The following experience I’d like to write about pertains to a prolific dream I had in 2020. The dream I will be discussing today is what some may consider “mental time travel,” a phenomenon that involves our consciousness traveling back in time. Mental time travel should not be confused with what we consider traditional time travel, which looks at moving through time like we move through space: You leave one place (or time) and arrive in another.

Before going into the actual dream itself, I will provide some background on my mindset at the time since it plays an essential role in the experience. During this period, I was doing much “shadow work,” as Carl Jung would call it. For those unfamiliar with shadow work, the concept involves exploring and integrating the unconscious aspects of ourselves that we have repressed or denied. It is the process of acknowledging and accepting our darker, less desirable qualities to achieve psychological balance and personal growth. By doing shadow work, we gain self-awareness and become more authentic individuals. Based on this limited understanding, one might expect that our repressive and denied traits might not be our most suitable and attractive traits. Some of these traits might have resulted from trauma-induced experiences that our psyche has attempted to hide. Also, at this time, I was doing a lot of journaling of dreams which involved understanding the reoccurring people that would be showing up in my dream. One of these people, Ave – an old childhood friend – plays a vital role in the dream I will discuss. To provide context, I have concluded that Ave plays the role of the “sidekick friend” in my dreams. We usually are involved in situations that are in classrooms -symbolically, a classroom can be seen as an opportunity for learning and development.

I will attempt to write the dream to the best of my memory. It started with me in a classroom with my friend Ave. The actual classroom itself was not recognizable to me. I remember the scenery of the dream changing, and Ave and I were now in a classroom that was recognizable to me; my 9th-grade classroom. It should be noted that in the dream, I was unaware that this change of time had occurred. Inside I saw a couple of familiar classmates. At a point in the dream, I was interacting with some of them, some of them apologizing for previous altercations. But then the dream continued to take me from one grade to another – re-living these memories. Each time I did so, I let go of whatever memory held me back. As I mentioned, I was unaware of the consistency of going back in time. Only when I write this am I aware of this pattern of time travel backward in this dream. The last part I remember of this dream experience is suddenly being back in the original classroom from the beginning. Next to me was Ave, with a giant smile on his face. At that point, I remember having this thought that I just went back in time. Vividly I remember Ave patting me on the back and saying, “We did it, we actually did it,” providing me with that reassurance as if he had just read my mind. Afterward, the dream had ended, and I woke up confused but intrigued at what I had just experienced.

As I look back and reflect, what happened to me doesn’t seem out of the ordinary. After researching, this idea of mental time travel appears to be a topic of discussion amongst the scientific community. However, seeing how the process of mental time travel is played out visually and the effects on the psyche was breathtaking. Many don’t realize it, but some of us mentally time travel when we manifest the future we want to experience. When we mentally time travel to the future, we tap into the power of imagination and possibility. We can explore different paths, visualize success, and align our thoughts and actions with our desired outcomes. This process helps clarify our goals and intentions and enhances our motivation and resilience.

However, my experience pertained to the past, where I gained great insight into my issues. I believe mental time travel to the past holds incredible potential for personal growth and development. By revisiting past experiences, we gain the opportunity to heal and make peace with the events that have shaped us. This healing process is crucial for our psychological well-being and allows us to integrate those past experiences into our present understanding of ourselves. Mental time travel, in a way, provides us with the tools to rewrite our narratives, fostering resilience and empowering us to create a more fulfilling future. By confronting and integrating our past wounds, we gain self-awareness, authenticity, and a deeper understanding of ourselves. Mental time travel allows us to identify patterns and recurring themes in our lives, breaking free from negative cycles and limiting beliefs. Through this exploration, we can let go of whatever memories or experiences hold us back, opening up new possibilities for personal growth and transformation.