Dream Dictionary
Dreamers are known to seek out concise definitions of the dream symbols they encounter. The trouble with this is they find answers that are too concise and don’t take into account the context in which the symbols appear.
In this blog I’m outlining the ten most common dream symbols in a dream dictionary format. This means I’m giving the answer to the dream symbols right up front. Then, I follow up the definition with a real life dream example so you’re able to see the symbol within the context that gives it its meaning. After this, I give other, more specific, examples go what the same symbol could mean within a different context.
In this blog post I do not offer a complete definition of the dream symbols; not by a long shot. There are just too many meanings. However, you’ll still be able to find the basic meaning you’re looking for. Here are the symbol meanings I reveal in this blog: Houses, Past Relationships, Being Chased, Flying, Nakedness, Losing Teeth, Dogs, Death, Snakes, and Bathroom Dreams. There are many more dreams common to everyone, but these are the most common dreams that dreamers share with me.
Houses
Houses are one of the 10 most common dreams. In fact, buildings in general are a big factor in dreams, but let’s zero in on houses for now. Houses have shown up over and over in my own dreams. Very rarely do I dream of a house where I currently live. I tend to dream of houses I’ve lived in in the past.
Generally, a house is a place where you live, so it’s no surprise when a house shows up in your dream, that it represents some aspect of your life. Which aspects of your life the dream is speaking about depends on the room(s) you’re in. The specific house and room you are in gives you context. If you find yourself in the living room of the house you currently live in, the dream is most likely about something that’s currently going on in your life.
In many house dreams, the dreamer is in a house that belongs to them but they’ve never been in it before. These types of houses are typically very large and expensive, and much more than the dreamer could afford in waking life. This type of house dream typically speaks of the dreamer’s spiritual life.
A House Dream
A dreamer shared a house dream with me recently. Here’s the dream
“I was on my way home because I had this idea that I had to go back home to get some rest. When I got to my house, I was surprised to find that it was a ranch style house on a golf course. It was beautiful. I walked in and there was a family there, helping themselves to my food. The dad was sitting in one of my recliners eating a plate of food and the mom and kids were in the kitchen gathered around the island talking and eating.
A Growing Crowd
I then saw this group of guys on the golf course and one of them collapsed. They were some distance away, but I told them (as only you can do in a dream) to hold tight, I was going to get my car and come pick him up and take him to the hospital. But first, I had to get this family out of my house. I went around and told the family that they had to leave so I could go help the guy who collapsed on the golf course, and they ignored me. I couldn’t get them to leave, not even by yelling at them.
Suddenly there were more people in my house. Lots more. People were filling my living room and kitchen and were all helping themselves to my food. I was literally screaming at them to leave so I could go and get my car and go help the guy on the golf course.”
A Little Distraction
At this point in telling me the dream, the dreamer saw a child fall down behind me and literally stopped telling me the dream, got up and went to help the child, although there were lots of adults around. The child’s parents were even present. She returned about two minutes later to finish telling me the dream.
Nobody left the dreamer’s house and the crowd kept growing larger. At one point, a couple the dreamer knew walked in and said they’d been told by Mary that there was a party at her house. The dreamer was mystified and screamed even louder for her uninvited guests to leave so she could help the collapsed man on the golf course. Still, nobody left. The dreamer awoke frustrated and upset and nearly hyperventilating.
The Dream’s Message: Partake
This was one of the easiest dreams for me to interpret. A big factor in the interpretation of this dream was the child that fell behind me as she told me the dream. It was the exact thing she found herself trying to do in the dream.
In the dream she felt she had to leave her house in order to get the collapsed guy to the hospital. When she was telling me the dream she felt as if she had to go help a child that had stumbled and fallen. Real life didn’t exactly mimic what happened in her dream, but it was close enough.
Here’s the interpretation of the dream:
The dreamer thinks she has an obligation to help everyone around her when they appear to need assistance. Truth is, there are others who can help those she sees in need. Right now, the dreamer needs to experience joy and partake in spiritual nourishment. Everyone eating her food indicates that they are getting the spiritual nourishment she needs. Notice how everyone keeps helping themselves to her food. The dream is trying to tell her that she doesn’t need to always be the one who comes to the rescue. She awoke frustrated and upset and nearly hyperventilating because she was having a physical manifestation of panic, which reinforces that it’s time for her to rest.
Other Houses
That’s an example of a house that belongs to you in a dream. What if you find yourself in the house you grew up in, or your grandparent’s house?
So other houses you’ve spent a significant amount of time living in would most likely represent something connected to that time you lived in the house. If you find yourself in your grandparent’s house and your grandparent’s house is anything like my grandparent’s house was, it was the place where all the holidays took place. It could very well represent something to do with your family line.
Grandparents are a connection to past and current generations, especially if your grandparents are still living. Your parents could represent a kind of bridge between generations as well. It all depends on context.
Take Cover!
In this next dream, a dreaded tornado dream, see if you can pick out what’s taking place here. Here’s what the dreamer described.
“I’m at a family reunion at my grandparent’s house. All their relatives are there even my deceased grandparents. I notice dark clouds forming in the sky above us all but no one else seems to notice them. There’s suddenly a HUGE tornado heading straight for the house and no one seems to notice that either. I run around yelling for everyone to take cover, but no one pays attention to me.
I finally run into the house and go straight to a bathroom in the basement just as the tornado begins to rip the house apart.”
What do you think? It’s a family reunion at the dreamer’s grandparent’s house where both deceased and living relatives are in attendance. There’s a big hint in the fact that the dreamer sees what no one else sees. There’s an even bigger hint in the fact that the entire family is destroyed because they can’t see something the dreamer sees. Ready for the answer?
This dream is about destructive issues in the dreamer’s family that have been passed down from generation to generation. The fact that there are so many family members around reinforces the idea of generational issues. The fact that the dreamer’s entire family was destroyed speaks of something that has affected everyone and has the potential to affect the dreamer, but they take cover and escape the destruction. This is a very good sign.
They never sought shelter in a basement bathroom represents the dreamer’s ability to find a place where they can be separated from family in order to get cleaned up. Bathrooms are a place where you go to clean yourself up, which is another of the 10 most common dreams.
Past Relationships
Dreams about past relationships are one of the most common dreams people have because they’re tied to the heart. You may have noticed by now that we humans are emotional creatures. Obviously, not everyone wears their emotions on their sleeve. When it comes to dreams, specifically dreams about past relationships, it’s key how the dreamer negotiates their emotions.
Another point to remember when you’re looking at your own past relationship dream is that when you assume things about the dream you move farther away from solving the mystery. It’s natural for everyone to make assumptions about their own dreams. I find myself doing it even today.
Progression Dreams
Let’s take a look at a series of past relationship dreams and I’ll show you what I mean.
The first dream begins with the dreamer running into her ex-husband. They chatted casually and the dream ended.
The second dream, which she had a few nights later, placed the dreamer at a coffee shop with her ex-husband. They enjoyed each other’s company and the dream ended.
Next time she dreamed about her ex-husband they were holding hands and her emotions were off the charts. In the subsequent dream they kissed.
You can see where this progression is going, so it will be no surprise to you that after this series of dreams the dreamer was very concerned. Her number one question was: Is the dream telling me my ex-husband wants to get back together with me?
In a word the answer is no. In fact, these dreams are not even about her ex-husband. The dreams are about her. That may not make any sense. How could the dream be about the dreamer? It’s simple, really. People who appear in dreams can be tricky.
It’s easy to deduce that because the dreamer saw the face of their ex that it literally meant it represented her ex. Without even knowing it, you made two crucial mistakes that further buried the meaning of this dream.
The Ex Represents…
First, as I’ve already said, you assumed her ex-husband represented her ex-husband. Second, the dreams made a series of progressions as they went along and your logic-based thinking kicked in without you even realizing it.
What’s the dream about then if it’s not telling her that her ex wants to get back together? The dream is simply describing a relationship that the dreamer is reentering. The ex-husband represents the time frame for the relationship.
The Dream Doesn’t Always Say
For example, if the dreamer had a close relationship with gossip or cigarettes at the time she was married and gave them up after her divorce, this dream may be giving her a warning that the habit is reentering her life. Now, it is important to realize that the dream didn’t say what the dreamer might be reentering the relationship with. But again, the clue is that it was something she was doing at the time she was in the relationship with her ex.
Questions for the Dreamer
Questions directed to the dreamer are an excellent way to determine exactly what the dream is referring to. If you happen to have a dream similar to this ask yourself if the above scenario applies to your life. Take some time and explore the idea that you may be reentering a relationship with something again. It might be the right answer, then again it may not be.
If the scenario of picking up an old habit doesn’t resonate, this could be a soul dream.
Soul Dreams
In a soul dreams dreamers give themselves because they want something very badly. Let’s say the dreamer in the above progression of dreams was thinking the dream was saying she needed to get back together with her ex even though she had a firestorm of emotions about such a thought. She could be thinking a lot about how she wants to be in a relationship again and has very strong feelings about it. This could very well give her a dream progression we saw in the dream.
Stirred Emotions
Here’s an example of a soul dream I’ve interpreted.
The dreamer, who found me on Facebook, kept sending me dreams that she had about her ex-husband. I mean she had two to three dreams a week about him. In the dreams they were interacting sometimes and sometimes not. Her emotions played a big part in every dream. I carefully walked through every dream ruling out different scenarios and realized she was having soul dreams that were heavily influenced by her emotions. I thought this was kind of odd because over time her emotions should be going the other direction.
One day she asked me if I thought seeing him every day because she worked right across the street from him would matter. Yes. Definitely yes. If you work across the road from your ex and you’re seeing them all the time you will have soul dreams about them. This is only one of many reasons it’s important to learn how to navigate your emotions when you’re dealing with past relationship dreams.
Chase Dreams
Another of the 10 Most common dreams can take many different forms, but the name says it all. Someone or something is pursuing you. Because the dream seems to almost interpret itself, it’s easy for the dreamer to assume certain things about a chase dream.
Many of the assumptions could revolve around associating the dream with a movie they’d seen recently. For example, if a dreamer has a dream where Freddie or Jason are chasing them through their house trying to kill them, the easy assumption to make is that they’ve had the dream because they watched Freddie vs. Jason the night before.
Confront What’s Chasing You
One purpose behind a chase dream is it gives you the chance to confront the fear. When you stop running and turn around and confront the serial killer chasing you, you’re facing your fear and fear doesn’t know how to handle that. In fact, when the dreamers I’ve talked to have turned around and faced what was chasing them they’ve been able to stop recurring nightmares.
Remembering A Recurring Dream
As I’m writing this I remember having a recurring dream when I was a kid that was pretty close to a nightmare. I didn’t think it was a nightmare at the time because of how it ended.
The Dream
I was in a large open room. As I remember the room looked like a school. There were lots of desks all around and lots of kids my own age doing various things. All of a sudden, a double door on the far side of the room burst open and three monsters rushed into the room and began chasing everyone. Lots of people ran out of the other side of the room but I hid under a nearby desk. I, of course, was found and at that moment one of the monsters lifted me and held me. I remembered these were good monsters. I also found out that what I thought were monsters were not monsters at all. They were just bigger than me and seemed scary because of their size. They came into the room to help people but could not because almost everyone ran away.
Nothing to be Afraid Of
This was a recurring dream and every time I had it, I would forget that ‘the monsters’ were good. After I woke up, reminded myself to remember they were good when I had the dream again, but every time I forgot until the very end of the dream.
This dream of mine from decades ago shows how easily emotions can come in and take control. I was afraid of the enormous beings that entered the room and I allowed that fear to dictate how I acted in the dream. So, what was this dream telling me? It spoke to me over and over again about my perception about God. At that time in my life my perception about God was that He was big and scary, but also kind. I was given the dream so I’d remember that I perceived God as big and scary, but He’s really not scary.
Flying Dreams
I love this next dream in the 10 most common dreams — flying dreams. They’re some of the most memorable for me and they’re super fun. One factor that contributed to this is that I grew up in a family of pilots. My grandpa, aunts and uncles, even my dad all flew their own Cessnas. In fact, one of my earliest memories was looking out the window of my grandpa’s four-seat RG Cardinal and seeing a swimming pool on the ground far below.
I must have been about three years old and the light blue pool looked to be the size of my thumbnail, but I wanted to go swimming and I asked to be let out.
What A Flying Dream Means
I must have been flying in my dreams by then because I imagined myself gliding down to that swimming pool for a swim then rocketing back up to my grandpa’s plane. Unfortunately, I can’t remember any of those flying dreams from when I was growing up, but the ones I’ve had as an adult have made me a super fan of them.
The most basic metaphorical definition of flying in your dream means you’re going higher. All our feet are firmly planted on solid ground in our waking life, so being able to run, stretch out your arms and take off like a bird is an other worldly experience.
Drawn to Power
A few years ago a dreamer shared a flying dream with me. She was able to fly way up in the sky and turn in every direction. She was also able to adjust her speed and height. Thing was, there were these very tall power lines. You know the kind, hundred foot metal pylons with the flat arms sticking out? She was drawn to the lines and the more she flew these power lines pulled her in.
Then the dreamer collided with the power lines. She got shocked and thrown to the ground. She got up and started to fly again and the same thing happened over and over. Then she woke up.
From her wide eyes and expressive hand motions I could tell this dream had a startling effect on her. She, of course, wanted to know what the dream meant.
Power Access
To get to the meaning of this dream, we’ll need to go a little deeper into the dream by using the principle of simplicity. The metaphor of going higher communicates an ability to soar above the everyday mundane things of life. She was able to fly high and maneuver all around before she collided with the power lines. So, what’s the most basic definition of power lines? They are simply lines that carry power. As soon as the dreamer saw these power lines, she was getting drawn in by them. She was pulled in so close that that she collided with them, which allowed her to access the power they carried.
A Right Way To Access Power
The most basic definition of that collision with power is that she encountered it in a way that threw her to the ground. Sounds like a dangerous encounter to me. There is a right and wrong way to access power. Take smartphones as an example. Seems like they’re always running low on power and need to be charged. You never see people lining up around those tall metal pylons waiting for their turn to climb it in order to directly access the power lines. That could kill somebody! We all know the correct way to access power to charge our smartphones is to find an electrical outlet and plug it in.
The Dream’s Interpretation
The fact that the dreamer is flying so high gives this dream an additional layer of meaning. Dream flying is also a symbolic representation of spirituality. This is especially true given her height and her ability to control her movements. When we apply the symbol of the power lines to the second layer, we get the idea she’s encountered raw spiritual power and accesses it in a way that keeps her earthbound.
The interpretation of the dream is this: In your spirituality you’re being drawn to power but the power you find does not take you higher into spirituality, rather it takes you the opposite direction and grounds you.
Nakedness
We live in a world where people only show you what they want you to see. They may be suffering from great depression, but they plaster a smile on their face and try to carry on like it’s all flowers and rainbows.
People protect themselves with various kinds of defense mechanisms so they don’t have to be vulnerable to another human being. Vulnerability can be scary. Complete vulnerability can be terrifying. When you find yourself completely naked in a dream it simply means you’re demonstrating complete vulnerability.
As terrifying as complete vulnerability can be, it does have its place. Many relationships couldn’t function well if it were not for complete vulnerability. A doctor/patient relationship is a good example.
Vulnerability is a Part of Life
Let’s say you need your appendix removed. This is a very common procedure and any surgeon worth their weight could easily remove an appendix. But, for a successful surgery, you must absolutely and completely trust that surgeon and those who assist in the operation with your very life. Is there any greater vulnerability than that?
Vulnerability Can Be Uncomfortable
Here’s a dream example of nakedness meaning vulnerability. The dreamer explained:
“Over the past year I’ve had these dreams where I’m suddenly naked at work, in public, or at a family gathering. When I realize I’m naked, I go through the dream, dodging people as I try to find some clothes. Funny thing, nobody except me seems to mind me being naked. Everyone else talks to me as if I were wearing clothes.”
The dreamer is feeling vulnerable in this classic example, and is quite uncomfortable about it. This is why they’re dodging people and trying to find clothes once they realize they’re naked. The people in the dream don’t seem to mind, or even notice the dreamer is naked because the dream is revealing the vulnerability of the dreamer.
Show Your True and Authentic Self
So why did this dreamer have these kinds of dreams and keep having them for a year? A dream like this happens many times after someone goes through a period of growth and maturity. When you’re walking in immaturity you want to hide behind things so others don’t see it. As you mature in different areas of your life, you become more and more comfortable with who you are. It may be uncomfortable at first to walk around showing people your true and authentic self, but you’re better off for it.
Naked in School
Yet another example of an uncomfortable naked dream that has left the dreamer asking, “why did I voluntarily take my clothes off in front of my class?” Here’s how the dreamer recounts it.
“I had a dream last night that I was in my Japanese class and I was naked. I know that sounds like the most common dream ever. I have a lot of dreams where I either suddenly discover I’m naked or something happens and my clothes are torn off and I’m embarrassed, but this dream wasn’t like that.
At the beginning of class I made a conscious decision to take off all my clothes and sit at my desk. Throughout class, people looked at me, but not excessively and I really didn’t feel embarrassed or regret my decision. I tried looking up an interpretation, and naked dreams are incredibly common, but I couldn’t find much on dreams where you’re naked and not embarrassed, so I don’t know what that means.”
Intentional Vulnerability
This is a very good dream and it seems the dreamer has a sense of that. The good thing about this dream is that the dreamer takes all their clothes off intentionally.
The setting of this dream is Japanese class. Language class can be a bit intimidating because you’re learning how to make new and unfamiliar sounds. This process can be both uncomfortable and embarrassing. In spite of this, the dreamer gives it all she’s got and intentionally becomes vulnerable in order to learn a new language.
But there’s more to the meaning of this dream.
Don’t Ignore A Naked Dream
In order to learn a new language, you’ve got to be a student of the culture that goes along with that language. By being so deliberately vulnerable, the dreamer is making a statement that she’s not only embracing the language, but also embracing the culture and people of Japan.
Dreams of nakedness are they types of dreams people don’t like to talk about. In fact, most people would like nothing better than to forget about their naked dreams. But if you forget and ignore your naked dream, the treasure it holds will be forever lost.
Teeth Falling Out
One more of the 10 most common dreams is losing teeth. We typically associate losing teeth with old age. It’s one of those facts of life that we’re going to grow old one day and begin losing our hair and teeth. It’s expected. What’s not expected is going to sleep and having a dream about losing all your teeth when you’re still young. In fact, it can be down right terrifying.
All Teeth Are Not Created Equal
The terror originates partially from the fact that you won’t be able to eat without teeth. Who doesn’t love to eat? How can we live if we have to eat soft foods or go on a liquid diet? The other scary parts are imagining how you look to others if your front teeth were missing and how you’d sound when you talked.
Teeth are important for all these reasons and more. They’re also important in all kinds of metaphorical reasons. All teeth aren’t created equal. Some are designed to bite and cut while others are designed to chew. Just as in your waking life, what teeth you lose in your dream will affect you in different ways.
Loss of Teeth= Loss of Reasoning
For example, if you lose a wisdom tooth in a dream, in metaphorical language it means you’re losing wisdom. If you lose molars, that will affect the way you break things down. Have you ever presented someone with an idea and they said. “Let me chew on it.”? It simply means that they have to think things over before they get back to you. So then, losing your chewing teeth in a dream will prevent you from thinking things all the way through.
Then there are your front teeth. Those are biting teeth. They also are the ones that people will notice first if they’re missing. Although this may seem to refer to a self-esteem issue at first, the function of the teeth seem to play a much more significant role.
Family Argument
“I have a recurring dream where I’m with my mom. She says something (I’m not sure what) but it’s something I do not agree with so I try to express my disagreement, but all my teeth fall out. Not only do I lose my teeth, but I can’t speak as well. Nothing comes out. These dreams occur in a night setting and I feel frustrated and hopeless.”
Wow! Losing one or two teeth can be scary but losing all your teeth when you’re trying to express a disagreement can be both scary and frustrating. Then to try and speak only to find out you have no voice takes things to a deeper level. As the dreamer said, “hopeless”.
What does this dream mean? The dreamer has lost her ability to chew on things (think things through). She’s lost her ability to bit, to chew, and lost her wisdom and on top of that the dreamer has lost her ability to speak.
Dream Symbol Dictionaries
One of many reasons I’ve chosen to introduce you to dream symbols by writing a section of text instead of making a symbol dictionary is that when you have two powerful symbols working together as they do in this dream, it’s a better way for me to communicate how and why this happens. Symbol dictionaries leave you to figure things out for yourself. Let’s take a look at how the symbols of losing all teeth and losing voice interact in this dream.
Powerful Imagery
Let’s look at the dream I mentioned about the woman trying to communicate with her mother. The dream sets up the following situation. The dreamer is listening to her mother say something she disagrees with. Her natural reaction as a human is to respond in some way. In other words, the dream sets a scene where the dreamer is forced to use her mouth. It does this so it can make the point that the dreamer hasn’t thought through her response, so she has no ability to express her disagreement. It doesn’t matter that the dreamer doesn’t know what her mom said or why she disagrees with it. This dream situation has to be brought up in order to introduce the message of the dream.
When the dream used the symbol of loss of teeth it communicated a powerful truth. But when it used the symbol of loss of voice, the dream ensured that the dreamer would never forget the imagery of the dream.
Dog Dreams
Dogs hold such a beloved place in many of our lives it makes sense dreams about canines would be among the 10 most common dreams. Some dog lovers dream of their childhood pet while others dream about their current companion. Still others dream if wolves, coyotes, and foxes.
When attempting to decipher a dream you’ve had about a pet it’s important to take a few steps back and separate yourself from the emotions of the dream. I’m going to warn you right now, this is not easy, but it is possible. If you’re not able to separate yourself from the emotions of the dream there’s little chance you’ll be able to extract the dream’s true meaning.
Separate Your Emotions
The reason for this is that literally, you’ll immediately be emotionally drawn to the dog you love and have fond memories of. In other words, you’ll be so caught up in the fact that your favorite pet from childhood is alive again that it may not occur to you that he or she may represent something else all together. Making that kind of assumption can set you on a path that leads you away from the meaning of your dream.
What Does A Dog Mean To You
One thing you can do right off the bat to get things moving in the right direction is to take a minute and contemplate what dogs mean to you. This is easy if you’re a dog person. A dog is a faithful companion who accepts you as you are and is always happy to see you; possibly your best friend. But if you’ve had more of a rocky relationship with dogs to the extent that whenever you see a dog you get anxious, even fearful, a dog will mean something completely different to you. If you’re a person who doesn’t like dogs at all, it’s just as easy for you to make assumptions that the dog represents something negative.
A Different Meaning of a Dog
A friend of mine from Sudan told me that in his country dogs are not pets. They roam the streets freely in the city he’s from and often represent danger. This cultural influence will have a profound effect on how dogs appear in his dreams and what they represent.
Maybe you’re somewhat in the middle. You don’t necessarily love dogs but you don’t hate them either. The way you can determine what a dog means in your dream has to do with the setting and tone of the dream.
Context is Crucial
For example, if you find yourself in a dream world walking along a deserted road under an overcast sky this is a pretty clear indication that it’s a negative setting, especially if you have a sense of foreboding. For the most part, you’ll be given pretty clear indications whether the dream is positive or negative, which you can use to identify the rest of what appears in the dream as positive or negative.
If you remember the principle of viewing symbols through the context in which they appear, considering the dreamer’s history and feelings toward the symbol, it’s not going to be too tough to nail the meaning of a dream dog.
Death Dreams — Another of the 10 most Common Dreams
It’s been said our most formidable adversary is death. We avoid talking about it, thinking about it, and somehow hope to escape the face-to-face meeting we all know is inevitable. Then, one night death pays you a visit in a dream. It brings with it a rush of emotion that often follows you into waking life.
When death makes an appearance in your dream it does not mean someone is physically going to die. Death is simply representative of the end of something. As I’ve said before, the meaning of a dream depends on the context everything is set in. So a death dream could be about the end of a job, the end of a relationship, the end of a season in your life, or a hundred other things. It could also be about something totally different that doesn’t have anything to do with death.
A Strange Death Dream
Here’s a death dream as recounted by the dreamer’s husband.
My husband has had a couple of dreams that has me worried. When he was born he had a twin who died shortly after birth. n his dream a guy walked up to my husband and introduced himself as Ronnie, which was his twin’s name. He said, “I’ll be seeing you in six months.”
A month went by and he had the exact same dream, only this time it was Ronnie, his brother, and his dad and they said “We’ll be seeing you in five months.”
Assumption Obscures Meaning
On the surface this dream seems straightforward. The dreamer dreams of an encounter with his deceased brother in which he is told he’s going to die and see his brother and father in a certain number of months. But is that what the dream is really saying?
You may not realize it, but in order to reach the conclusion that the dreamer is going to die, you must make several assumptions to get there.
The first assumption is that Ronnie is the dreamer’s deceased twin brother. We’re basically told to assume this because the dreamer and his wife have already made these assumptions. You can tell because the dreamer’s wife provides that added detail and it’s not a part of the actual dream. There’s no real reason for the dreamer’s wife to provide this background information. At no time in the dream does Ronnie introduce himself as the deceased twin of the dreamer, he simply says his name is Ronnie.
The second assumption is that the dreamer is going to go where Ronnie is, which is presumably the other side of death. It could be just as easy for Ronnie to go to where the dreamer is. In reality, it doesn’t really matter who goes to see who because Ronnie represents something other than the dreamer’s deceased twin brother.
Death Inspires Hope
It’s quite rare for a death dream to inspire hope. Almost every death dream I’ve heard of has quite the opposite message. Death is a thief and stealing hope is just the beginning. Here’s an example of dream that had a sinister purpose for the dreamer.
Flipping A Dream
I met a young lady at Nan Desu Kan, the annual Japanese anime convention in Denver. She told me that she has recurring nightmares from the age of eight or nine well into her twenties. The nightmare went like this: She abandoned her stepdad, who was driving a semi-truck in the mountains. In the dream he was driving near where he had a fatal wreck. This young woman watched as he wrecked the semi and observed his death in graphic detail. These nightmares were recurring because they began a few weeks before the anniversary of his death and continued until a few weeks after.
This dreamer was literally being tormented by gruesome images. The nightmare’s purpose was to torment her and promote fear in her waking life. Death is ruthless, as we all know, and when it shows up in a dream for the purpose of torment, it is the most sinister of fiends. There is, however, something that can be done about dreams like this.
Flipping a dream is one of the most powerful tools you can learn to combat nightmares. So how do you flip a dream? You simply reject the frightful message it’s trying to attach to you and speak life and peace in the place of fear.
Snake Dreams
Snakes can be one of the scariest symbols to appear in your dreams, and again, it’s one of the 10 most common dreams. Almost always a negative dream symbol, snakes communicate very important things to the dreamer. Here are a few examples:
Thee Snake Dreams
Dream One
“I recently noticed that I have dreams of snakes very often. Last night I had one too, and there was this snake in my closet. It tried to get to me, so I stepped on the neck trying to kill it, but it just wouldn’t die. I have dreams like this kinda often.”
Dream Two
“I was walking down a path outside in nature and there were all these snakes under the path where I was walking.”
Dream Three
“The first part of the dream is spotty and vague, but I do remember cutting off the head of a rattlesnake with a machete. The scene faded and I found myself across the room from the snake’s severed head. It said to me: “I’m going to bite you!” then swiftly rolled across the floor right at me. I kept moving out of the way and the snakehead kept rolling around trying to bite me.
Time lapsed and I lifted my pant leg to find five snakebites. One of the bites was really fresh, two of them were a couple hours old, and the other two bites looked a day or two old.”
The Snake Symbol
These three snake dreams are very different, but they all communicate important truths to the dreamers. Before we get too far into the meaning of these dreams, I must tell you these dreams are from three different dreamers. These dreamers do not know each other.
In the first dream the dreamer encounters the snake in their closet. The snake tried to get to the dreamer, so they tried stepping on the snake’s neck to kill it, but it wouldn’t die.
In order to understand any of these dreams you must know what the snake symbolizes. To find the meaning within the context of these three dreams, let’s revisit the principle of simplicity.
Snake Symbol Defined
What is a snake in its most basic terms? A reptile, yes, but there are a lot of reptiles. What feature or features make snakes different than, say, a lizard? A snake is limbless. Ah, now we’re getting somewhere. Although a few legless lizards exist, snakes look like a long tail.
Word play is extremely common in dreams. A word play can take on several forms. It can be anything from words that are spelled the same but sound different than words that are spelled differently and sound the same; as in tail and tale.
Let’s try to plug the word tale, as in fabrication or lie, into the dream and see if it has any meaning. There’s a lie in the closet and it tries to get the dreamer. The dreamer steps on the neck of the lie and tries to kill it but it just won’t die. It seems to work. Immobilizing a snake’s head will definitely affect its ability to move its mouth. The mouth is where the poison is on snakes and lies can be just like a poison to the person they’re told to.
In order to figure out if a lie is the right meaning of snake, you must ask the dreamer if it resonates with them. If it does not, then move on to find another meaning of the symbol.
Snake Path
In the second dream, the dreamer is walking down a path outside somewhere. Underneath the path there are all these snakes. It’s unclear if the dreamer is able to see through the path or if they just know the snakes are under there. Regardless, the result is the same.
Let’s separate the elements of the dream and find our way to the meaning. The elements in this dream are the dreamer, the path and the snakes. Let’s take a look at the path first. A path is somewhere you walk in order to get to another place. We’re all familiar with the colloquialism life’s path. Now to the snakes. The position of the snakes underneath the path is not normally where one would encounter a snake. Look for things that stick out like this in dreams. The abnormal often hold a significant key to the meaning of single elements and to the dream as a whole.
So where are the snakes? They are under the path, or within the path’s foundation. Let’s plug the general meaning of snakes, a lie or untruth, into this dream. We get a foundation of lies. If someone is walking along life’s path, for example, on the foundation of lies we can also say it another way: The dreamer is walking along the path of deception. Therein is the interpretation of the dream.
Talking Snake
When you separate the elements of this dream you get the dreamer, the machete, and the rattlesnake’s head. Right from the start, we’re given the information that the dreamer cuts off the rattlesnake’s head. This is important because this is the way you kill a snake. However, in this dream the snake doesn’t seem to want to die. This symbol speaks of a lie that refuses to die when you take the right steps to kill it.
Next, the dreamer finds himself across the room from the snake’s head and the thing talks and swiftly rolls across the floor to try and bit her. Talk about characteristics of an element that are out of the ordinary! If a snake with a body is a lie, what is a talking rattlesnake’s head without a body? A mouth full of poison, or in figurative language, poisonous words. And that mouth full of poison seems to have bitten the dreamer five times.
No Pain
Now we’re left with the question of why the dreamer didn’t feel the pain of the snake bites? This dreamer has a history of experiencing pain in her dreams when stung or bitten by various things. So then, it’s apparent that the snake’s head didn’t really bite the dreamer or she would have felt it. The snake didn’t really bite her, but she was caused to think that it had. This is why some of the bite marks are older than others. The snake’s head was clearly attempting to intimidate and deceive the dreamer that new venom, new damage had been done to the dreamer, more specifically the leg, which speaks of the dreamer’s walk.
I’m sure by now you’re getting the concept of why the context of a dream is important. Although these three dreams are telling their respective dreamers about lies in their lives, the messages are personal to the individual who dreamed.
Poop Dreams
I have a friend who counsels people. She puts her heart and soul into helping those who’ve been beaten down by life. She has the most interesting dreams. By interesting I mean a bit shocking and crude at times, but nonetheless meaningful.
She has a lot of bathroom dreams. While it’s true some of them take place in the confines of the bathroom, she also dreams about poop. She dreams about poop a lot!
One time I was at a public event where a different friend introduced me to a dreamer who has the most amazing heavenly dreams. I mean she is in a place that is so much like how she envisions heaven that it’s scary. So I was listening to this heavenly dream from this dreamer I’d just met and here comes my counselor friend. “I’ve got more poop dreams!” she shouted. Never before had I had such a heavenly conversation been interrupted by talk of excrement!
Bathroom Dreams Make Sense
Granted, my counselor friend was only taking me up on my offer to hear any dream about anything. Once I finished talking to my new friend about heavenly dreams, I took a deep dive into bathroom dreams.
Her latest was a dream where the excreta of others was all over bathroom walls and all over her. It all connected to how she makes her living helping others work through their crap. Her bathroom dream seen from the perspective of counseling others made complete sense. These dreams were given to her to help give her an inner cleansing from everything she picked up during her workday.
Don’t Fear Bathroom Dreams
I find it interesting how dreams use every part of our life to communicate a point. Nothing’s off limits, and for that reason I find people for the most part are unwilling to share bathroom dreams. Fear not! I’ll cover several different aspects of bathroom dreams and their meanings so you don’t have to embarrass yourself asking about them.
No Room in the Bathroom
Bathroom dreams come in several different varieties. Finding other people’s excrement all over is just one version. Other bathroom dreams include needing to go to the bathroom but when you walk into the bathroom every toilet is taken and there’s no place for you to go. Then there’s the horror of finding yourself on a toilet in a public place and people are watching you go. Oh, and the one where you need to go to the bathroom and can find a toilet but you can’t go.
Getting Rid of Toxins
Bathroom dreams come in several different varieties. Finding other people’s excrement all over is just one version. Other bathroom dreams include needing to go to the bathroom but when you walk into the bathroom every toilet is taken and there’s no place for you to go. Then there’s the horror of finding yourself on a toilet in a public place and people are watching you go. Oh, and the one where you need to go to the bathroom and can find a toilet but you can’t go.
When you go to the bathroom in your dream you are getting rid of toxins. As inconvenient and unpleasant going to the bathroom is sometimes, it’s necessary in order to get rid of toxins from your body. As usual, getting rid of toxins in a dream doesn’t refer to the toxins in your physical body, but toxins that can build up inside out hearts and souls. Just as my counselor friend needed to be cleansed from toxins she picked up in her counseling sessions, we all pick up toxins we need to get rid of by simply living life and having contact with people.
Understanding The 10 Most Common Dreams Takes Practice
Building on that idea, when you go into a bathroom and there’s no available toilet it means that the place where you’re trying to get of toxins has no room for you to do so. You’ve got to find another place. When you’re sitting on a toilet in a very public place and people are looking at you simply means that you’ll get rid of your toxins but everyone will see you in the process of doing so. When you have to go to the bathroom but can’t go it simply means that you’re unable to get rid of your toxins on your own.
The possibilities of bathroom dreams are endless, so I won’t be able to go through every single possible scenario. Just know that when you go through the meaning of dream symbols you start to become familiar with dream vocabulary and language. Armed with this knowledge, you’ll be able to look through the lens of context you’ll be able to decipher any symbol that appears in your dream. It takes practice, so if you’re faithful to keep a record of your dreams and take some time to put into practice the principles I’ve introduced you to within this blog post, you’ll continue to learn and become better and discovering the treasure hidden within the 10 most common dreams.
EB