Self-image

How do dreams relate to self-image?

Dreaming about poo…

Dream: The past days I have been dreaming about poo. Either I am doing it or I am wiping babies poo.

DreamsMaster: Poo in dreams often symbolizes unpleasant or personally unacceptable negative thoughts and feelings.

If you are doing it, then it may represent that you have the need to release some unpleasant emotions. For example, you may be harboring anger or resentment toward someone close to you, and you may be feeling guilty about having these *shitty* feelings. Or, you may be having a tough time with your job or your boss, and are in need of relieving yourself of some pent-up frustration.

If you dream of wiping your own baby’s poo, it’s possible this means you are holding back unpleasant or negative thoughts and feelings about parenting. It’s generally not socially or personally acceptable to have ambivalent feelings about one’s child or the role of parenting, but it’s a very common experience. Our feelings need an outlet, and it’s not uncommon for them to express themselves subconsciously in our dreams.

If you are wiping an unknown baby’s poo, this could represent trying to wipe away negative feelings about your own early childhood, or about having children in general.

Consider all of these possibilities, and go with your felt sense about what your dreams are trying to communicate to you. If none of these ideas fit, check out more dream interpretation techniques on Dreams.com.

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Dreams about having cancer…

Dream: Lately I’ve had a couple of dreams about having cancer. In the first dream, I had lung cancer. Four days later I had a dream that I had cancer in my legs. Should I be worried?

DreamsMaster: My approach to dreams is to consider the literal meaning first, and then to move on to the symbolism.

If you haven’t visited a doctor in a long time, maybe now is the time. Perhaps you have been noticing some odd sensations in your body that you’ve been ignoring or pushing away to the “back of your mind”, and your dreams are bringing these unconscious concerns to the forefront.

Another possibility is that the dreams could be serving as a warning. For example, if you smoke, the dream could be throwing up a red flag about the danger you’re exposing yourself to.

If a literal interpretation doesn’t fit, next look at the symbolism. If it were my dream, having cancer would symbolize something in my life is threatening to consume my life force. Along these lines, in response to a dream about lung cancer, you might ask yourself, “Where in my life do I feel like I’m unable to breathe freely, or I’m suffocating?” Similarly, dreaming about cancer in one’s legs might also represent a threat to one’s freedom, or the ability to “run away” from some perceived danger.

This is not a dream to be ignored, whether literal or symbolic. Your innermost self is sending you the message that there’s some type of malignant or negative presence threatening your well-being, and it’s up to your waking self to take action.

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Spanish priest looking at me creepily…

Dream: I dreamed about a Spanish priest looking at me creepily and I was really scared by his gaze. what does that mean?

DreamsMaster: Is the Spanish priest in the dream someone familiar to you in the waking world? If so, the dream could be an intuition that this person is not to be trusted.

If you do not know this Spanish priest in your waking life, then this dream character is symbolic, and could represent inner conflicting feelings toward religion.

A key question is, what was scary about his gaze? In other words, what specifically were you afraid of? For example, did it feel like the priest had scary or unacceptable intentions toward you? Or, did it feel like the priest could see right through you?

Imagine for a moment that the priest represents a part of yourself, perhaps a part of yourself that is unacceptable to you, or a part of yourself that you don’t trust. Think about how you would describe this Spanish priest, and then ask yourself if you identify with any of these qualities.

You might also try having an imaginary dialog with the Spanish priest – visualize yourself standing tall, looking him straight in the eyes, and asking: What is the meaning behind your gaze?

Being scared in a dream implies a sense of powerlessness somewhere in your waking world. If the fear is based on conflict within yourself, then the goal is to shake hands with the fear and get back in touch with your personal power.

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Put on someone’s false tooth…

Dream: I dreamt that I put on someone’s false tooth and when I took it off my tooth fell out.

DreamsMaster: A tooth in a dream may represent one’s appearance or image, and it may also represent one’s sense of strength.

If the tooth was in the front of your mouth, putting on someone else’s false tooth could symbolize wearing another’s identity instead of being true to yourself. That your own tooth fell out after you took off the false tooth could mean that you’re at risk of losing your own identity completely if you continue to hide behind someone else’s.

If the tooth was a molar in the back of your mouth, then instead of the dream message having to do with assuming a false identity, it’s possible the message is about borrowing on someone else’s strength. Losing your own tooth after taking off the false one could symbolize that you’ve come to rely so heavily on another’s strength, that you no longer trust your own.

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Worst nightmare ever…

Dream: I had the worst nightmare ever… I was in a bunk bed and there was a naked male baby doll next to me. It was whispering stuff and had his finger over his lip saying sssshhhhh… I was so scared and I couldn’t get up, I felt trapped.

DreamsMaster: When I project myself into this dream, I get the sense of feeling extremely powerless and vulnerable. However, when I look at the dream from the outside, the source of the threat is actually not the least bit threatening – a baby doll. So the key question for you is, what exactly about this baby doll do you find threatening?

The doll is male and naked. Was there an event in your childhood where you were sexually threatened by a man, felt trapped and powerless to stand up for yourself? Have you held onto this secret into your adult life?

Here’s how I suggest you take action in regards to this dream. Write or draw the dream, then add to the story line and/or the drawing a new ending. For example, the dream ends with you not being able to get up. Instead, imagine the dream ending with you getting up, looking down at the baby doll, and speaking your mind. Yell at it, throw it across the room or out the window, whatever fits for you. The point is to reverse the feelings of being powerless and vulnerable into feeling powerful and confident. If you indeed have been holding onto a secret, it’s time to let go of it and free yourself of any unnecessary shame you’ve been carrying by keeping it.

Role-playing like this with dream symbols can have a very powerful effect. If this interpretation strikes a chord and the thought of doing the exercise on your own makes you anxious, ask a trusted friend or counselor to be there with you.

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