Keep in mind that the brain is able to extrapolate past events and use the information to identify trends and make predictions. It can happen in dreams or as conscious thoughts.
The ability to predict rather than supernatural prophesy;
''In 2009, Denise Cai, a psychologist at the University of California, and colleagues administered tests in which words appeared to be unrelated. Consider a word sequence such as ‘falling’, ‘actor’, and ‘dust’. Those with more REM are better able to come up with the word that links all of them: ‘star’.
In a study published in 2015, Murray Barsky, a sleep researcher at Harvard Medical School, and colleagues looked at probabilistic associations in more depth. They had their participants predict one of two probabilities – ‘sun’ or ‘rain’ – based on descriptions of associated events. They then compared the performance of participants who took a nap containing REM sleep with those who stayed awake, finding that REM subjects routinely had better scores.'' - How dreams predict the future by making sense of the past | Aeon Essays
Summary: A new study reveals that some neurons in the brain not only replay past events during sleep but also anticipate future experiences, which may explain how dreams can sometimes predict the future. This research, published in Nature, involved observing individual neurons in the hippocampus of rats during rest after navigating a maze. The study utilized a novel machine-learning approach to track the spatial tuning of neurons, discovering that while many neurons stabilize memories during sleep, others adapt to anticipate future experiences, highlighting significant neuroplasticity during sleep. - Dreams May Predict the Future | Sleep Review (sleepreviewmag.com)
