was Strangling a Rival in Love
As experts say, men more frequently have action dreams with strange people characterized by their job. Women usually dream of quarrels with their nearest ones. "Not too long ago, there came a woman whose partner had left her and who was dreaming that she was strangling the concerned rival. That caused her a light shock because she had been brought up in being convinced that all negative emotions were noxious and so had to be afraid of them. I explained to her the difference between an experiencing and action level. Assuming that man is capable of seeing through himself, he does not shift so easily from a dream to an acting reality. For instance, a typical example is that of mentally diverted murderers who don’t feel anything and lack any imagination – they simply have an urge to go out and kill someone. Who is interested in oneself and knows even his or her negative feelings will keep necessary distance."Within the first three months of pregnancy, women dream of animals living in the water such as tadpoles – in the second trimester puppies and small rabbits – and just prior to childbirth they will dream of monkeys and man apes… "The animal dream symbolism refers to the carnal components of man. By an overwhelming majority it reflects our mental processes and actions as well as our suppressed emotions. I don’t consider dreams to be a sort of a simple prophecy of the future. When someone comes to me for the very first time and tells me of his or her own dreams, I can intuitively meet his or her personality and thus get an idea of such a person. Dreams can make me recognize his or her basic current problem which can be completely different from that which he or she will confide me."
Does a Bear Symbolize Tough Luck?
Martin Benes does not recognize most dream books that are currently sold in every bookshop. "Included are harmful stupidities, because in many cases they pass on to the reader an opposite explanation of his or her dreams unlike a real one. For instance, in one of them, the entry Bear will mean danger. However, to encounter a bear may mean one’s natural vitality, which on the contrary is a positive aspect! Each dream is a unique artistic work of a particular person, which is why they cannot be lumped together. To say the truth, there are general symbols, but you are never absolutely sure as to whether they always really mean the same thing."
One of these symbols is that of flying in a dream, for instance. "This means that man is longing for freedom and is escaping from the straitjacket of one’s daily responsibilities. One should then differentiate from someone who had started to fly because he or she was being chased - or simply out of sheer happiness. Such dreams can also be associated with sexual experience. In other words, this message is being sent by one’s concealed self to ourselves, and so one can precisely recognize one’s ego through this factor," adds Martin Benes.
| << | Home page | >> |