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Freaky Dreams
Adele Nozedar
We all know about them. We've all had them. But let's face it; we don't have a clue what they mean. They're freaky dreams.From talking pets and naked friends to apocalypses and prophecies, this is an assorted compendium of dreams – the weird, the wacky, and yes, the somewhat disturbing. Author Adele Nozedar (The Element Encyclopedia of Signs & Symbols) is compiling the freakiest dreams from around the world, each ranked with its own "freak-o-meter" rating, and offering an analysis. As you browse through the dreams and the accompanying signs and symbols, you'll learn how to look for the symbolism in your own dreams and analyse them for yourself.Complete with tips on how to have a "lucid" dream (the kind where you know you're dreaming and can even control it), fun fact boxes explaining dream theory, and even a small journal section at the back of the book for writing down your dreams, this is the ideal book for your bedside table.So the next time you wake up confused, embarrassed, ashamed, or oddly aroused, you'll be able to figure out why.
Freaky Dreams
An A-Z of the Weirdest and Wackiest Dreams and what They Really Mean
Adele Nozedar
CONTENTS
Introduction - The Land of Nod
How to Remember Your Dreams
The A to Z Guide of Dream Symbols
Cheese Dreams: Does Food Make Freaky Dreams…Freakier?
Digital Dreams
The Award for “Most Popular Dream” Goes To…
Lucid Dreaming: The Art of Controlling Your Dreams
Anxiety Dreams
Recurring Dreams
What Exactly is a Nightmare?
Notes
About the Author
Other Books by Adele Nozedar
Thank You
Copyright
About the Publisher
THE LAND OF NOD
I dreamed I was in the kitchen making a sandwich.
It was the weirdest dream I’ve ever had.
When I started researching this book, I asked people to tell me about their dreams; specifically, I was after the weirdest, the freakiest, the most disjointed examples, the ones that really do defy analysis. And the two-line quote above, was possibly one of the oddest.
It seems odd because it’s so normal.
After all, it’s in the nature of a dream that it’s weird and freaky. If you’re describing a dream to someone, is it likely that you’d ever say, “Oh my, I’ve got to tell you about the REALLY NORMAL dream I had last night!”? Nope!
Despite centuries of research that’s still continuing, there’s still so much about dreams, and indeed sleep, which remains a mystery.
Mankind has traveled into the deepest depths of the oceans. We’ve set foot on the moon. We’ve sent probes to pick up pebbles from Mars, and we’ve taken photographs in the unfathomable vastness of space. And yet we still don’t know quite what happens, or where we go to, every night when we toddle off to bed, close our eyes, and sleep.
For example, here’s something that’s very puzzling.
If you’ve ever watched someone sleeping, you might have noticed their eyeballs moving swiftly back and forth under the lids. This is called Rapid Eye Movement (REM), and it happens when the sleeper is dreaming. Dreams are our way of processing the events of the day, incidents in our lives, and all sorts of physical and philosophical phenomena.
The duck-billed platypus, of all animals on earth, shows the most extreme incidence of REM.
What is the platypus processing? What sort of anxieties could exist in that little platypus mind? We’ll never know. Another mystery. In fact, to be fair, scientists aren’t even certain that the platypus is even dreaming.
BUT WHAT IF IT IS?
The great thing about dreams is that anything can happen, any kind of surreal scenario is allowed to play out, no holds barred. In your dream world, you can be a superhero or a god, an animal, a tramp, a teapot. Dreams allow us to tap into an internal imaginary world that is as vast as that external universe that the space probes poke around in. The possibility of a fabulous dream is enough to make bedtime seem like a really fun proposition.
HOW TO REMEMBER YOUR DREAMS
The dream is the small hidden door in the deepest and most intimate sanctum of the soul, which opens into that primeval cosmic night that was soul long before there was a conscious ego and will be soul far beyond what a conscious ego could ever reach.
-Carl Jung, The Meaning of Psychology for Modern Man, 1934
We’re presupposing that you already know how to sleep, so let’s get straight to the juicy stuff. Some of us really do believe that we never dream, or maybe that we dream only very rarely.
That’s not true. Everyone dreams.
What’s more, we each have several episodes of dreaming throughout the night. They occur primarily during the period of REM described above, during which our most intense dreams take place, but there’s also a phase called Non-Rapid Eye Movement (NREM) during which dreams might happen—or they might not..
So, if we all dream, then why don’t we all remember them?
Some scientists have speculated that we don’t remember them simply because it wouldn’t be healthy to do so. After all, if we had to think not only of all the stuff that happens every day in our waking lives AND then think about our dreams, we’d probably go mad. There also needs to be a clear distinction between dreams and waking reality. For example, to dream of flinging yourself from the top of a moving train and then finding that you can fly to safety is fine, but to try the same thing in real life wouldn’t be very clever. Dreams are by their very nature full of absurd scenarios and impossible situations which would simply never happen in our waking lives.
Always with the adjunct “Safety First,” then, here are some tips on how to remember your dreams.
DECIDE TO REMEMBER YOUR DREAMS
Start out by making the decision that you do actually want to be able to recall your dreams. Tell yourself that this is what you want. Repeat this mantra several times a day:
I will remember my dreams.
I will remember my dreams.
I will remember my dreams.
BREAK UP YOUR SLEEP PATTERN
If you can, aim to break up your sleep pattern. We remember our dreams usually when we’ve been woken up in the middle of, or immediately after, a dream episode.
You might have a dedicated friend who will time how long it take between you falling asleep until the REM pattern starts. You could try setting an alarm to wake yourself when this happens. Otherwise, try setting the alarm at random times. We sleep in 90-minute cycles, so if you don’t have to get up at the crack of dawn the next day, you could set an alarm clock to go off at 90-minute intervals throughout the night.
Other ways of breaking up your sleep pattern include eating indigestible food (see “Cheese Dreams” in CHEESE DREAMS: DOES FOOD MAKE FREAKY DREAMS…FREAKIER?), taking a long-haul flight into another time zone, or having a baby.
RECORD THE DREAM
The tried and tested method is to have a notebook and (working) pen or pencil beside the bed, but you might prefer to have a recording device. Remember, after all, that Keith Richards recorded “Satisfaction” in his sleep. Whatever means you decide to use, make sure they’re easily accessible and that you’re familiar with any technology. Dreams can be extraordinarily elusive and could easily escape by the time you’ve jabbed away at the paper with a succession of useless pens, or worked out which button to push.
REMIND YOURSELF OF WHAT YOU’RE DOING
It’s easy, befuddled with sleep, to forget what your aim is, especially if you’re trying the 90-minute alarm clock method. It’s all too simple to simply throw the clock across the room and continue snoozing. You might try placing a piece of card with the words “REMEMBER DREAM!” somewhere that you’ll see as soon as you wake up.
DON’T TRY TO ANALYZE ANYTHING
It’s more important that you get the details down without immediately worrying about the meaning of them. Let the dreams “be.” Let them breathe, live with them a little while before deconstructing them.
While you’re at it, you might want to consider using your dreams to solve problems.
You’ll see several examples dotted through this book about ingenious solutions that have been found in a dream, delivered to the dreamer as though on a silver platter. If you have any sort of conundrum, think of it several times during the day and then concentrate on it before you go beddy-byes. See what happens. By the way, you’re more likely to have pleasant dreams if you’re close to a pleasant scent, and vice versa.
A DISCLAIMER
Although the bulk of this book is an analysis of some of the features that might appear in your dreams, some of the freakiest dreams are simply beyond explanation, pure and simple. Don’t worry if this is the case with one of your dreams. Enjoy it, revel in it, have a laugh about it.
IN CONCLUSION
If you take all this into consideration and start to apply it, you’ll find that the more you remember your dreams, the easier it will get. It’s almost as though your subconscious mind, knowing that you’re extending the hand of friendship, starts to come out to play and communicate with you.
YOU MIGHT SEE PATTERNS EMERGING. YOU MIGHT DREAM OF AN INVENTION THAT MAKES YOU A MILLIONAIRE.
YOU MIGHT INVENT A PLOT THAT TURNS INTO A BEST-SELLING BOOK.
WHATEVER YOU DO, YOU’LL DEFINITELY HAVE FUN.
ENJOY YOUR FREAKY DREAMS!
“Read the directions and directly you will be directed in the right direction.”
The Doorknob, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
THE A TO Z GUIDE OF DREAM SYMBOLS
There are many wonderful books full of dream symbols. Then there are also some real doozies. In general, a symbol represents itself. For example, let’s say that you dream about a lion. Then you have to ask yourself—what is a lion? A big shaggy animal with golden hair, pointy teeth, and sharp claws that comes from Africa? Is it the symbol for one of the astrological signs? Or is it an animal that represents courage, strength, fortitude, and ferocity? Then again, you might immediately think of the cowardly lion in the Wizard of Oz. The lion is, of course, all of these things and more. If you dream of a lion, then the meaning of the dream is dictated by what the lion means to you, personally, as well as the archetypal meaning of the symbol and the context in which it actually appears in the dream. It’s not always easy, but here at Freaky Dreams Central we like to apply the principle of Ockham’s Razor to just about everything. What is Ockham’s Razor? Aside from being a fabulous phrase to throw in at fancy dinner parties, Ockham’s Razor means that of all the possible explanations for everything under the sun, the simplest and most obvious one is generally the best.
A
ABBREVIATIONS
Inspect your dreams carefully. They are full of hidden messages. When you spot an abbreviation, see if there’s a possibility that it might stand for something. For example, the abbreviation could be the initials of a person. Roman numerals might constitute a date. XL could translate as the word “excel.” You get the idea.
ABYSS
This can indicate the depths of your subconscious mind—maybe you’re afraid of facing up to something that you know you have to deal with sooner rather than later. It could also mean that there’s a “plunge” to be taken, like some kind of a cosmic bungee jump. Bear in mind that scary stuff can also be incredibly exciting, so an abyss in a dream isn’t necessarily a bad omen.
ACCIDENT
If you dream that you’re involved in an accident, it’s likely that there is a situation in your life that you’re not happy with; perhaps a metaphorical “accident waiting to happen.” To dream that you’re the cause of an accident is a good example of the common anxiety dream. Look to see what you’re worried about in your waking life and make moves to change things. If you dream that someone in your life has been in an accident, it could mean that you are genuinely worried for that person or it could mean that it’s time for your relationship with them to come to an end. Only you can know which answer is likely to be correct.
ACORN
A new beginning, the germ of an idea, something that’s going to be BIG. Stick with it. You’re inspired!
ADULATION
It’s likely that you’ve done something that you’re very pleased with—a project at work, perhaps or a new idea or invention you’ve devised. Your dream of adulation confirms this. However, it’s also possible that the world is not giving you the encouragement you need and that your subconscious mind needs to make up for it while you’re asleep.
ADULTERY
If you dream about adultery, it’s all down to the context. If you’re committing adultery in your dream, it’s possible that your marriage is in need of some close scrutiny. Perhaps you’re bored and need to spice things up. If your partner is committing adultery in your dream, again your marriage could be in need of some close scrutiny because of boredom factors. Or perhaps you’re afraid that they might be hiding something—a lover, perhaps, but not necessarily.
ALARM CLOCK
Most of our dreams are, unfortunately, related to anxiety, and a dream about an alarm clock falls into this category. We set alarms when we want to be woken up; this could be physically or metaphorically. Clocks also indicate an obsession with time; maybe you feel you’re running out of the stuff or you’re trying to meet a deadline.
ALBATROSS
The definitive interpretation of the albatross’s symbolism is best summed up in “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. In this epic poem, he writes: “Instead of the cross, the albatross About my neck was hung.” Because of the mythology of the albatross as something that hinders you, this dream symbol is more than the sum of its realistic parts. Not just any old sea bird, the albatross represents the idea of something holding you back. And if it appears in your dreams, then this might correlate with a similar situation in your real life.
ALBINO
Anything albino is something that has no color pigmentation, something that’s purely white. White is symbolic of purity, so it could be reflective of something in your life that is pure or innocent. But there is also something very different about an albino since it’s not something we are accustomed to seeing in our everyday lives. To see anything albino in your dream could also suggest that there is an aspect of your waking life in which you feel different or alienated.
ALCOHOL
Alcohol changes our state of mind; we drink it, we sometimes get drunk, we become happy or sad or maybe angry, sometimes we dance on tables, and sometimes we fall over. Alcohol enables us to lose our inhibitions and perhaps your booze-laden dream is telling you to let your hair down a little in your everyday life?
ALIEN
What constitutes an alien? Is it a small green creature with slanted, expressionless black eyes? Is it a foreigner? Is it the feeling of being a stranger in a strange land? Of course, it’s all of these, and more. An alien in your freaky dream could suggest you’re feeling disconnected, divorced from reality and the people around you. New experiences are exciting but also scary, and you might be dreaming of aliens if this is your current situation in life. To be abducted by aliens means that circumstances are out of your control.
ALMOND
The defining quality of the almond is the incredibly tough exterior that hides its sweet and tender meat. The dream almond might represent you, or another person with these qualities. It could also be something in your life that requires a lot of effort to attain the result you need. Incidentally, almonds are also a symbol of fertility as well as of marriage. This symbolism goes for nuts in general.
ANCESTOR
