What did my dream mean?

Tell me what you dreamed!

Everybody, with very rare exceptions, has from four to seven dreams a night, depending on a variety of factors, including how long you sleep each night.

Scientists have learned that people dream in cycles with stages from light sleep through deeper levels, then reverse the process. When they’ve returned to the lightest stage again, the first "Rapid Eye Movement" stage briefly occurs ... along with a dream.

Scientists have discovered that some sort of process occurs at other stages of sleep as well.

But these studies don’t add much to what dreams mean.

Dreams are highly personal. You are the best interpreter of your own.

Let's tap that wondrous inner source of wisdom!

So, pull up your covers, tap into your unique nightly adventures...

And shine a spotlight on your dreams!

_{From INTO YOUR DREAMS: Decipher Your Unique Dream Symbology to Transform Your Waking Life by Janece O. Hudson, EdD, published by Adams Media, a division of F+W Media. Used by permission. All rights reserved.}

_{If you would like your own copy of this extraordinary book, CLICK HERE}

A picture is worth a thousand words!

After you’ve first looked at the dream as a whole, you can — especially if you’re still having trouble with the meaning — look at it in many additional ways to find what technique or combination of them works best for you.

One way is to look at the pictures in your dream.

A woman dreamed that she had a bee buzzing around in her upswept hair; a man dreamed that a bear pushed him off the roof.

Sound strange?

If you know that the woman had a “bee in her bonnet” (was irritated) the day before and that the man is a stock investor in danger from a falling or "bear" market, these dreams make sense.

Think of the elements in your dream as concrete depictions of abstract concepts (or figures of speech).

Most dreams or parts of dreams are simply ideas expressed in symbolic language. Also, they may be something like a picture puzzle -- for example, a graphic image of a house with wings ... a house fly!

The people in your dreams

Most of the time the people you dream about are familiar: they’re family, friends, people you work with, characters you read about or see on TV, or folks from your past such as your third grade teacher or an old love. Sometimes the people you dream about can be surprising or even startling. Why would you dream about your boss riding a camel to the Sphinx? These various people show up to teach you different things about yourself or your life situation. Although occasionally these folks appear as themselves, most of the time they’re symbolic of something else altogether.

Most often the people in your dream represent:

1. Some aspect of your personality or behavior projected onto other people, or
2. Some general quality or situation personified by the actor

Are you receiving a warning?

Some dreams warn of upcoming ill health.

Think of them as an alarm system that goes off before a disease or illness appears. We are mind, body, and spirit - and that body is made up of a vast number of components and systems that operate to keep us healthy and functioning.

While those systems normally work automatically, research has shown that we can consciously affect their workings. For example, through the use of special biofeedback techniques, subjects can learn to raise the temperature of their hands to ward off migraines, and others can concentrate to successfully lower blood pressure.

This is possible due to communication between the mind and the body at a subconscious level. If you can accept the idea of mind-body connection and communication, prodromal dreams make sense. The mind is aware that trouble is brewing in the body.

Literature is full of people who have actually saved their own lives by paying attention to prodromal dreams, and there are stories of people who have been warned of cancer, heart disease, and other grave illnesses.

There’s an adage that says nothing of any consequence happens in your life that hasn’t been previewed in a dream.

By getting into the habit of recording and interpreting your dreams, you could possibly save your own life.

Your secret self

Italian psychiatrist Roberto Assagioli suggested that we are all normally made up of different sub-personalities, various selves that are expressed in the different roles we play in everyday life—as teacher, parent, child, employee or employer, student, and many others—each distinct enough to identify.

In waking life you might be a pragmatic engineer with a wife and two kids. But there are other parts of you that make up the whole—perhaps the poet who secretly pens sonnets, the adventurer who aches to climb Mt. Everest, the little boy who is afraid of spiders, the grandmother who bakes cinnamon rolls on Sunday morning, the general who is a strict disciplinarian.

Is it unhealthy to think of ourselves as separate parts with separate identities? Only if they’re not integrated. We’re not talking multiple personality disorders like in The Three Faces of Eve here. We’re all made up of many parts to our personality, which, when combined, make us who we are. Many of these various sub-parts show up as people in our dreams.

Familiar people

Often the people who appear in your dreams are people you know—family members, friends, co-workers, neighbors, people you see every day.

First ask yourself, as I asked the young mother, what do I associate with this person?

Patience? Warmth? Cruelty? Sense of humor? Procrastination? Honor?

Or, if you don’t know this person, describe him or her. Substitute whatever major quality you associate with that person and see if the dream message makes sense.

Or, as in the dream about Betsy in the garden, make lists of positive and negative traits. Even if the person is a football hero from high school, someone you haven’t thought of in years, or if the character is deceased, the same principle applies.

I don't have any clothes on!

What about those dreams of being as naked as a jaybird?

Being unclothed or improperly dressed in public is a common and universal dream theme frequently mentioned in dream research as noted by Patricia Garfield, Ann Faraday, Elsie Sechrist, and others.

These dreams can have a wide array of interpretations, depending, as usual, on current events in the dreamer’s life. It may be saying that you should be ashamed of yourself about your recent behavior.

At the other extreme, such a dream may be encouraging you to stop hiding behind a facade, attitude, or a role (represented by your clothes) and simply be yourself.

Naked dreams might also illustrate fears or anxiety about having the world see you as you really are.

Why am I dreaming about my feet?

Sometimes important elements in our dreams are those that focus on certain body parts rather than on a whole person. These specific features have special meanings as well. As in all symbolism, body parts must be interpreted from your individual experience, but here are some examples that will illustrate how the procedure works and give you a starting point.

Hair: Another common symbol, the hair on our heads is a perfect analogy for ideas, thoughts, or thinking. Matted or disheveled tresses may signify tangled, confused thinking, while shining locks are positive mental aspects.

A woman dreamed that she was cutting off masses of long hair into a shorter style that was easier to care for. (In reality, her hair was of medium length.) Her dream was advising her to cut off so much thinking and start doing.

We’re all familiar with the term “letting down your hair.”

Hands and Fingers: Hands and fingers are commonly highlighted in dreams and are complex symbols with many possibilities. They may represent feelings, service, work, help (give a hand), praise (as in applause), creativity (the hands of artists, musicians, writers), communication, or any of a number of productive ways we use our hands. They can also signal disdain, be idle, or getting into mischief.

Feet: Since feet are used to stand, they’re often used to illustrate “understanding” or perhaps bases (on firm footing, or feet made of clay). They’re also our main method of locomotion, so feet may represent our path in life or our direction. Bare feet are especially vulnerable to the environment, so they may represent sensitivity or being a tenderfoot (a novice). Toes are extensions of the feet and help with balance. They can also have to do with sensitivity or with testing (sticking a toe in the water).

Eyes: Of course, eyes are considered windows to the soul. Dreaming of having a third eye is common and signals a spiritual awakening, an ability to “see” beyond the mundane. A woman was thrilled to discover in her dream that she had an extra eye in the back of her head. The eye, rather than looking grotesque, was beautiful. She determined that she was learning to see the past clearly and deal with the pain there; the message was a progress report from her inner counselor who said, “Well done.” Losing your sight might suggest “losing sight” of some objective, purpose, or ideal or being blind to certain realities.

Say it with flowers!

Back in romantic Victorian times, suitors often sent bouquets of particular flowers to impart messages to the young ladies they were wooing. The specific type of blossom, along with its color, sent a message. Even the number of flowers meant something. As always, the issue is: what do particular flowers mean to you? Judging by the number sold on Valentine’s Day, I think we might all agree that a majority of people associate red roses with “I love you” or “Be mine.”

Some people walk into a florist shop and are drawn to exotic or unusual arrangements or flowers; others are drawn to the more traditional bouquets. Which do you prefer? Sifting through those types of memories and experiences will give clues as to what certain blooms mean to you.

Because of traditions, advertising, TV, movies, poetry, songs, books, and stories from our childhood, we all probably have more flower and plant associations tucked away than we would think.

Consider the following list:

1. Easter lilies
2. Red roses
3. Pulling petals off daisies or other flowers
4. Lilacs or honeysuckle
5. A funeral
6. A first corsage (given or received)
7. Poinsettias
8. A flower garden

Do some of these flower connections bring a constellation of memories and associations to mind, including smells? This will be useful for helping you decipher their meanings when they appear in your dreams.

Talk to the animals!

Animals in dreams are simply actors and actresses with fur, feathers, and scales. It is important here, as it is with human characters, to rely on your associations rather than on some other source. Certainly we can get clues from such sources, but look for the unique definition for these projections of the dreamer. Interestingly, research has shown that children dream of animals more often than adults do, with the percentage of animal dreams decreasing as age increases.

Birds: Birds are harbingers of spring, remind us that the early one gets the worm, sometime serve as messengers, and and, like any other symbol, deliver a message unique to our interpretation. Birds are among the most beautiful and colorful of all the fauna, so they tend to be positive symbols.

In the United States we think of the bald eagle and immediately associate it with freedom, courage, and strength. If I asked which bird represents peace to you, the common response would be, “a dove.” Most of us associate owls with wisdom. In ancient Greece, Athena was the goddess of wisdom, among other things, and is often pictured with an owl.

Let’s take a look at two bird dreams, a duck dream and a swan dream. These two dreams are very different, but have some similarities as well. The swan is a complex symbol. Carl Jung suggested that a swan was a symbol of transformation. Even Hans Christian Andersen would agree. Remember the ugly duckling story? Ancient Greek myth suggests that Zeus changed himself into a swan to ravish Leda, a woman he had his eye on. But why is a swan a transformative figure, and what is the subtext of that story? Could it be an allegorical connection of the mortal and the divine? Perhaps.

Are you the Lion King? Or Oz's Cowardly Lion?

Who can forget the Cowardly Lion in The Wizard of Oz? (That movie is filled with symbolism. The whole thing can be interpreted as you would any dream.) Most of us are familiar with the MGM trademark of the roaring lion or certainly The Lion King. A majority of us would probably associate a lion with being the king of the jungle, courageous, powerful, and aggressive. Some associate the lion with the solar plexus or adrenal glands that secrete adrenaline when we need to be courageous and aggressive (the fight or flight response). Lions are also mentioned frequently in the Bible and other religious writings, and in myths.

Animals of a more general nature, from guppies to elephants, may metaphorically represent qualities, attitudes, or situations. Or they may be a play on words. Think of the following terms and phrases: rat race, catty, horsing around, eagle-eyed, playing chicken, overbearing, eating like a pig, and a zoo full of other common figures of speech. The fish is often associated with Christianity.

Are you allergic to any animals? As a child were you bitten by a monkey, stepped on by a horse, dive-bombed by a blue jay, or stung by a jellyfish? Did you pray every night for a puppy, have a little yellow kitten, get a turtle for your birthday, or feed bugs to a lizard you caught on the front porch? Past experiences with animals shape our dream symbols.

And an angel appeared to him in a dream ...

What do you associate with angels?

In the Bible, angels are most often portrayed as messengers from God. At other times angels act as heavenly guides. We also refer to someone who is exceptionally sweet or good as an angel. Mother Teresa and others like her were angels of mercy. In your dreams, an angel might simply be a figure of speech and not a visitation from above—but then again, perhaps it is. It depends on the personal lens through which you view the angel.

What do you associate with a particular spiritual figure? Are you experiencing visitations during your dreams?

Or are your deams personifications of love?

Truth? Wisdom? Sacrifice? Perfection? Guidance?

In over your head?

Bodies of water are considered universal symbols for emotional states (although this is not a steadfast rule).

Does a peaceful pool evoke the same mood as a raging river?

No, these scenes are portray very different things.

Just as roiling water may indicate emotional upheaval, gentle seas may represent smooth sailing. An ocean may represent vastness to one person, seasickness to another, terror to a person afraid of water, and a spiritual journey to still another. Like paths or roads, rivers may symbolize a life journey or the way a person is currently headed.

Close your eyes and picture a beach scene, then picture a mountain scene. How did each scene make you feel?

What moods were evoked? Which did you prefer? Why?

Do you dream in color?

Does everybody dream in color?

Probably. Many people just aren’t aware of the colors that show up.

Women are generally more aware of colors than men (except artists, designers, and others who work with color). Do colors have special meaning in dreams? Sometimes. Many of us share an association with specific colors, but others don’t pay much attention to color or have very individual feelings about particular colors. Spend a minute thinking about what color means to you by answering the following questions.

1. What’s your favorite color?
2. What color do you associate with danger, passion, or anger?
3. What color represents jealously, envy, or greed to you?
4. What color do you dislike?
5. What color represents the unknown to you? Death?
6. What color or colors represent happiness to you?
7. What color is serenity, peace, or purity to you?
8. What does pink make you think of?
9. What color represents autumn to you?

Look, Ma! I'm flying!

If you’ve ever had a flying dream (sans aircraft) you know the feeling of true exhilaration, true freedom. To be able to sail above the treetops and zip to faraway places gives you a high like no other. But what do these flying dreams mean? They can have many meanings; however, such experiences often happen after a particularly trying time when we need our spirits to be lifted. Jung talked about compensatory dreams, those dreams that occur to keep us in balance and headed down the road to individuation. If we need something to pull us out of feeling dispirited, we fly. If we’re getting a little too big for our britches, as my grandmother used to say, we have dreams that take us down a notch to keep us balanced.

Flying, levitating, or teleporting dreams may have other motivations as well. Perhaps they come to remind us not to get too bogged down in the heaviness of life or figurative gravity, and to rise above negative situations. They encourage us to look beyond the limitations imposed on us, to a belief that anything is possible. These may be a promise of transpersonal self-actualization, of transcending the lower self and reaching for the true self, the higher self, which is the ultimate goal.

About the Author

Janece O. Hudson, EdD is a certified hypnotherapist and member of the International Association for the Study of Dreams. Dr. Hudson taught college psychology for twelve years and is now a popular speaker in the fields of dreams, hypnosis, motivation, creative imagery, parapsychology, and creative writing.

_{If you would like your own copy of this extraordinary book, CLICK HERE}