Posts Tagged dream interpretation

Dreams about cheating, either being cheated on or cheating yourself, are some of the most commonly reported, and most troubling, dreams there are.  Many people take these dreams as prophecies, and accuse their spouse, boyfriend or girlfriend of cheating in real life.  While these kinds of dreams are sometimes valid, most times they are not.

When a dream of a cheating spouse, boyfriend or girlfriend turns out to be accurate, it does not necessarily mean you are psychic.  Rather, it probably means that your unconscious mind picked up on some subtle signals that your conscious mind either overlooked or blocked out.

For instance, things like a sudden change in wardrobe, new cologne or sudden interest in fitness can often signal a cheating spouse.   It is possible that your unconcious took note of all these signals during the day, and then used your dream state to send a message.

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Dreams where you are falling are some of the most commonly reported dreams there are, and such dreams are one of the leading causes of sudden waking from a dream.

First, let’s begin by dispensing with the myth that if you hit the ground in your dreams you will die. There are plenty of fully alive human beings who have reported hitting the ground during their dreams of falling.

The fact that these people were around to report this situation is proof that this legend is merely that – a legend.

Dreams of falling are most often interpreted as an indication of unresolved fears, anxieties, instabilities and insecurities. The person who experiences recurrent dreams where he or she is falling may be feeling overwhelmed by and unable to control certain situations in his or her waking life.

For instance, the dreamer may feel that his or her home or work life is out of control, and that he or she is unable to remain on top of the situation. This kind of generalized anxiety can easily manifest itself in a dream where he or she is out of control, such as a falling dream.

Falling often represents a loss of control, or feelings of helplessness on the part of the dreamer. After all, when you fall, you have no control over your direction or your pace. This feeling of being out of control and falling often represents similar feelings in the dreamer’s waking life.

Therefore those who are troubled by such dreams should be encouraged to examine their life for the source of anxiety and fear, and to confront the situation head on. Doing so often results in a lessening or even an elimination of dreams of falling.

Dreams of falling can also represent a sense of inferiority or a sense of failure in your personal or professional life. This fear could be a fear of failing in school, failing at your job, losing your social status, or failing in a relationship.

People experiencing these situations are often troubled by dreams in which they are falling. These dreams of falling can represent a perceived failure to measure up to expectations, or a fear of losing your status, losing an important person in your life, or just a generalized fear or failure.

The strict Freudian interpretation of a dream of falling was that such a dream indicated that the dreamer was contemplating giving into a sexual desire or sexual impulse.

Dreams of falling are most likely to take place during the first stage of sleep. That is because dreams at this stage are often accompanied by spasms of muscles in the arms, the legs or even the whole body. These sudden muscle contractions are known to science as a myclonic jerk.

The dreaming mind can interpret these muscle spasms as falling, and thus incorporate falling into the dream state. Often when dreamers experience this myclonic jerk, they awaken at feeling their body twitch. This fast reaction is part of the evolutionary mechanism that allows us to be awakened quickly in the presence of a threatening environment.

Those who do biblical and religious interpretations of dreams often see falling dreams as meaning that the dreamer is taking his or her cues from the world of man instead of turning to God for guidance and advice.

Dreams have been around for at least as long as human beings, and dreams are universal, experienced by men and women, young and old, and people of all cultures and ethnicities. In some ways, dreams are a universal language, and there are certain themes, such as falling, flying, taking a test and finding yourself naked, that show up in dreams throughout the world. Dreams, it could be said, represent a kind of universal human language.

Dreams have been studied throughout history, and dream interpretation is an old art form indeed, dating back at least as far as 3000-4000 B.C. Even today, dream interpreters are highly sought out for their help untangling the sometimes puzzling world of dreams.

You may think you know everything there is to know about dreams and dream interpretation, but did you know that:

 A third of our lives is spent in sleep, and a good amount of that time is spent in dreams.
 The average person dreams from between four to seven times every night. That means that by the time you reach the age of 80, you will have had between 116,800 and 204,400 dreams.
 That number may be even larger, since there is evidence that dreaming begins even before birth. No one deigns to know what unborn babies dream about, but there is evidence that they do dream.
 In the average lifetime, a person will have spent approximately six years in dream sleep, equivalent to more than 2,100 days of dreaming.
 There are records of dream interpretation, written on clay tablets, dating back more than 4,000 years.
 Those who could interpret dreams were held in high regard in Roman and Greek societies, and their counsel was sought before making significant political and military decisions.
 Everyone dreams every night, even though only a tiny fraction of those dreams are remembered upon waking.
 Many animals dream as well, although no one has been able to ask them what they dream about.
 People have to dream, though no one really knows why. What we do know is that preventing people from dreaming can cause irritability, mood changes and even hallucinations.
 The average person spends about one quarter of his or her sleep time in dream sleep, and dreams an average of four to seven times during that time.
 The average episode of dream sleep lasts about 10 to 15 minutes.
 Dreams slip away very quickly upon waking. It is estimated that as much as half the dream’s content is forgotten within five minutes, and after only ten minutes up to 90% of the dream can be gone forever.
 Men dream more about other men than about women, but women tend to dream about men and women equally.
 The brain is actually more active, not less during dream sleep than during wakefulness.
 People who are awakened during dream sleep are able to recall their dreams vividly and in great detail, while those who wake normally generally are not.
 Both men and women experience sexual arousal during most dreams, regardless of whether the nature of the dream was sexual or not.
 Smokers who are quitting often experience more intense dreams than either non smokers or current smokers.
 Babies and toddlers dream just as adults do, but studies have revealed they do not dream about themselves. Toddlers generally do not appear in their own dreams until they are at least three or four years old.
 It is not possible to dream and snore simultaneously.
 Nightmares are a common trauma of childhood, with the first nightmares usually occurring by the age of three, and typically lasting at least until the child is seven or eight years old.
 Many people report having experienced Déjà vu in their dreams, but dreams involving Déjà vu are more common in women than in men.