Sleep experts and neuroscience don’t have a full explanation of why we have nightmares, but they do feel it is the body’s way of processing emotions or a memory of something that can now be released. There are levels of what are considered ‘bad’ dreams. These can be brought on by stress, fears (both common or imagined), trauma, or unresolved past/current issues.

Nightmares can feel vivid and often are associated with uncomfortable feelings. Often we are jolted awake or experience a rapid heartbeat once awake, although the dream stays clear in one’s mind. Science has shown that they normally arise in the second half of REM sleep.  Night terrors on the other hand are less frequent and happen during the first half of dreaming in what is considered non-REM sleep. One usually doesn’t wake up from them and is often observed thrashing, moaning, or having only a vague feeling of the dream once awake.

Though both men and women experience nightmares, sleep monitors have shown that they are more prevalent in women. This could be attributed to societal reasons, or even hormonal reasons, as they become more prevalent from adolescents through mid-life. This is not a hard and fast rule.

They are very prevalent for children between the ages of 3-6, but my indigenous teachers often shared it was because children might be remembering a recent past life. They also suggested to me that nightmares are the psyche’s way of getting our attention about something that needs to be addressed. At those times, they suggested that I go back into the dream, almost like moving into a meditation and then ask that which I found scary or frightening (a snake, a monster, another person, etc.) what they were trying to impart. Again, they saw everything in the dream as what it symbolized, as well as an aspect of one’s Self.

[I have not published for two months as I am lacking dreams.]

DREAM:

I was walking down the corridor, and I could feel a man approaching from behind. He was moving much faster than I was…..This is always irritating for me in real life! I moved out of the way to let him pass. I either said something to him, or just energetically conveyed that I didn’t like his energy. And then he turned around to face me and pulled out a knife. He threatened me. I can’t remember what he said. But I definitely felt threatened. I’m not entirely sure I remember what happened after that… I believe I decided to wake myself up so I could end the dream.
That’s it!
It stands out to me because I never seem to have threatening or scary or “bad” dreams. So, this is strange.

Decoding:

I was walking down the corridor, and I could feel a man approaching from behind.

Corridors have multiple meanings; they can suggest you are coming to the end of a path that has become stagnant and/or in need of a change. They can suggest you are going through a transitional time but don’t quite know the “next room to walk into.” Likewise, they can suggest a change to one’s self-image so that you become something closer to how you imagine yourself to authentically be. It depends on the shape, color, or length of the corridor as well, so the dreamer should try and remember those features.

He was moving much faster than I was…..This is always irritating for me in real life!

The psyche has two sides, the left brain, and the right brain. The left brain is more focused directed, logical, action oriented. The right brain is more visual, intuitive, emotional, and creative. Both men and women have these impulses and arenas two work with. The dreamer perhaps is feeling pushed to change, and the change might be occurring at a pace not comfortable for her to orient herself comfortably. Change often isn’t comfortable.

If we take this only externally, as the dreamer states, this irritates her in real life. But what’s the reason? The person might be in a hurry, or just a brisk walker. But in the dreamtime, this triggers an emotion. Maybe “real life” or her waking state, is being challenged by someone outside of herself to make a change; or perhaps challenged by her ‘action-oriented self’ to figure something out sooner than later. Keep in mind the dream started out with the need for change, without quite knowing what that change would or should look like.

On a completely different tack, this could explain some fear or unresolved issue with a man from her past, that is ready to be let go as it nolonger has relevance in her current life. He’s moving fast, which could also indicate there is a time element here to make the change’s she needs. When one feels they are being followed or chased in the dreamtime, the suggestion is that the body is feeling anxiety around something not being dealt with in the waking state.

I moved out of the way to let him pass. I either said something to him, or just energetically conveyed that I didn’t like his energy.

By stepping out of the way, it suggests that she is clearly not ready or willing to make the change in the immediate. She engages him (consciously or silently), which also is a direct challenge. By doing this she is actually challenging herself to find the needed answer, which up until now has possibly only been a thought or conversation, but which now needs more immediate action. The dreaming unconscious self is making this realization uncomfortable for the soon to be awake self.

And then he turned around to face me and pulled out a knife. He threatened me. I can’t remember what he said. But I definitely felt threatened.

What kind of knife? Knives can be functional or a weapon. By pulling out the knife, this aspect of herself feels threatened. What does he say? Is he looking at her in a menacing way? She can’t remember what was said, it is here I would go back into the dream and dialogue with the man. He is merely another aspect of the Self. The knife is actually not to hurt you, but to motivate you to feel uncomfortable. Discomfort can be a motivator.

Is there internal or external pressure to have a ready answer to the change needed. Does she feel threatened that she is being asked to move too fast to find a solution to said change? Knives can purposefully or symbolically help us to cut away or remove something-whether that is with food, in gardening, to address stagnation, or remove a lack of clarity. They can feel threatening if we are not ready or have lingered too long to intuit or create another course of action. The aggression you feel is your unconscious mind trying to warn your waking state to be proactive.

It stands out to me because I never seem to have threatening or scary or “bad” dreams. So, this is strange.

This is actually a powerful realization, not a negative one to be written off as a bad dream. The dreaming self knows that you generally do not experience these types of ‘feelings” during your dreams. Hence, in offering a dream that is uncomfortable, it is asking you to consider what needs to be considered in the immediate to commit to a change needed in some aspect of your life that might bring more joy, satisfaction, or renewal, rather than to not confront where change is needed and action taken. The dream is an important catalyst and gift from Your Self to yourself.

Thank you, dreamer for sharing. P.S. Readers I could sure use some new dreams. Thanks all.