Dreams represent more than just random fragments strung together from our waking lives. At least we’d like to think they mean more. Searching for the significance behind our dreams has led many of us to buy overpriced dream dictionaries, hunt down online interpretations and even venture into the dreaded troll underworld known as “Yahoo Answers”. The more daring among us may even check out the father of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud. According to Freud, dreams are fundamentally about wish-fulfillment and are often sexual in some way. With that in mind, we’re betting that dream you had about riding a giant banana through the Lincoln Tunnel takes on a whole new meaning.
Freud would have had a field day with this one.
Anyway, we here at Weirdworm have decided to take a look at twelve of your most common dreams. We’ll be offering different explanations as to what they may represent. Because dreams are particularly open to interpretation we decided to go with a traditional analysis as well as a unique view on the subject. For the latter we chose to ask someone who knows “a little bit about everything”, our very own – “Frankie the Maintenance Guy”. He’s our office’s janitorial warrior. Frankie is always around to clean up anything from the smallest spill to the ridiculous amounts of dried raccoon feces stuck to the ceiling of our boardroom.
This is how Frankie looks on a good day.
Frankie hit a lotto number back in 1978 thanks to a dream he had which involved the scoreboard of a Yankees game (he won $50.00 bucks). We’ll be referring to Frankie’s take on the subject as our “in-house expert opinion”. Let’s get started…
12.
Teeth Falling Out
THE DREAM:
These notoriously common dreams tend to involve the horrible discovery that your teeth have suddenly become rotten, loose or worse…they are completely falling out your mouth. These dreams usually leave you extremely distressed.
THE TRADITIONAL MEANING:
Face it, we are a vain species. Many of us spend more time in the morning primping ourselves in the mirror than we do worrying about getting to school or work on time. Appropriately so, many consider dreams of this sort to signify our fear of being found unattractive. However, at a deeper level these dreams also suggest a profound fear of shame or a loss of power in real life.
FRANKIE’S TAKE:
FTMG:
“I dreamt my teeth were falling out all throughout my teenage years and sure enough, by the time I hit 20 they were pretty much all gone. These dreams are an omen of things to come. Enjoy being pretty while you still can… the shows over for you.”
11.
Being Late or Unprepared
THE DREAM:
Dreams of this nature may involve you showing up late to an important meeting or social get together. Often you will be totally unprepared. Whether you are still in school or haven’t been a student since the stone-age similar dreams may involve you being in school anyway and failing a test or showing up late to class.
THE TRADITIONAL MEANING:
This one is fairly straight forward. Both school and career settings can be representative of change. In that context, dreams of this sort may signify that you are feeling tested in your waking life by some change which you feel unable to handle.
FRANKIE’S TAKE:
FTMG:
“Can’t say I ever had a dream like this before. I’ve never much cared about being anywhere on time though. The way I see it the world is on my clock. If I don’t feel like cleaning the trash cans before 9am and you have some issue with that, then take it up with someone who gives a flying f***.”
10.
Using the Restroom in Public
THE DREAM:
Dreams of this sort are often accompanied with feelings of anxiousness. Basically the dream will involve an agonizing search for a bathroom and possibly lead to you doing “your business” in a public setting.
THE TRADITIONAL MEANING:
According to many dream analysts, dreaming that you are using the restroom in public can hint at your desire to release something in your life that has served its purpose and needs to be let go. The fact that the bathroom is in public signifies your awareness that people in your life will know about whatever it is you wish to release.
FRANKIE’S TAKE:
FTMG:
“The so called experts got this one wrong. Every time I’ve ever had this dream it’s because I had to use the toilet. Whenever I’ve ignored this dream I’ve woken up in a stinking mess of whatever I ate the night before.”
9.
Trapped
THE DREAM:
These nightmares are noticeably claustrophobic and extremely distressing. They involve you being trapped in some horrifying manner (a cage, a room, or at a Dane Cook show).
THE TRADITIONAL MEANING:
These dreams may be symbolic of a situation in your waking life where you feel insecure and “trapped”. Furthermore, the dream may indicate that you may feel held back from your full potential by a given circumstance.
FRANKIE’S TAKE:
FTMG:
“I guess I agree with the tradition meaning. As far back as I can remember there’s always been some a**hole holding me back in some way. My mother, my father, my step-mother, my adoptive parents, that crazy lady who found me at a bus station and more recently, my parole officer. Him especially.”
8.
Death
THE DREAM:
These dreams are usually pretty traumatic as they involve the loss of a loved one or a close friend.
THE TRADITIONAL MEANING:
When someone passes away in your dream it can signify a feeling of being disconnected or cut off from that particular person. An alternate explanation is that the death of that person has nothing to do with them per say. Instead the person in question may simply characterize an aspect of yourself which that person happens to represent. Their loss represents a loss of that side of you.
FRANKIE’S TAKE:
FTMG:
“No ifs, ands or buts about it, if you dream someone died then keep the hell away from me because you my friend are the angel of death.”
7.
Being Chased
THE DREAM:
These nightmares are terrifying and typically involve you being chased by a crowd, a psycho killer, a monster or some shadowy mysterious figure.
THE TRADITIONAL MEANING:
According to analysts, dreams of this nature may denote that you are avoiding something which you need to face in your waking life. It may also correspond to a difficult memory which you would rather not remember. One possible way to understand the source of the apparition chasing you is to ask yourself who or what in your life most closely represents the threat in your dream.
FRANKIE’S TAKE:
FTMG:
“I have these dreams a lot. Could be because I skipped out on child support payments for an army of babies. Yeah, way back when I was a rock hard ladies man who didn’t much care about throwing a baggy on my stud every time I got a piece. That’s why to this day I stay off the radar. My real name aint even Frankie but you didn’t hear that from me. Hey don’t print that!”
6.
Flying
THE DREAM:
In these types dreams you are basically Superman, soaring through the clouds and gazing down upon those below you… perhaps with a smug sense of superiority. These types of dreams are as good as it gets, perhaps outside of wet dreams.
THE TRADITIONAL MEANING:
Dreams of this nature represent feelings of creativity, freedom and a desire to do the impossible. Simple put, they are awesome.
FRANKIE’S TAKE:
FTMG:
“I get these dreams whenever I’ve hit a point of extreme inebriation that borders on alcohol poisoning. It’s a challenge I accept regularly. Speaking of drinking… I have an appointment with Jack Daniels so how many more of these f***ing dream questions you got to ask me?”
5.
Falling
THE DREAM:
In these dreams you are basically the opposite of Superman, meaning you are plummeting to the ground and cowardly freaking out. Also, depending on what you were told as a child you may try to wake yourself up for fear of actually dying if you hit the ground in your dream.
THE TRADITIONAL MEANING:
These dreams signify anxiety and a loss of control in your waking life. An alternate interpretation is that it is simply a fear dream which relates to potential abandonment issues. One interesting side note is that falling dreams almost always occur during the first stage of sleep. They are accompanied by muscle spasms and contractions which are known as myclonic jerks. When we have such dreams our bodies tremble and we awaken from the movement. This twitching action is a mechanism which allows us to wake up and become alert to any possible threats.
FRANKIE’S TAKE:
FTMG:
“Ain’t no deep meaning to falling dreams. Just like there ain’t no deep meaning to poems, songs, books or any of that other fancy stuff they teach in schools. You people are all nuts.”
4.
Sex Dreams / Wet Dreams
THE DREAM:
These are the sort of dreams you would normally see on Cinemax at 2am except they star you and possibly your biology teacher. These dreams cross the line and become “wet dreams” when you also ejaculate while asleep. Nice… what would grandma think of you now?
THE TRADITIONAL MEANING:
Interpretations for sex dreams vary as fantasies can have all sorts of meanings for different individuals. One possible interpretation of a sex dream is that it’s meant to balance your waking life and your experiences. For example, if you feel weak in reality then you might dream of being a mega-sexual god while in slumber-land. Wet dreams have a scientific explanation. For men the body has a built in mechanism to involuntarily release semen while asleep. This release is usually triggered by a sex dream. Wet dreams are generally a guy thing; however ladies can get them too. In both sexes, nocturnal orgasms are often accompanied by sexual dreams. Wet dreams barely register for most guys, but women sometimes have insanely vivid and detailed sex dreams which nearly trick them into believing they’ve actually done the deed.
FRANKIE’S TAKE:
FTMG:
“Yeaaaah…now we’re talking! Wet dreams, sex dreams, erotic dreams, Jessica Alba dreams, it’s all good baby!
Ha! Ha! Yeah man!
Yeah!!!
Wait – what was the question again?”
3.
Driving
THE DREAM:
These are dreams which typically involve you as the driver or passenger in an automobile that is quite out of control. And not in a cool “action movie” way. More like in a “horrifying about to die” way.
THE TRADITIONAL MEANING:
This is another very common nightmare which occurs for people of all ages, not just those who can drive. These types of dreams typically mean that you are feeling powerless over something in your waking life. Your lack of control over the automobile and imminent crash should make this particular analysis painfully obvious.
FRANKIE’S TAKE:
FTMG:
“What the f*** does this have to do with wet dreams?” Oh we’re done with that? Can we go back to it?”
2.
Moving in Slow Motion
THE DREAM:
These sorts of dreams usually involve a sensation of paralysis or your inability to move away from a looming danger. For an example of this please refer to Nightmare on Elm Street (Part 1) when Nancy was running up the stairs to escape Freddie and the steps turned into mashed potatoes.
THE TRADITIONAL MEANING:
This one is also fairly straight forward. The dream is representative of your inability to move forward or make progress in your waking life. It is similar in some respect to our entry on trapped dreams in that it can indicate your frustration with being held back by someone or something.
FRANKIE’S TAKE:
FTMG:
“You know what – I can already see that the next entry is about nudity so how about we just skip whatever I have to say about these stupid “slow motion” dreams where you are on a hamster wheel or something going no where fast and for f***s sake lets just finish this s*** already!”
1.
Naked in Public
THE DREAM:
Number one on our list is this cliché dream which involves you being totally naked. Naturally this display takes place to your surprise in front of numerous others who have apparently gathered around to view your anatomy. Typically you’ll bare all to your entire class, or at a job interview or perhaps at some massive public event.
THE TRADITIONAL MEANING:
This common dream can have several different meanings depending on your personal situation and the exact nature of the imagery. For example, if the dream is accompanied by feelings of pride than it is a healthy sign that you are comfortable in your own skin and happy with yourself. If others are oblivious to your exhibitionism, then it implies your fears about an issue are probably not that serious. If, however, you are humiliated in your dream (feeling exposed, awkward and vulnerable) then you may fear exposure or revealing too much of yourself in a real life situation.
FRANKIE’S TAKE:
FTMG:
“I think being naked in your dreams just shows you have a freak in you that is dying to come out. Ladies call me if you’re interested in pursuing these feelings. My janitor closet is stock full of devices that…”
We cut off Frankie’s mic at that point. Enough is enough.
Written by Anthony Quaglia – Copyrighted © www.weirdworm.net
Image Sources
Image sources:
- – Teeth Falling Out : http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/8701/teethg.jpg http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/425/frankiethumb.jpg
- – Being Late or Unprepared : http://img192.imageshack.us/img192/7362/lateh.jpg http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/425/frankiethumb.jpg
- – Using the Restroom in Public : http://supportyourlocalgunfighter.com/wp-content/uploads/Man-peeing-in-street.jpg http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/425/frankiethumb.jpg
- – Trapped : http://img842.imageshack.us/img842/954/trappedh.jpg http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/425/frankiethumb.jpg
- – Death : http://img864.imageshack.us/img864/414/24472778.jpg http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/425/frankiethumb.jpg
- – Being Chased : http://img545.imageshack.us/img545/4086/ruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuunnnn.jpg http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/425/frankiethumb.jpg
- – Flying : http://img839.imageshack.us/img839/87/flyingk.jpg http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/425/frankiethumb.jpg
- – Falling : http://img862.imageshack.us/img862/8117/falling.jpg http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/425/frankiethumb.jpg
- – Sex Dreams / Wet Dreams : http://img849.imageshack.us/img849/7571/yeaaak.jpg http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/425/frankiethumb.jpg
- – Driving: http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/6319/drivingb.jpg http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/425/frankiethumb.jpg
- – Moving in Slow Motion : http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/3595/sinkingz.jpg http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/425/frankiethumb.jpg
- – Naked in Public : http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/8170/32318229.jpg http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/425/frankiethumb.jpg
