I Had a Strange Dream Last Night Involving Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu… + Chat GPT Dream Interpretation + Comparison of This Dream to Classical Catholic Discernment by Chat GPT and If It Passes the “Final Discernment Verdict” + Soundtrack

Listen to the soundtrack below while reading my dream for more immersion into the experience…

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I’ve probably forgotten some details of the dream. I will try not to embellish it but I am going from partial recall. After all, it was a dream…

I was in an area surrounded by mountains. Right in front of me, looking east, was what looked like a giant lodge or resort building with many balconies of the same height that extended eastward. In the distance was a mountain range that ran north to south.

Then I was sitting at a table on one of the balconies, outside. Perhaps 1/3 of the way into the row of other balconies (of a resort?) extending eastward. I believe the building was brown.

I looked immediately to the left (northward?) and there was a big mountain right there extending upward maybe several thousand feet. It was light colored as if snow was on it from top to bottom. There was what looked like a line of railroad cars (on tracks?) extended upward toward the top of the mountain. The top of the mountain wasn’t pointed, it had a small plateau or flat spot on it, similar to the Mt. Fuji picture below but way closer, right next to me and totally white from top to bottom.

I was seated at a table with two other men in front of me. Then Benjamin Netanyahu sat down to my immediate left so there were four of us. He began to speak and pulled out what looked like a flat, white sea shell wrapped in see-through plastic wrap. Then he unwrapped the flat shell-like object. It was roughly oval shaped with rough edges.

When he was done unwrapping it you could see there was black Hebrew lettering on it. He then said something about showing us how to pray. I guess it had something to do with the object, the shell. We followed his lead. We all practiced putting our hands into the air, wider than shoulder width, extended slightly in front of us, spreading our fingers out and closing and cupping them a bit, not quite like a claw but so that the fingertips were first point of contact.

We all then got up and went to the building we were at (lodge, hotel, resort?) and took positions near the wall at different points. One gentleman went first. He extended his arms wider than shoulder width, in front of him, fingers stretched out a little bit and curved so that when he touched the wall the fingertips touch the wall, not the whole palm.

Then it was my turn. I placed my outstretched hands with fingers extending a bit and slightly bowed so that the fingertips were touching the wall. I believe I was facing south with my back toward the mountain. Benjamin Netanyahu was watching me intently and with focus. I felt serious and intense. I then pulled my hands back away from the wall. I needed to adjust my position. Then I placed them back on the wall, intently and with high seriousness, slowly looked over my left should facing east toward the north-south mountain range in the distance and began to pray intensely..

Netanyahu stared at me zealously and focused and did not avert his gaze from me when I began to pray. Then he pulled a phone out of his pocket and began to talk while staring at me. I believe there was someone standing next to him observing. I have an idea of what that other man was wearing but I’m not completely sure and I don’t want to embellish the story…

That is it. That was my dream…

I’m not sure what it means.

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I asked Chat GPT AI what it thinks the dream means and here is the interpretation:

Thanks for recounting it so carefully, Michael. I’ll approach this symbolically and psychologically–spiritually, not as a prediction or external message. Dreams speak in images that express inner tensions, orientations, and callings, especially when someone is already contemplative.

I’ll break it into key symbols, then offer a coherent reading, and finally what it seems to be asking of you (without sensationalism).

1. The Landscape: Mountains, East, and the Lodge

Mountains

Mountains almost universally symbolize transcendence, divine encounter, or moral gravity.
The immediate white mountain beside you suggests nearness to something overwhelming, pure, and demanding.
Its flat summit (not pointed) implies not a dramatic climax, but a sustained, inhabitable height—a plateau rather than a peak experience.

Railroad cars ascending

Trains imply structure, inevitability, historical momentum.
This suggests a path laid before you rather than improvisation.
Importantly: you are not on the train. You are adjacent to it, observing.

Facing East

East is traditionally the direction of prayer, resurrection, orientation toward God (Jewish and Christian).
The fact that the building extends eastward implies your life is already oriented toward meaning, not away from it.

The lodge/resort

A lodge is a place of temporary dwelling, rest between journeys.
This suggests a liminal stage: not your final place, not chaos either.
You are not lost—you are waiting, being instructed.

2. Netanyahu as a Symbol (Not the Man Himself)

This is crucial: dream figures are rarely about the literal person.

Netanyahu here symbolizes:

Authority
Political-religious seriousness
Burden of history
Covenantal responsibility
A man associated with defending a people under pressure

In dreams, such a figure often represents:

“The weight of tradition and responsibility watching how you handle the sacred.”

He is not hostile.
He is not friendly.
He is evaluative.

3. The Shell with Hebrew Writing

This is one of the strongest symbols.

Shell

Comes from the sea → chaos, depth, the unconscious
A shell once contained life → receptivity
Flat, white → purified receptivity

Wrapped in plastic

Sacred things protected, not yet fully accessible
You don’t own it; it is revealed, not taken

Hebrew lettering

Language of origin, law, prayer, covenant
Suggests prayer that is not spontaneous emotion, but form, alignment, obedience

In short:

Prayer here is not about feeling—it’s about positioning yourself correctly before reality.

4. The Prayer Gesture (Hands, Fingers, Wall)

This is very precise, which means it matters.

Hands wide, fingers first

This is not grasping.
This is reaching without seizing.
Fingertips first = sensitivity, restraint, reverence.

Facing the wall

Walls symbolize limits, boundaries, reality as it is
You are not praying into emptiness or ecstasy
You are praying into constraint

This is key given your past experiences:

The dream is steering you away from absorption and toward grounded, disciplined prayer.

Adjusting your position

You don’t rush.
You care about correctness.
This reflects moral seriousness, not performance.

5. Turning Your Head While Praying

You place your hands forward (commitment),
but turn your head left, toward the distant mountain range.

This suggests:

You are engaged with the present, but
aware of a larger horizon
Not absorbed, not dissociated

This is a very healthy contemplative image.

6. Netanyahu Watching, Then Making the Call

This is not sinister.

Watching intently:

“This matters.”
“This is being done under witness.”

Making the phone call without breaking gaze:

You are being reported on, not judged
More like: “This one can be trusted with seriousness.”

It suggests:

Your interior life has consequences beyond you—but you are not meant to manage that.

7. What the Dream Is Not Saying

It is not saying:

You are chosen for geopolitical prophecy
You should involve yourself in politics
You are responsible for Israel or Judaism
You are being given secret knowledge

Dreams inflate when misread. This one actually deflates ego.

8. Coherent Interpretation

Putting it together:

You are in a transitional phase where the psyche (and conscience) is emphasizing reverent, structured, embodied prayer over intense mystical absorption.

You are being taught how to stand before God correctly, not how to feel God intensely.

Authority and tradition “watch” not to dominate you, but to ensure you do not misuse the sacred.

This aligns strongly with:

Your instinct to live ordinarily
Your desire not to chase states
Your concern for moral integration

9. Practical Meaning for Waking Life

The dream quietly advises:

Stay grounded
Pray with your body but within limits
Let tradition form you
Do not dramatize your interior life
Allow witnesses (spiritual direction, structure)
Do not flee into ecstasy or isolation

In other words:

Become reliable before becoming radiant.

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Very well, Michael. I’ll do this explicitly through classical Catholic discernment, not modern psychology, and not speculative prophecy. I’ll lean on St. Ignatius of Loyola, St. Teresa of Ávila, St. John of the Cross, and the Church’s ordinary criteria.

I’ll structure this clearly so you can test the dream rather than be impressed by it.

I. Classical Catholic Framework for Discernment

Catholic discernment does not ask:

“Is it striking, symbolic, or intense?”

It asks:

Does it produce humility and sobriety?

Does it increase obedience to ordinary life and prayer?

Does it diminish self-focus and curiosity about oneself?

Does it integrate the body without overwhelming it?

Does it resist urgency, secrecy, and exceptionalism?

Dreams are placed very low on the ladder of certainty. Even saints treated them cautiously.

II. How Your Dream Scores Against Catholic Criteria

1. Humility vs. Inflation

Classical warning sign
Dreams that inflate say:

“You are chosen”

“You are special”

“You have a mission others don’t”

“Authority bows to you”

Your dream does the opposite.

You are instructed, not exalted

You imitate others

You adjust your position

You are watched, not celebrated

Authority remains authority

St. Teresa:

“Any vision that leaves a person more desirous of being unnoticed is likely from God.”

✔ This dream reduces prominence.

2. Sobriety of Affect (Very Important)

St. John of the Cross is severe here.

He distrusted:

Sensory sweetness

Ecstatic pull

Bodily delight

Absorptive states

Your dream:

Has no pleasure

Is serious, controlled, restrained

Involves the body without rapture

Ends without emotional climax

That is strongly consistent with purgative or stabilizing influence.

✔ Passes the sobriety test.

3. Obedience to Ordinary Structures

Catholic discernment asks:

Does this lead me back into the Church’s ordinary life?

Your dream:

Uses ancient prayer posture

Emphasizes correct form

Places you in a lodge (temporary, ordinary setting)

Avoids private revelation content

There is no instruction to:

Teach

Announce

Warn

Reveal

St. Ignatius would mark this as non-disruptive.

✔ Passes.

4. Direction of Desire After Waking

Ignatius: discern by the aftertaste.

Healthy signs:

Calm seriousness

Less hunger for experience

More patience

Desire for normal fidelity

Your reported reaction:

“I’m not sure what it means.”

No compulsion to act

No urgency

That neutrality is actually a good sign.

✔ Passes.

5. Relationship to Authority

Catholic mysticism is allergic to self-authenticating experiences.

In your dream:

Authority instructs

Authority observes

Authority does not flatter

Authority does not yield

This is precisely the pattern John of the Cross says God uses to protect souls prone to intensity.

✔ Strong alignment.

III. Where the Dream Would FAIL (If It Did)

For clarity, here’s what would have been problematic:

Dangerous Feature Present?
Secret knowledge ❌
New doctrine ❌
Command to act publicly ❌
Erotic or sweet rapture ❌
Sense of superiority ❌
Urgency or fear ❌

None appear.

IV. The Use of Non-Christian Imagery

This matters in Catholic discernment.

St. John teaches:

God often uses images outside one’s devotions to prevent attachment.

The Jewish imagery here:

Avoids Marian or Christological sweetness

Removes emotional familiarity

Forces reverence rather than intimacy

This actually reduces the likelihood of projection.

✔ Neutral to positive.

V. Theological Reading in Catholic Terms

If translated into Catholic language, the dream says:

“Do not pursue extraordinary states.
Learn to pray with the body soberly.
Let yourself be formed, observed, and corrected.
Stand before God with seriousness, not sweetness.”

That is textbook Carmelite counsel.

VI. What Catholic Discernment Would Advise You to Do

Very little.

St. John of the Cross:

“The soul should neither reject nor desire such things, but quietly pass on.”

So:

Do not meditate on the dream repeatedly

Do not draw conclusions

Do not adjust your prayer method because of it

Do not seek confirmation

Just:

Continue ordinary prayer

Stay embodied and grounded

Maintain moral vigilance

Keep normal relationships

If the dream was from God, it will bear fruit without your help.

VII. Final Discernment Verdict

By Catholic standards:

The dream is benign

Possibly corrective or stabilizing

Not directive

Not revelatory

Not to be acted upon

St. Teresa would likely say:

“Thank God and think no more of it.”

That, paradoxically, is the highest compliment.

If you’d like next, we can:

Compare this dream to false-mystical dreams condemned by the saints

Or examine why your psyche is being steered away from ecstasy now

Or map this against your current prayer stage

Just say which.

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