 |
| Photo by Nick Fewings on unsplash |
When the food was finally served and we all began eating, I noticed,
rather curiously, that a lady sitting beside me was not eating her food. When I
asked why, having waited for it, for so long, like the rest of us, she said,
the reason was “personal”. When I politely pressed her further, out of curiosity,
for the ‘personal’ reasons, she said, “I don’t eat chickens”. That sounded odd so I asked her why? “Some
years back”, she disclosed, “I had a dream in which a holy man told me to stop
eating chickens. He didn’t tell me why, but I got the message clear enough.
Initially I did not believe the dream, so ignored the advice. I continued
eating chickens freely. Then one day, I was in another dream in which plenty of
chickens were pursuing me. It was a nightmare! I was relieved when I woke up.
From that day, I stopped eating chicken”.
What a convincing reason she just related to me! You could call this
her personal Thou-Shall-Not-Eat-Something rule – a rule she followed
tenaciously, not minding what the crowd would say. Indeed, most of us may also
have such personal a rule we silently keep and obey until an occasion calls for
one to reveal it, as it happened in the case of that lady.
There could also be some not-so-personal reasons for abstaining from
certain types of food. For instance, I know some people don’t eat pork due to
their religious beliefs. I also hear that some tribes in India forbid their
natives from consuming cow flesh because cow is considered a sacred animal.
Additionally, I do know that eating of dog meat is allowed among certain
peoples in Southern Nigeria but a taboo in other parts of the country.
Thus, the Thou-Shall-Not-Eat-Something rule could stem from
personal, religious, or societal, injunctions. The latter two may not leave you
with a choice; but if personal, it should be obeyed, especially if such is rooted in one’s personal
dream. What it means is that the food is not good for your health, presently.
However, such applies to you only, and not any other person, due to our unique
body chemistry. Remember, one man’s meat (food) may be another’s poison.
What is being hinted at is this, Dreams play a vital role in our
lives. Except for very few, many people don’t pay attention to their
dreams. Whenever we dream,
communications that are personal and essential to us pass from the Holy Spirit
to us on how to run our lives better – such as not eating food that could be
injurious to our well being. The problem most people face is how to interpret
their dream messages. So, due to difficulties of dream interpretations, such
people don’t place much premium on the relevance of dreams in their lives and
therefore miss out on its benefits.
Fortunately, I stumbled on a Radio program on EKO 89.7 FM, Lagos, on dream and how to go about understanding it better. This would form the basis of my next article, How To Interpret Dream And make It A Healthy Lifestyle Practice.