Anna DeStefano's Blog

It’s going to take a few Mondays to cover animal themes in dreams. It’s one of the most frequent symbols I’m asked about. There’s so much to study when you try to analyze animal dreams: your age, gender, current life circumstances, as well as the animal content itself. Ready to dive in?

Monday Sept 12th (after we break for Labor Day in between), we’ll do specific animals, so come back in two weeks for fun imagery tips and trade secrets. But before we get into categories of animal symbols, let’s talk about you.The dreamer. Who are you, what in your life is calling these animal images out of your subconscious and into your dream states, and how might even your age be shaping what you see when you sleep?

Did you know that research shows children’s dreams are more likely to reference animals than adult’s? Those who follow my Psychic Realm posts have heard me say that in metaphysics many believe animals are the closest beings on this earth to pure spirits, and that children have a closer connection to spiritual realms/dimensions than adults. Could this be playing out in our young one’s dream cycles? Also, we haven’t gotten to “familiars” in my Psychic series (where I’m researching parapsychology, etc. for a future fantasy series), but in general the theory goes that we all have a totem/animal spirit that’s most attached to us. We tend to gravitate toward these creatures as pets. Is it significant, then, that the majority of animal dreams amongst children (dreams being where our spirits often feel most free) tend to be about their pets? Hmmmm…

A less spiritual way to look at animals dreams is to consider that we’ve grown up associating certain traits, behaviors and emotions to the animals we see and read about. You’ve heard the cliches: stubborn as a mule; sly as a fox; sneaky as a snake. (more…)

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. (more…)

It’s Monday. Time for another dream theory post, based on the research I do for my sci-fi/fantasy Legacy series. What’s one of the scariest types of dreams I get asked about most? What does it mean when my teeth fall out in my dreams? I’ve had personal spooky moments with this theme myself, and it always gives me the creeps! Shudder. But what does it mean? You know, once I’ve raced to the mirror to make sure everything’s really okay…

First, as soon as you wake (or those of you who find yourself lucid while you’re dreaming, focus as soon as you become aware), ask yourself: were your teeth crumbling, breaking, falling out one by one? The momentum with which you’re losing them can be key. How rapidly, violently, emotionally is the loss happening?

Why? Because dreams about teeth tend to be about control, power, and what’s stopping you from exercising one or both of them in your life. So it follows that the momentum and circumstances surrounding your dream teeth loss might give you insight into the significance of whatever’s triggering the symbol’s appearance.

There are a variety of interpretations about teeth dreams. They’re one of the most common dreams, overall. Pretty much everyone’s experienced it at one time or another:

• Freud would like us to believe they’re about…wait for it…castration anxiety. WhatEVER (I’m NOT a big Freud fan when it comes to dream interpretation. He always leads with his dangly parts. Someone along the way should have suggested he get a handle on his fixation. Literally.).
• As far back as Artemidorus’ Oneirocriteria (The Interpretation of Dreams) it was suggested that loss of either the top or the bottom teeth can indicate upheaval in your household.
• Calvin Hall found that not only do men tend to have teeth dreams more than women (Wow. Really? Just like men have more naked dreams? Hmmm….), but that the prevailing emotion he detected associated with teeth dreams was loss or misfortune. He took a more content approach to his study. Think about it. We lose our teeth spontaneously throughout our lives, through no fault of our own. It’s a loss we have no control over. So, is that the emotional dynamic our minds are working through when they call up this particular type of dream?
• In Chinese and other cultures,baring your teeth is a sign of aggression/warfare, so losing them in your dreams can symbolize a loss of power.
• Others have thought that, depending on the type/size of teeth you dream about losing, you could be experiencing a fear of aging (are you losing small/baby teeth or larger/older teeth?). Is it a fear of maturity or responsibility playing itself out in your nighttime fantasies?

But having said all that, and back to my original questions above (HOW are your teeth falling out in your dreams), a more modern interpretation suggests that that teeth dreams are about communication (or realization) of core issues in your life. (more…)

We’ve talked about examining, grouping, and interpreting your dreams. Now that I’m back from Summer break, let’s get specific and have a little fun. Starting with getting naked ;o) The most common take on being naked in dreams is that these images represent the dreamer’s fear of being vulnerable. Remember, dreams are all about emotions/feelings. Except, not every culture views nakedness as something to be ashamed of, and not every dream about taking our clothes off in front of other people is about exposing ourselves to ridicule…

Yes, in North America, nudity is most often forbidden, even illegal in some situations. So it’s a normal, literal interpretation to think your naked dreams are about being embarrassed or mortified. And, yes, studies have told us that men have more naked dreams than women. Which, metaphorically, could mean that men have a greater fear of being exposed.

Still, remember that dreams are often not quite as literal as we think they are. What if naked dreams are telling us we’re tired of covering up, and that we’re wanting people to notice something we’ve been hiding too long. What would that say about the men (and women) in our society who dream of letting it all hang out ;o)

In a lot of naked dreams, we discover ourselves standing in front of strangers, rather than keeping parts of ourselves hidden the way we often do in our everyday lives. So, if we feel anxious and cover up, or if we feel proud and confident in front of faceless or nameless onlookers in our dreams, what does that mean?

We’re all born naked and learn to feel embarrassed by our exposed bodies based on cultural and social norms . But in the right places, even in conservative societies, being without clothes is the goal–say when we’re having sex. Naked doesn’t always mean safe. Our naked dreams can be about no longer needing to protect ourselves so closely. They can be about wanting to experience a more natural lifestyle. Which would be a good thing, right?

The types of clothes you dream you’re taking off (or staying in) can be significant, too. Cool, huh? Okay, maybe it’s a girl thing, (more…)

Modern dream interpreters base the work they do on techniques developed by others before them. They’re not inventing anything new, and they all agree that dreams are personal–they should be analyzed in terms of the dreamer’s life, not science alone. There are no universal meanings, in absense of the dreamer’s presence and reality. That said, let’s talk some turkey, then start getting busy with the nuts and bolts of the dream interpretation specifics so many of you have been clamoring for.

• There are some dreams, initiated by traumatic incidents in you life, that you should work through with professionals. They can cause to replay an event over and over, and feel threatening to yourself or others. “Playing” around with dream interpretation isn’t a fun game in these situations. Talk to someone about your fears, in and out of your dreams, and get whatever help you need to feel more in control of whatever you’re dealing with.
• Drugs (especially sleep aids) and alcohol affect both natural sleep and your dreams. They (or stopping consuming either)  can cause you to sleep more deeply and dream more vividly, disrupt sleep, inspire more frightening dreams, and result in you more easily remembering/forgetting what you’ve dreamed. They can skew your emotions while you dream (too often toward self-hate or self-harm). Overall, the boundary between your sleeping and waking realities can blur entirely. DON’T “play” with either, or your dreams, while indulging.

Beyond these two caveats, looking deeper into your dream patterns and symbols and themes can be an amazing journey of self-discovery and growing understanding of what you find within. So, let’s discover together ;o)

I’m dreaming more vividly than I have in quite a while, I suspect because I’m actively drafting a new novel. I’m bringing imagination to life in my waking reality. My sleeping mind’s not one to play second fiddle ;o) I love this place in my creative life, when I feel story moving through me, both consciously and subconsciously. It’s a lovely sign that the “gift” is flowing again. But what is it all trying to tell me? Or you, when you find sleeping images flowing just as freely?

Let’s begin with a common dream focus–being tested or challenged.

• Feeling late for an exam, unprepared, or humiliated while taking a test beause you’ve studied the wrong thing, is about feeling anxious. And remember, the feeling of what you’re dreaming is the key to interpreting it’s reflection of your waking reality.

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Ever wake, overwhelmed by the emotion of what you’re dreaming? We’ve talked about feelings being the link between your sleeping and waking world. But how, exactly, does that happen, and what are we supposed learn from the residue of our fantasies, once we leave them behind?

Sheila English asked those very questions last week when, she interviewed me about Secret Legacy’s release for Blog Talk Radio. She LOVES talking about dream theory and lucid dreaming technique. So, naturally, we spent more time than we should have in the interview sharing our personal experiences. We just couldn’t help ourselves.

We both believe there’s something there, when we close our eyes and escape this reality. We both have experienced the power of that “something” crossing back into our everyday lives. And when you connect with someone who’s felt and believed the unbelievable things that have impacted your life, you don’t pass up the chance to revel ;o)

But where, exactly, does this energy come from? How is it that a dream can be so emotionally consuming and meaningful that it impacts your waking life?

Understanding the details of how some scientists believe this emotional connection works can help you better remember and process your dream work. And the more you know about how your mind’s working for you when you sleep, the more you can do with the wealth of information and emotion it’s helping you deal with.

An important start is to recognize the categories of emotional dreams we tend to have. This gives us a frame of reference for the  powerful places we’re transported to when we sleep. And these places, remember, tell us a lot about the things in our waking lives, and within in us, which inspire them.

Don Kuiken, a Canadian researcher, found peoples’ emotionally intense dreams could impact their lives for days afterwards.

He categorized the emotional content of dreams in five distinct ways:

• Existential dreams, we’re told, are those where we’re dealing with feelings with separation and loss. These are emotionally distressing experiences that feel very real to the dreamer. They tend to contain strong sensations of sensory awareness (vision, touch and sound), as well as detailed references to the body, as you process the vividness of the emotions that you feel–feelings which often continue into waking, along with the knowledge for many that they were self-aware while they were dreaming. These are the dreams about dying or nearly dying, about losing something important and searching for it (a purse or a wallet), about giving birth or being born, etc.

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