By Sting
A universal dream theme, FALLING is perhaps one of the most realistic, most frightening experiences anyone has ever encountered in what most often turns into a nightmare. Falling is a reflection of your waking life and the loss of control over your life or some aspect herein.
It is not unusual for an individual to wake with a rapid heart rate and cold sweat. These dreams are so convincingly real and terrifying to say the least.
According to Tony Crisp in his Dream Dictionary, some dream researchers suggest falling is one of the main themes in dreams. In the dream samples used throughout his book where he reports random experiences, the words fall, falls, fell, falling occur 72 times in 1,000 dreams.
Falling is a ritual which occurs throughout life and we learn early on when we fall from our mother’s arms (or a clumsy father), this is NOT an experience we want to encounter on a day-to-day basis.
The dream theme suggests getting in over your head, or overburdened in waking life, which will sometimes go hand in hand with lack of self-confidence. Problems with finances, relationships, education, work, all can contribute to these factors. The best thing I can recommend so that you will not have such dreams is live the rest of your life in a cave as a hermit. Otherwise there is little way of avoiding these anxious feelings.
Anxiety appears in dreams under various themes. Drowning is the perfect example of not just loss of control but being overwhelmed in life.
According to David Fontana in his Secret Language of Dreams, Anxiety dreams are recognizable by the emotional charge that they carry. Typically, the dreamer has the sensation of trying to cope with several duties simultaneously, or of trying to complete a never-ending task. Other anxiety dreams include walking through clinging mud, moving in agonizingly slow motions, and crawling through a narrow tunnel (a symbol often believed to represent birth anxiety); being choked by smoke; watching helplessly as cherished possessions are destroyed, and trying in high wind to hold together the broken fragments of something the dreamer holds dear.
Another common dream associated with Anxiety involves an attempt to run but finding one’s self tied down and unable to do so. Fontana suggests that such a dream may be the result of mechanics in the brain that prevent a person from acting out their dreams while asleep.
Dreams of being trapped will symbolize an inability to exercise creative drives which also lead to feelings of anxiety and a loss of control in one’s own life. The feeling of oppression is typical translated into dreams of anxiety and frustration as is being tied up or arrested.
Being chased in a dream can sometimes symbolize the dreamer trying to escape the burdens of every day life, but the inability to do so. Bills stacking up; family and relation problems mounting; work getting out of control on your job are things we all try to avoid but usually cannot. We sometimes will dream of being chased by an unidentified force and this force can either be interpreted as someone you do not want to envision (usually due to fear) or something you cannot put a face to (a person you do not know or tangible variables in life such as work-related problems you simply are not able to put a face on).
FURNITURE AND STATUS IN DREAMS
by Sting April 10, 2000
Furnishings are a direct representation of the home and your life in general; as such this often suggests self-image and status in life.
Carpeting for example depicts one’s financial status. For the most part a bare floor might indicate a fear related to loss of wealth and/or the financial stresses in life. Dreams like these are typical during extended periods of unemployment.
Beds are important in dreams that can have various meanings depending on context: marriage, sex, intimacy, privacy are most common.
Chairs suggest relaxation and often lack of activity. A group of chairs will symbolize status in life.
Cupboards represent hidden memories and experiences of the past and as such can imply a desire to “go back”. Exploring past feelings could be representative of wanting to escape a present situation in life.
Sofas are a cross between beds and chairs in dreams depending on size and context as a large sofa could have more of a meaning similar to that of a bed while smaller size sofas are comparible to chairs.
Of all furniture, the TABLE perhpas has most meaning and in particular the placement at the table. This is a typical symbol of status in life. Sitting at the head of a table signifies the number of people under your command. Lack of food at a table symbolizes inability to support others. Tables in general represent one’s social connections in life.
The home is your comfort level and the various objects that depict the home most can be found in one’s furniture. This in relation to your life outside the hom