Life is but a dream.
Literally, according to the Zohar! Kabbalah considers our physical world an illusion, a temporary residence, and not true reality.
Our world of morning mochaccinos and evening rush hour traffic jams is just one of many dream worlds and dimensions that separate us from the ultimate reality. These other dimensions are accessible in a variety of ways, one of which is through the dream state.
The purpose of sleep
When the sun is set and the stars spatter the heavens, part of our soul leaves our body. Even if we remain awake, part of the soul still departs, which is one reason why we begin to feel more tired and drained as night unfolds.
During actual sleep, the Zohar explains that 59 of 60 parts of our soul have now left the body, leaving only 1/60 to sustain us physically.
When the body is in slumber, the chains of physical existence are suddenly broken. The soul is now free to ascend to a high place in the spiritual atmosphere where it receives nourishment, power, and the occassional oil change. Why the need for a recharge?
In the course of a typical, chaotic day, the limitations of time, space, and motion extract their toll on the body and soul. Take the concept of time, for example: Time constantly keeps us under extreme pressure. Either we`re playing catch-up, madly trying to meet deadlines as the clock races by, or we grow wildly impatient as time slows down to a crawl.
Why the dream state?
During our "metaphysical tune-up", the soul is in a realm beyond time and space. Past, present, and future are unified into one. The panorama of a human life span is fully displayed from birth to death.
Thus, in addition to getting a recharge, the soul oftentimes catches sight of events that are coming our way, both positive and negative.
These glimpses are then filtered down to the body, where they take the form of dreams.
Most of our dreams are a combo-plate special. In other words, one aspect of a dream consists of the events, experiences, and thoughts currently occupying our conscious minds. Interspersed into this mixture are visions of the soul that dwell in the subconscious.
According to Kabbalah, dreams offer us the opportunity to understand our negative character traits. They can help us learn what it is we need to change in order to grow spiritually. Of course, we must know how to read and intepret the dream in order to discern this wisdom.
Moreover, if a person has no intent or desire to change or experience spiritual growth and transformation (probably 95% of the world remains stuck in this category), then the messages of the soul are that much harder to detect. In fact, we probably won`t even remember the majority our dreams.
