1. Bad dreams may foretell a disaster, a serious illness, or death. For example, when a sick person is near to death (we say, captured by the lord of death), they may dream of riding a cat, monkey, tiger, fox, or even a corpse. If their dream is repeated frequently, this is not a good sign. They are told to go to the lama to receive instructions and say prayers. If the dreams go away, they will recover. Another typical type of dream associated with death is riding naked on a buffalo, horse, pig, donkey, or camel - usually riding towards the south. A healthy person having such dreams repeatedly may become sick because, although not yet manifest, the disease is blocking the path of the spirit, thus causing the dreams. Some people may recover if they recognize the signs and take medical advice and give traditional religious offerings.

2. Reflective dreams are understood the same way as in the west as a way of processing and clarifying everyday events, both good and bad.

3. Auspicious dreams are a fortunate sign. Typically, they are dreams of holy or famous people, a clear lake, a spotlessly white cloth, receiving luscious fruits, climbing a mountain or climbing a tree full of ripe fruit.

Generally there are 6 categories of all three types of dreams: seeing, hearing, experiencing, praying fulfillment, and arising from an illness. If any of these dreams are in the early part of the night, between dusk and midnight, no negative effects will ensue, because the dreams are usually forgotten. If a dream comes just before dawn, about 3-4 in the morning when the mind is vivid and clear, it will bear fruit. Sometimes Tibetan physicians will examine the dreams of both healthy and sick people. They take the pulse, examine the urine and hear about the dream before giving a diagnosis and explanation.

Unlike the west, if the dreams and other signs foretell death, the doctor will not tell the patient unless the patient is very strong and able to cope. Instead, the doctors tell the family members and tell them to prepare for the patient's demise.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama took part in a seminar on The Exploration of Consciousness in 1992 which included scientists from the west and east. The results have been written up in a book: Sleeping, Dreaming, and Dying: An Exploration of Consciousness with The Dalai Lama, and edited and narrated by Francisco J. Varela. Details of the Book can be found in the Tibetan Medicine Resource Guide, published on the web site of the Alternative Medicine Foundation (http://www.amfoundation.org).