Dreams as Non-Verbal Communication in Contemporary Psychology of Religion: A Religious-Psychological Approach
1 Faculty of Social Theology and Religious Studies, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece.
2 Department of Greek Philology, Democritus University of Thrace, Greece.
Research Article
Open Access Research Journal of Science and Technology, 2026, 16(01), 081-092.
Article DOI: 10.53022/oarjst.2026.16.1.0017
Publication history:
Received on 12 January 2026; revised on 17 February 2026; accepted on 20 February 2026
Abstract:
The article examines dreams as a primordial, non-verbal mode of communication within the framework of contemporary Psychology of Religion. Dreaming—especially in the REM phase—predates articulated speech by hundreds of millions of years (around 500 million years), is observable across both vertebrate and invertebrate species, and operates as a psychosomatic interface linking conscious and unconscious processes, as well as the human realm with what is perceived as the metaphysical. Within the Christian tradition, from biblical accounts to patristic writings (e.g., Clement, John Chrysostom, Augustine), dreams have been interpreted as vehicles of divine disclosure—prophetic encounters or experiences of God and angelic beings. In the present day, a considerable number of Christians still affirm that God communicates through dreams, imparting guidance, warnings, or spiritually charged experiences that shape everyday religious life and personal spirituality. The study concentrates on symbols of transition (such as the ladder, flying, and upward movement), drawing in part on Desoille’s technique of the guided waking dream (rêve éveillé dirigé). These symbolic motifs are understood to express ontological transformation, the resolution or surpassing of crises, rebirth, and the transcendence of spatial and temporal limits. In this perspective, dreams arise from multiple sources and function as ritualized passages that mediate movement toward psychological or religious forms of reality.
Keywords:
Dreams; Nonverbal communication; Psychology of Religion; Divine revelation; Transition symbols; Ladder – flight – ascension; Rite of passage; REM sleep
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Copyright © 2026 Author(s) retain the copyright of this article. This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Liscense 4.0