Tag Archive: exposed

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.

Went to work without my pants…

Dream: I went to work without my pants on. Then I could not find my way home. I ended up in a line at Six Flags.

DreamsMaster: There are three separate but related themes in this dream. Let’s take a look at each separately and then bring them together.

1) Went to work without pants on: Generally when we dream of being naked in public or forgetting to put on fundamental pieces of clothing, this represents feeling exposed and vulnerable. In this case, since you went to work like this, consider if the day before the dream you were feeling unprepared, unprofessional, or in some other way had your guard down.

2) Could not find way home: Trying to get home could represent trying to get to a place of comfort and familiarity within yourself. It could also represent starting over again, home base. Not being able to find the way could represent obstacles in the current approach to trying to solve the problem at hand.

3) In line at Six Flags: The Six Flags that I know is an amusement park with lots of wild rides.

When I put these three themes together, if it were my dream, I’d interpret it like this:

I am feeling exposed and vulnerable in my work environment. My attempts to resolve or avoid the situation are not being met with success. If I stay in line with my current path, I’ll have a wild ride ahead.

As you read my projections onto your dream, does any of it fit for you? If so, I suggest you take a good look at your current life situation and assess if the decisions you’ve been making are truly in your best interest. Also, consider whether these feelings of being exposed or vulnerable signify the need to present yourself with greater confidence.

Finally, if you’re still at a loss, think about what was on your mind the night before the dream, and also try to recall if you felt any similar feelings to the dream the day before. These will help point you toward the problem your sleeping mind is working on.

Read more about Your Dreams…

Three strikes…

Dream: I was at my father-in-law’s house. I went to use the bathroom and realized I had split my pants, so I leave and the house is full of people that I recognize – my ex’s mother, grandmother, and others. I walk over to say hello to his mother and grandmother. I lean over to give his grandmother a hug and kiss on the cheek and when I attempt to release she says to me “no give me more” but I push away and go to lean down and acknowledge his mother and in the process accidentally punch his grandmother in the mouth. Automatically I start apologizing but she gets up and runs out of the house. I look at his mother and tell her how sorry I am and that I will make it right and I run out after his grandmother. As I come out the front door his grandmother is running towards a park across the street surrounded by fence and she runs directly into the fence with her face. Out of nowhere the police show up and she starts fighting them and then they shoot her and a battered cop looks up at me and says, “Three strikes – she hit me 3 times – I shoot on the 3rd strike.” And that’s when I woke up.

DreamsMaster: I get the sense from this dream that you struggle to assert yourself when it comes to setting boundaries and standing up for yourself. If this rings true, it’s likely this personal challenge was particularly keen in regards to your prior relationship with your ex and in-laws. However, unless they were on your mind the night of the dream, there’s something else in your current life that has triggered this same response, and the dream may be sending a message that it’s time to address it. Here are the specific themes in the dream that point me to this interpretation…

– The setting of the dream is your father-in-law’s house: This could represent your sense of self in regards to that period of time in your life, which appears to have been rather oppressive (based on additional personal information shared).

– You went inside to use the bathroom and realized you split your pants: Needing to go to the bathroom in a dream often represents a need to release unpleasant or pressing feelings. Splitting your pants is similar to dreams about being naked, representing a sense of feeling exposed or vulnerable. The way you describe this scene, it appears the split pants inhibited you from actually relieving yourself. Put it all together, this dream scene could represent an inability to fully express yourself for fear of being exposed and vulnerable.

– The drama with the grandmother essentially unfolds when you try to assert yourself and set a boundary with her. Your polite overture of an obligatory hug and kiss was met with her demanding more from you: you tried to pull away and she insisted on pulling you back. You resisted but then paid the penalty with a negative consequence of your actions. At that point you immediately flipped into an apologetic mode needing to “make it right”. Does this describe a pattern in your waking world, where you negotiate away your own needs in an effort to please or meet the needs of others?

– The police could represent your own inner sense of justice. The battered cop explained a “three strikes you’re out” strategy. Perhaps this is the core message of the dream: establish your personal boundaries and honor them by having the courage to stand up for yourself. Remember, you can’t expect others to respect you if you don’t demonstrate respect for yourself.

Boyfriend naked and shy…

Dream: I had a dream where I saw my boyfriend naked. When he saw me, he was shy because he was naked so he faced me with his back, and then turned his face to look at me.

DreamsMaster: Nudity in a dream generally represents being exposed or vulnerable. In this dream, it’s your boyfriend who’s naked or exposed, not you. Do you feel that lately you’ve been seeing him for who he really is, beneath the surface? Has he been revealing a lot of himself to you, perhaps more than usual, and are you feeling a bit uncomfortable or shy about that?

When someone close like your boyfriend is in your dream, it’s tempting to interpret the dream as if it’s about him. But what’s important to remember is that it’s still your dream and your projections. So in this case, although he’s the one who is naked and shy about how much is being revealed, the dream is more a statement about how you feel about how much is being exposed, and about the level of intimacy growing between the two of you.

No dream symbol can be separated from the individual who dreams it, and there is no definite or straightforward interpretation of any dream.
– Carl Jung, Man and His Symbols

Submit a dream of your own to the DreamsMaster…

I saw a toilet in my dream…

Dream: I saw a toilet in my dream. What does this mean?

DreamsMaster: A toilet in a dream can mean different things to different people, but it most commonly represents a need to release unpleasant but natural feelings. Similarly, dreaming of having to use a toilet but there being none available often represents an obstacle to expressing these emotions. Something to ask yourself is whether the obstacle to releasing these feelings is external (a real or perceived threat from another person or situation) or internal (your own sense of shame or guilt).

Was the toilet clean or filthy? This could represent the type of feelings needing expression. A clean toilet may be an invitation to release emotions perceived as more positive, such as love and joy. A dirty toilet may represent less acceptable feelings such as anger and jealousy. Another aspect to consider is whether or not there was a need to “hold it in” and/or an inability to do so, which would be a metaphor for trying to control or fearing losing control of one’s emotions.

Was the toilet in a private space or out in the open? This could represent a sense of vulnerability about expressing these feelings.

What was on your mind the night before you had this dream? See if you can relate any events or feelings in the waking world with the events or feelings in the dream.

Ah, and let’s not overlook the potential literal meaning… a dream about a toilet is sometimes just our sleeping mind’s way of telling us our body needs to wake up and go use one!