Many of us suppress our emotions in the waking world-especially
extreme ones-for fear of somehow alienating those around us, or
else of appearing dangerously vulnerable, or even of disgusting
ourselves.
This means that the only way in which we can "safely" express our
true feelings is in dreamland. Dreams that are flooded with a
positive emotion may furthermore often be categorized as wish-
fulfillment dreams, while those that are blighted by a negative
emotion may be classed as safety-valve dreams.
Below is an analysis of two emotions common in dreams: fear and
freedom.
FEAR
If you had a nightmare that left you paralyzed with fear, you
probably awoke feeling very relieved to realize that it was just
a dream, and you may have spent most of the next day trying to
push it out of your memory. However, these types of dreams are
underlined by our waking fears-which are very real, though
perhaps repressed-which are likely to appear in our dreams again
and again until we confront and resolve them.
Symbolic and Verbal Associations
* Unconscious fears; phobias
* Something (or someone) that one finds "monstrous"
* Repressed personal qualities or characteristics
* External threats
* A call to action; the "fight or flight" response
Positive Interpretations:
If you have a waking phobia of spiders, did you wake up in a
panic after dreaming that hundreds of giant, hairy arachnids were
crawling all over you?
Or, if you suffer from a fear of heights, did you have a
nightmare in which you found yourself dangling precariously over
the edge of a very high cliff?
If so, your dream was probably just mirroring your waking
phobias, especially if something in the real world has recently
triggered your fear.
And, as scary as your dream may have been to you, your
unconscious mind probably selected the nightmare scenario as a
"call to action," in order to urge you to confront and conquer
your fear.
If you have a recurring scary dream, you may find it helpful to
tell yourself that when you next have the dream, you will not run
from whatever it is that frightens you, be it spiders or
boogeymen, but will instead stand and face whatever it is.
If you do, you may be surprised to find that the dream
consequences are not as bad as you imagined them to be, which
will help to allay your fear and hopefully put an end to the
dreams.
Negative Interpretations:
The unconscious will sometimes portray our fears in monstrous
form. Did you have a dream in which you were being pursued by a
hideous, fanged monster that had run you down and was about to
overtake you?
If so, the monster was most likely a symbol of something that you
fear in the waking world that you feel is threatening to consume
you.
Doing some free association may help you to figure out whom or
what your dream monster represented. Was it your predatory lover?
An ogre-like teacher? Your own "green-eyed" beast of jealousy?
Could your dream vampire have represented your energy-sapping
friend? (Or had you just watched a vampire movie on late-night
television?)
Once you have identified the source of your fright, you will be
better able to arm yourself in order to do battle with whatever
it is that is troubling you.
FREEDOM
Sometimes our dreams may fill us with an exhilarating sense of
freedom or liberation. And when we awake from this sort of dream,
we may feel somewhat let down or disappointed to realize that we
must now deal with the more mundane reality of the world.
Dreams of flying may be the most literal or obvious form of
freedom dreams, but almost any dream scenario may fall into this
category, depending on our own subjective feelings and
experiences.
Symbolic and Verbal Associations
* Exhilaration
* Escape; release
* Casting off your shackles
* "Being yourself "
* "Flying high," or "floating free"
Positive Interpretations:
In your dream, were you soaring over beautiful mountains and
valleys, or running carefree through a meadow of wildflowers? Or
did your dream self rise up and walk out of your tedious office
job for the last time?
Dreams in which we finally break away from the chains and
shackles that bind us-physically or emotionally-are likely to
fill us with an overwhelming feeling of euphoria.
Wish-fulfillment, escapist fantasy dreams of this sort are
special treats from our unconscious minds, sent to us in order to
make up or compensate for the tedium or drudgery of our day-to-
day lives.
These dreams may provide us with the little extra boost that we
need in order to cope with daily life-and if we heed their
message, they may even encourage us to release ourselves from
whatever (or whoever) is holding us back or sapping our vitality
in the waking world.
Negative Interpretations:
If you felt extremely sad or depressed after waking from a dream
in which you experienced ultimate freedom, do you feel that the
dreariness and the confines of your current life have chained you
down so firmly that there is no way of ever escaping to
happiness?
For instance, are you in a relationship that is making you feel
trapped or claustrophobic? Are the demands of others, or of your
workload, stealing your time, your energy, or your individuality?
Do you long for a more exciting, stimulating relationship, job,
or life? Do you desire the freedom to "be yourself "?
If so, your unconscious mind was probably using your dream in
order to urge you to seek appropriate help to take the necessary
steps to release yourself from whatever situation is confining
you.
Though your dream may have provided you with a temporary release
from your troubles, you may continue to experience your waking
sadness until you make a conscious effort to cast off your
shackles- whether they were put on you by yourself or by others-
and to live your life in whatever manner you find personally
fulfilling.
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