Several weeks ago, I reconnected on Facebook with one of my college roommates. I read over his info to see where he was and what he was up to (and learned that he and his wife were expecting their first child) but we didn’t actually communicate. I had a dream on Friday night in which this roommate appeared, along with his college girlfriend (who is now his wife). I got to thinking about the dream and realized I should probably get in touch, so I went to his Facebook page this morning to send him a message, and learned that the baby was born early Friday morning.
Is it a coincidence that the first time I thought of them in several weeks, subconsciously though it was, was within a few hours of the birth of their first baby?
In short: yes. I’ve heard and read explanations for how these things happen, and the basic conclusion is that things like this are statistically likely, even probable. I’m not convinced by those arguments, but it’s been a while since I’ve read about them, and I hadn’t had one of those experiences. Some more research is needed.
As a good skeptic, I don’t believe in spiritualists, mediums, psychics, astrology, or any other pseudoscientific pursuits. I would also put dream interpretation in this category: I don’t believe that dreams carry any significance whatsoever, aside from glimpsing our subconscious. That’s just my opinion, but it seems that any significance attached to dreams would be put there by some higher power, which is eliminated by the whole being an atheist thing. Why any creator would choose to speak through dreams, leaving a lot of people wondering what it means, is beyond me.
So I guess for now I’ll stick with my thought that it was just a coincidence, and that these things do happen. I will, however, call the proud parents to offer my congratulations and catch up.
