Expert: Margaret Placentra Johnston - 7/16/2010

Question
Hi,

I am an atheist and I have no faith in any supernatural and non-materialistic forces or anything related to that. I only believe in things that are scientific and rational.
However, in last few days I found that the dream I saw while sleeping, actually came true in reality and that too on the same day. This has happened to me 2 times. These incidences have shaken the very foundation of the atheism in me and I am afraid that I may again start believing things, which I never want to.

Please help me by finding a rational solution to my problem.

Answer
Hmm... I am not so sure I see the connection between atheism and having a dream come true.  Forseeing something that was about to happen is not supernatural really but just a sign of intuition.  Among most people I know having intuition is considered a strength, a gift of sorts, sort of like being smart or having a good understanding of literature or musical talent.  

You would not be scared if it turned out you were a musical genius would you?  Where would that genius come from?  It comes from the same pool of possible talents as intuitive skills.  You have good intuition, someone else is a musical genius.  We do not get the chance to choose our gifts.  And I admit some are more useful than others.  

But I see no reason why having intuition (which is well-documented as something some people are just born with) should interfere with your atheism.  If anything it should strengthen it!  It means you, as a human being have more power than you thought.  The more personal power you have, the less you need to attribute to supernatural forces.  

You obviously know you have a part of your mind that is conscious, right?  Well, even atheists can admit that they also have a sub-conscious mind.  This refers to elements that exist in the mind but are not immediately available to consciousness.  It may be that at some level your sub-conscious mind "knew" the event your dream foretold was going to happen?  I don't know.  That is just a guess.  But for sure, whatever is subconscious is NOT supernatural, just a part of nature.  

There are all sorts of people who try deliberately to develop their intuitive skills, for whatever reason.  If you are not interested in developing yours further, I recommend you at least accept them as a natural part of life.