In this post, I’ll be sharing some of my strangest and quirkiest dreams, and exploring an unorthodox metaphysical theory -- called “counterparts” -- that may connect and explain them.
The second quirky dream phenomenon is the unexpected recurrence in my dreams of certain dream figures. It is not surprising to me that I often dream of my wife, my family members and my close friends. But it is very intriguing to me when an acquaintance (sometimes someone that I have not seen in many years) starts to show up repeatedly in my dreams. For example, allow me to introduce you to Adam*. I’ll be sharing some of my Adam dreams later in this post. In waking life, Adam is a business acquaintance of mine. We both work in the Charleston real estate industry. In waking life, we might cross paths about once per year. Oddly, I recorded a remarkable streak of Adam dreams in 2012. He appeared in 7 separate dreams that I recorded over the course of a 9-month period. And, he continues to show up in my dreams from time to time, albeit with less frequency compared to the 2012 streak. Of course, these are only the dreams that I wrote down in my journal. He may very well have appeared in other dreams that I forgot or did not bother to write down. Why so many Adam dreams? * Throughout this post, I’ll use an * to indicate when I’ve changed a name for privacy purposes An Introduction to CounterpartsAs for the unorthodox theory that may connect and explain these intriguing dreams, it has an unorthodox source. I first become inspired to start a dream journal (back in 2011) after reading several of the Seth books published by Jane Roberts. In creating the books, which were published in the 1970s and early 1980s, Jane acted as a medium or channel, speaking aloud for an unseen spiritual teacher name Seth. Seth described himself as an “energy personality essence” that is no longer focused on a physical plane of reality. In Seth’s model of reality, the soul is a complex (multi-dimensional, multi-gender, multi-ethnic etc.) and highly creative being that expresses itself simultaneously through numerous personality structures. Seth explains:
What is a “counterpart”? Seth offers the following introduction to the concept:
Thus, a counterpart is another aspect of your soul that is experiencing the physical world from its own unique perspective. In a larger sense, we are spiritually connected to everyone on the planet. We all spring from the same ultimate spiritual source. But, just as we have siblings and cousins in the physical world, the counterpart theory suggests that we also have siblings and cousins on the inner spiritual planes. In some cases, these types of relationships overlap. For instance, you may have a waking life cousin that is also closely connected to you on the soul level. Over the course of many sessions channeled by Jane Roberts, however, Seth made it clear that many of our close spiritual counterparts are not connected to us by waking life familial bonds. Seth tells us that, due to our strong inner connection, we often dream about our counterparts:
Seth dropped an additional bombshell on Jane and her students. Over the course of our lives, Seth explained, we can all expect to interact face-to-face with some, but not all, of our counterparts. In fact, Seth informed the students that attended Jane’s weekly classes in Elmira, NY, that several of them were counterparts of each other. After studying the symbolism of my numerous Adam* dreams, I’ve come to understand that he is one example from my own life of such a scenario. As you will see, I’ve discovered several others. Counterpart Dream HintsAre you curious about the identity of your counterparts? Would you like to confirm the intuitive feeling that you already have about some of your inner spiritual connections? Because we often dream of our counterparts, dreams provide us with a unique opportunity to do some spiritual detective work about the identities of our counterparts. The fact that a person is a recurring dream figure does not necessarily mean that they are a counterpart. But, to my way of thinking, it certainly makes them a candidate, especially if their repeated appearance is unexpected. Before I conclude that someone is very likely one of my counterparts, however, I look for dream symbolism that is suggestive of a strong bond or connection. Counterpart Dream Hint #1: Space Sharing
Counterpart Dream Hint #2: Seeing Double I’ve found that counterpart dream imagery often involves a double element, which suggests that this person might be my “double”. Here are some examples. The first two are taken from my collection of Adam* dreams: • I’m wearing a dress shoe on one foot and a sneaker on the other foot. I cross paths with Adam* and he also has a dress shoe on one foot and a sneaker on the other. • I’m sharing an office with Adam*. Our two desks configured such that we sit face-to-face as we work. There is also a shared bookshelf. I watch as Adam labels one shelf as mine and another shelf as his. Note: In addition to the double imagery, this dream also features shared space.
Counterpart Dream Hint #3: Mirrors Mirror experiences in dreams are often suggestive of a counterpart connection. I already provided one example at the beginning of this post (seeing my reflection as a Japanese man). Here are two others:
• After walking out of a college classroom, I encounter a mirror. The reflected image is that of young man in his late teens or early 20s. He has is long blonde hair, with long bangs coming down over his forehead. Counterpart Dream Hint #4: Confusion Over Identity
• I’m in the drive-through lane of a fast food restaurant. Before I place my order through the speakerphone, the worker asks me my name. I spontaneously respond “Eddie”*, as if this is my name.
Counterpart Dream Hint #5: No Hint Required In perhaps my most obvious counterpart dream, I am walking along a sidewalk with Adam* (good old Adam!) and Greg*. Greg points to each of us in succession and says: “counterpart, counterpart, counterpart”. No interpretation required! Counterpart Q&AIs a counterpart the same as a “soulmate”? The concepts are related. We tend to use the phrase soulmate in the context of romantic relationships. The counterpart idea is broader, with the underlying idea being that intimate soul connections are not limited to the contexts of romantic love or familial bonds. Is the counterpart idea related to the idea of reincarnation? I think so, since Seth uses the term counterpart to refer to soul connections in a very broad sense. Like many other metaphysical teachers, Seth teaches us that time is ultimately an illusion. From the perspective of the soul, so-called “past lives” and “future lives” are perceived as occurring simultaneously. Recall my mirror dream where I saw the image of a Japanese man as my reflection. I’ve come to believe that this dream gave me a glimpse into the life of one of my counterparts. Unlike Adam*, I don’t believe that I’ve ever met this Japanese man in waking life and we may never meet in waking life. Until I get further clarification, I remain open to the possibility that he represents a “past life” or “future life” (realizing that both categories are better understood as “simultaneous lives”). Do men have female counterparts and vice-versa? Yes, they do. Seth gave numerous examples of this in the Seth books. And, my dreams have suggested to me that I have several female counterparts. For reasons that are not yet clear to me, however, I’ve collected more dreams about male counterparts than female counterparts. Appendix I: |
Jane Roberts, The “Unknown” Reality (1979), especially Vol. 2, Sessions 721 through 732. Susan M. Watkins, Conversations with Seth (1980), especially Vol. 2, Chapter 6, entitled “Who Else Do You Think You Are? Counterparts Are Comparatively Encountered”. Jane Roberts, The Oversoul Seven Trilogy (1977-1984). |
Author
Chris Cunniffe, Abundance Coach and Dream Coach, at Lucid Coaching, LLC
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