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Welcome to Spotlight. I'm Joshua Leo.
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And I'm Liz Waid. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
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"I went to get some extra milk. I realized while I was in the store that I was naked. I wondered how to get home without any shoes on."
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"I was falling and falling off a cliff down into a deep canyon. I knew if I hit the bottom I would die."
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"While running from an attacker, I began to fly! I found I could control the flying and began flying all around the city, then out above the countryside. I thought I might be able to fly to the moon."
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Do you recognize any of these situations? You may recognize them as dreams. In fact, you may recognize them from YOUR OWN dreams! These are some examples of very common dreams that people all over the world experience. Dreams might include everyday situations. Or they might be very strange. Do these situations mean anything? Are they a message we should concentrate on? Or are they just a collection of images and memories and old thoughts?
Today's Spotlight is on understanding your dreams.
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Many experts believe that our dreams do hold meaning. Ivy Norris studies dreams. She says that when a person understands his dreams, he can improve his waking life - the time when he is not sleeping.
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Giving meaning to dreams by looking at the symbols in them is called interpretation. By looking closely at a person's life and the symbols in his dreams, an expert may be able to interpret the dream and tell him what it means for his life.
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Many experts believe particular images in dreams are symbols for something in your waking life. For example, Ms. Norris says that dreams of death or dreams of babies could mean something in your life is changing. When people understand these symbols, they can understand their dreams.
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Across the world, many people have common dreams. Here are a few of these common dreams and their possible meanings.
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You have a dream where someone or something is chasing you.
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This kind of dream can be very frightening. This dream may mean you feel there is something in your life you cannot control. It may mean you are feeling threatened by a person or situation in your waking life.
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If you are having this kind of dream, experts say you may be able to stop it. When you are in the dream, try to face the person or thing chasing you. It may seem very frightening at first, but it cannot hurt you! Try asking whoever or whatever is chasing you WHY it is chasing you. You may be surprised at the answer!
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You have a dream where your teeth are falling out.
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Many people have dreams that their teeth begin to fall out very easily. What could this mean? To understand this dream, experts suggest looking at the purpose of teeth. Teeth hold, cut, and bite. As children, we lose our teeth. But, in the place of these small teeth, we get bigger, stronger teeth. Dreamgate, a website about dreams, says this:
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"If I have a tooth loss dream, I can ask myself some questions. One: what parts of my world are slipping away? And two: what new larger world will this lead me to?"
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You have a dream where you are naked in a public place.
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Finding yourself in a public space with no clothes on could certainly make you feel very ashamed! In your dream people may not even notice that you are naked. Or, they may point at you and laugh. A person having a naked dream may have no clothes, or may be just missing a single piece of clothing - like shoes.
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Anne Faraday works to find meaning in dreams. She believes people have naked dreams because they FEEL naked, or uncovered. They may feel weak or open to attack, or as if they have no protection in a situation in their life.
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You have a dream that you are falling.
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Falling off a cliff is something few of us ever really survive! But, in our dreams, we may live to tell about it! The feeling of falling makes us feel out of control. A falling dream may be telling you that you feel out of control. Some popular theories are that falling in a dream means that you do not feel as secure in a close relationship anymore. Or, it is a memory of how often we used to fall as children.
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In any case, it is sometimes possible to control your falling in your dreams. If you often experience falling dreams, talk to yourself before you sleep. Say to yourself: "I would like to FLY instead of FALL." With time you may be able to change your dream into a much more pleasing experience! You can ask yourself if there is something in your life that is out of control. Then see if there is any way to take it into your control. This leads us to.....
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You have a dream where you are flying.
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This is often a person's best dream! Dream historian Anthony Shafton says there are over twenty-four [24] different explanations or meanings for flying in dreams. So, there may be no one reason a person flies in his dreams. But it is still fun to experience!
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Interpreting dreams can be a very fun thing to do. Many people seem to find meaning in looking especially close at these night-time visions. But can dreams REALLY tell us anything about our lives? As you can see from this program, many people believe that dreams CAN carry special meanings for our waking lives.
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But dream experts disagree. They believe that dreams are just life situations we re-live from our waking life. They may or may not connect to thoughts or situations we experience when we are awake. Or, dreams may be a combination of thoughts that have meaning, and common everyday thoughts.Voice 2
Even if dreams cannot help us tell the future or tell us secrets from our sleep, they may still be able to help us. Sometimes it is good to stop and think about our lives. What is stopping us from doing our best? What or who are we afraid of? How can we make our lives better for ourselves, but also for the people around us?
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