Anna DeStefano's Blog

Ever shock yourself in a dream by realizing that you’re experiencing that night’s vision as the opposite sex? Why do we do that? What is our mind’s agenda? Is it more important to focus on the physiology of what we “are” in our dreams, or the psychology of how we’re thinking and behaving differently? Let’s find out–you know, beyond Freud’s obvious interpretation ;o)

Let’s face it, these can be bizarre dreams. First of all, what’s going on in all the grey matter that we’d even notice something so strange and disorienting as seeing/experiencing/walking through the world in a different body? You know, it’s our body, but it’s different. We’re different. Almost as if the “me” we know is disappearing and being replaced with someone else. And maybe that’s our first clue.

Could this be an imbalance bubbling to the surface, begging us to take notice? A mask we need to drop? Another part of our personality (masculine of feminine) that needs to take a stronger hold? That’s what I meant with my question about whether the gender change you notice has more meaning to you emotionally, than it does physiologically. In gender-switching dreams, be on the look out for what parts of yourself might be fighting their way out of obscurity. This tends to be so much more important than the outward, glandular appearance of something being different.

The strong emotional reaction we have to a shocking dream like looking down and noticing that our bodies are changing before our eyes can be an opportunity to explore and change and grow. And NOT just in the phallic, penis envy way that Freud and his cocaine addiction would have us believe.I don’t know how to break it to our dead, addicted friend, but nowadays, women are more aware than ever at a much younger age that we don’t have a penis. And at least in industrialized nations, most of us don’t need masculine dangly parts to take control of our lives. So nix with the we wanna be a man to realize our most advanced and powerful selves.

Also, don’t worry overmuch if you’re wondering that these types of dreams are indicating that you’re experiencing gender confusion in your waking life. Stay focused on the emotions you’re feeling in the dream. The sleeping mind itself is most likely confused and presenting more masculine (or feminine) feelings through gender images that represent an emotional conflict you’re subconsciously working through.

What are you seeing (besides yourself) when you first notice the change? What’s going on in the world around you, and how is it making you feel? More importantly, are these feelings that you’d typically express outside the dream? If not, take a look at the reasons surrounding what you’re holding back and what you really need to be saying.

You might find it easier in your sleeping reality, to role play your reaction to emotional stress. The mind can use gender-bending (and other types of dreams) to help you work through something you’re not ready to face when awake.

I do this a lot in my two dream-based Legacy books. Not the gender bending stuff, but in the “Who am I, and who are you, and are we both me?” thing. My characters never know what in their vivid dream lives is about the present, the past, the future, or really what’s about them. It’s not a coincidence that I wrote those two books about psychic twins pushing either other’s mental (and dreaming) boundaries, or that there’s a secret child thrown into the mix that at different times each of the twins thinks might actually represent her as a little girl.

Why? Because that, my research tells me, is the way our sleeping minds walk us through difficult journeys we’re resisting taking. It’s all metaphor and allegory and hints and suggestions and fertile ground for working on ourselves in wondrous ways that will open new doors. If we let our dreams do their jobs.

Which I hope you do ;o) Regardless of how startling the imagery can be, embrace it and learn from yourself and grow in your dream work. You won’t be sorry!

Next Monday–Animals in dreams. Totally cool theories, and I’m betting stories you’re just dying to share…

Tags: Anna DeStefano, contemporary fantasy, creativity & inspiration, Dark Legacy, dream color, dream emotion, dream interpretation, dream programming, dream science, Dream Theories, dreams, fantasy author, Legacy Series, lucid dreaming, Secert Legacy

This entry was posted on Monday, August 22nd, 2011 at 9:53 am and is filed under Dream Theories. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.