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Car dreams can be scary. And they can have a lot of meanings. For example, if you are obsessed with getting a new car, you may dream about them at night. That much is obvious.

But some automobile dreams are puzzling. What caused them is not clear, and you may start thinking that they are premonitions of disaster. But their meaning may not be so simple.

Some people dream of car crashes. Those could be warnings. But if there has been a rash of spectacular wrecks on TV news, we may write off the whole idea. Still it is good to be extra careful when driving anytime.

Dreaming of a malfunctioning car, though, may have very different meanings: metaphor for the body, business or relationships; automobile malfunctions not yet consciously noticed, or…?

Car as metaphor for the body. Your car is your vehicle—-and so is your body. Pay attention to such dreams carefully. They can be warnings about the state of your health.

Car as metaphor for a marriage. I used to dream that I was in the backseat of a speeding car—-and no one was driving. That was during a bad marriage that was lacking in partnership. My spouse was driving our lives recklessly forward with no input from me—and no apparent plan. It was scary.

Car as a metaphor for business or career. Just as we sometimes know there is something wrong with our body or relationships but ignore the signs, we may also miss signs of problems in our company or career. Malfunctioning car dreams may be the tipoff.

Car malfunction as a subliminal perception. Some of us are very aware of our cars on an unconscious level but do not consciously pay enough attention to keeping them in good repair. As Freud said, when speaking of metaphors in dreams, ” Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.”

If the brakes are wearing out, the tires are a tiny bit lumpy (indicating dangerous wear), or the engine is running rough or using too much gasoline, part of your mind registers that. And dreams are when our unconscious minds have the best chance of communicating with us. So you may be warning yourself to get your car checked before you have a wreck or get stranded somewhere because of a breakdown.

So before you start worrying that your dream of a sputtering engine means that the love of your life is about to leave you, or that the rusty car dream means you could have cancer, check on the obvious. Take care of any car repairs you have been putting off—before they get worse.

The peace of mind is well worth the time and trouble. Once you know your car is safe, you can sleep better—and concentrate on figuring out what your sputtering car dreams mean—-if you still have them. With the car fixed, the troubling car dreams may very well stop.

To ease your mind about finding a good mechanic, take practical steps. Go to the Repair Pal website to find customer reviews and ratings for mechanics and repair shops in your local area, with a list of services and specializations for each one.

So for Chicago auto repair, for example, you can find out which mechanics in your neighborhood specialize in your type of car, such as Toyota Corolla, and other information, such as, for example, why you may need a new water pump.

So if you are having scary car dreams, check it out. It will help you sleep better.

After all, you have better things to dream about.

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Children are especially likely to have nightmares. In fact, nightmares are common in children. Nightmares typically start at around age 3 years old and continue till about age 7 or 8.

People with anxiety disorder might also experience what experts call night terrors. These are actually panic attacks that occur in sleep. It is especially difficult to remember these types of dreams since they conjure up terrifying images that we would just as soon forget.

In poetic myth, the Night Mare is a “small nettlesome mare, not more than thirteen hands high, of the breed familiar with the Elgin marbles: cream-colored, clean-limbed, with a long head, bluish eye, flowing mane and tail.”

Mares’ nests, “when one comes across them in dreams, lodged in rock-clefts or the branches of enormous hollow yews, are built of carefully chosen twigs lined with white horse-hair and the plumage of prophetic birds and littered with the jaw-bones and entrails of poets.” Thus, in a pagan world of myth and blood sacrifice, the Nightmare was a cruel, fearful creature.

Our modern word nightmare derives from the Middle English nihtmare (from niht, night, and mare, demon), an evil spirit believed to haunt and suffocate sleeping people. And so, in today’s world, when we speak of a nightmare we mean a frightening dream accompanied by a sensation of oppression and helplessness.

The blood-thirsty aspect of the mythic Nightmare, provides a clue about nightmares in general. In psychodynamic terms nightmares are graphic portrayals of raw, primitive emotions such as aggression and rage that have not been incorporated into the conscious psyche. Thus we tend to encounter these “ugly” aspects of our unconscious lives as terrifying dream images in whose presence we feel completely helpless.

Nightmares are quite common in childhood because this is a time of our emotional development when we all have to come to terms with, well, raw, primitive emotions such as aggression and rage. Traumatic nightmares can also occur as one of the many symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Repetitive, intrusive nightmares following a trauma often contain symbolic themes that mirror the original trauma and relate to threat to life, threat of abandonment or death, or loss of identity. Therefore, traumatic nightmares need to be treated differently than other dreams.

It is not enough to know intellectually the psychological reasons why you have these nightmares. An event is traumatic because it disrupts your previously secure—and illusory—sense of “self.” And so, to heal from a trauma, you must take the initiative to make conscious changes in your life to accommodate the traumatic shattering of your illusions about life and identity.

Some believe that nightmares have a physiological aspect. Edgar Cayce believed that Nightmares, which bring with them an inability to move or cry out, usually indicate the wrong diet. To end the nightmarish dreams, he advised that you change your diet.

We found a technique on line that can help people who suffer from recurrent nightmares. It is not meant to be a cure-all. It is just a suggested treatment to deal with frightening nightmares. The idea is to use this therapy every night until the nightmare has been resolved. It is called Imagery Rehearsal Therapy.

Here are the steps of Imagery Rehearsal Therapy:

1. Write out the text of the nightmare. Tell the story, no matter how frightening, in as much detail as you can remember.

2. Create a new ending for the nightmare and write it down. Be careful, though, to make the new ending peaceful. Remember that the nightmare is grounded in emotions such as raw anger that have been provoked by a trauma. The point of a new ending is to “tame” the emotions, not merely vent them in violence and revenge.

3. Rehearse the new version of the story in your imagination each night just before going to sleep. Do that as close as possible to falling asleep without any other activity between the rehearsal and sleep.

4. Do a relaxation exercise. Do this immediately after the rehearsal, as a way to fall asleep peacefully. You may use any technique with which you are familiar. This could be meditation, yoga, or breathing exercises. The “cousin” of nightmares is disturbing dreams with unpleasant images.

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Robert Moss, the dream researcher, teacher and author that I keep talking about, has a radio show on dreams! You can listen over the Internet on the second Tuesday of each month, from 11 am to noon Central Time.

Here is the link: http://www.healthylife.net/RadioShow/archiveWD.htm

There is even an 800 number so that you can call in with questions during the show as he interviews other dreamworkers and dream researchers. 

What a blessing for all of us!

Dreams Poster  24 in. x 36 in.  
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People talk a lot about dreams. Usually they don’t specify clearly what types of dreams they are talking about. There isn’t just one kind, or even two (good or bad. There are many kinds of dreams, and to be able to make sense when discussing dreams, we ought to define them.

Processing Dreams

Many people have been convinced that all dreams are just the body’s way of processing memories and experiences. In fact, that is a large category of dreams.

Sorting out our thoughts, experiences and ideas does seem to be one important purpose of dreaming.

Anxiety Dreams

Anxiety dreams are not exactly nightmares (usually), but they are unpleasant. They express our worries about things that may or may not ever happen. In some cases, anxiety dreams may be a way of preparing to deal with difficult situations. In others, they may be a symptom that we need to learn how to handle stress better—and maybe drink less caffeine?

Prophetic Dreams

People who consistently keep dream journals find that they often have prophetic dreams. Sometimes the dreams are quite trivial. Other times they prepare us for events we cannot prevent or prepare us for tragedies that we can avert by being ready.

Because of a prophetic dream (also called a precognitive dream), we have had a chance to think of what we would do, the shock has worn off, and when the event happens, we are calm enough to take action that can save lives or prevent serious injury. 

Clairvoyant Dreams

People over the centuries have witnessed events happening elsewhere, even thousands of miles away, in their dreams. There are records of people dreaming of plane crashes and natural disasters, recording the dreams, sometimes putting the dreams into official records, and then receiving verification via the news media. 

Dream, Explore, Discover  Art Print by Svensson, Torleif

36 in. x 24 in. Buy at AllPosters.com

Communication Dreams

People all over the world have experienced dreams of communication from a loved in times of crisis. Sometimes the loved one has been dead for many years. Other times the loved one appears at the moment of death to say goodbye. Sometimes the loved one appears with a message of warning or other important information, or even with reassurance that the loved one is safe.

Message Dreams

Sometimes dreamers receive messages that are actually intended to be given to others. Often the message dream is for a relative, friend, coworker or neighbor and can be given right away.

But sometimes it is for an acquaintance one has yet to meet. Then, when the recipient appears, the message is given, and the dream is fulfilled.

Astral Dreams

Astral dreams are said to occur on the inner planes of existence, in the spirit world. They tend to be symbolic, like a bare black stage set with only the most essential props and actors spotlighted. Some people may never have astral dreams. More likely most people simply do not recognize or remember them.

When you have an astral dream, it may be the mind’s way of dramatizing things that you subconsciously know but have been ignoring. Or they may be an indication that someone else is trying to communicate with you in your dreams.

Nightmares

Nightmares can occur in any of the dream forms. Most likely they are a dramatization of your fears, but they can also be the result of actual memories. Such memories may require therapy to make the dreams go away.

Nightmares caused by post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can be crippling in their realistic sensations and intensity, and they definitely require professional treatment by a therapist who specializes in PTSD. Dreams can seem very real. They can be horrifying.

The fear of having PTSD dreams can cause people to avoid sleeping (which is dangerous) or to self-medicate with prescription (or nonprescription) drugs or alcohol. Doing that can also be dangerous.

Dreams Poster 62 in. x 24 in. Buy at AllPosters.com

Diagnostic Dreams

The body always knows when we are ill or hurt, but we may consciously ignore it, especially if there is no pain. Many people have dreams that tell them of serious undiagnosed problems such as cancer. Those who pay attention to their dreams and know how to interpret the images from their subconscious are warned.

Many a dream has caused someone to get a checkup that saved their life by resulting in early treatment of what could have been a fatal disease or condition.   

Healing Dreams

Occasionally people who are very ill have dreams that seem to bring healing. Is the dream healing in and of itself? Or is the dream announcing the healing? No one knows for sure.

Problem-Solving Dreams

As we have discussed before, problem-solving dreams can occur at any point in sleep or just before or after it. The solution can be literal and complete, or it can be symbolic, or just a hint.

Lucid Dreams

Lucid dreams are rare. They are dreams in which the dreamer becomes aware that he or she is dreaming and takes control of the dream. That last part is the most important. Dreams in which one simply becomes aware of being in a dream and wakes up or goes into a different dream are called prelucid dreams.

Many people have prelucid dreams. Few learn to gain control of them and turn them into lucid dreams. 

Lucid dreaming is a form of meditation for adepts of some spiritual belief systems. In those spiritual systems, people may study and practice for years to achieve it.

Yet in some cultures people have been trained from babyhood to take control of their dreams, and in those cultures virtually everyone can do it. 

Shaman Dreams

In some cultures shamans, or those with the potential to become shamans, are identified by the special dreams they have, dreams that contain specific imagery that only shamans see.

Shamans in many cultures do much of their work, including finding out information or finding cures for diseases or injuries, in lucid dreams or active dreaming.  

Mixed Dreams

Most dreams seem to be a mixture. Parts of a dream may be processing the day’s events, while other parts contain messages. Dreaming is complex. Dreams can and often do have several layers of meaning. 

Other Types of Dreams

Probably there are other kinds of dreams, but these definitions should be enough for discussion purposes and to help identify dreams for yourself and others. Talking about your dreams and working with others on their dreams is worthwhile. It can also be fun. And to me the ability to get and share information from dreams is a blessing.

Dream Clouds Plaque Photographic Print by Katano, Nicole

24 in. x 8 in.
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The best book on interpreting dreams is the one you write yourself. Oh yeah, I’m talking about recording your dreams again. When you read back over dreams from past months and years, you can start to see patterns, and your dreams start to make more sense to you. The meanings start to be more clear.

One of the blessings of having a weekly metaphysical discussion group is that people remind you of things you once knew but have forgotten. And they give you brand new ideas from their own experience, too.

This week the topic was magical journals, which are simply records of everything magical or metaphysical that you do, what the conditions were at the time, and any results that you know of.

Some people are intimidated by the idea of journaling. They think of it as having to write every single day, and having to write formally and well. So I brought a couple of books on art journaling to show that journals can be anything you want them to be.

I recommended getting a sketchbook or notebook to carry everywhere and write down whatever you want to remember, including dreams. I brought a few of my own messy sketchbooks as examples. 

I also repeated what dream expert and author Robert Moss says, that if you take time to jot down whatever dream memories you have during the day, you can remember whole dreams bit by bit. And I stressed that the book you take everywhere is the book you have with you when you have a few moments and something to write.

Dave, who is a computer guy as well as a metaphysician, does his journaling on line. That’s a great idea if you are at the computer all the time.

We all talked about recording dreams and other events in magical journals, and we had a great time. People seemed to like the idea of combining dream journaling with other kinds of journaling, lecture notes, or whatever, and always being prepared to capture ideas and memories.

Becky had some great ideas keeping dream records and other topics separated in the same book.

Karen decided that all journals are magical journals because they are filled with thought-forms of ours that can become real. Like dreams that come true. Dreams as magical thought-forms. As though writing them down makes dreams more real.

What Karen said reminds me of a saying that was handed down in my family: “Tell a dream before breakfast, and it will come true.” We were always careful not to tell bad dreams till after we had eaten.

It is not the same as writing dreams down, I know. But telling about dreams does make them seem more real. Eating first allowed time for scary dreams to fade a little—to seem less real (and less scary) to us. Having friends or family to share your ideas and dreams with? What a blessing!

But remember, the very best dream book is still the one you write yourself.

When I started working with dreams, years ago, Patricia Garfield was one of the two best authors on dreamwork that I found. She is a clinical psychologist who also works with her own dreams.

Currently I’m reading the second edition of her book, Creative Dreaming, and I highly recommend it.

Garfield’s books are different from those of Robert Moss (Conscious Dreaming, Dreamgates, and Dreaming True). She spends a bit more time explaining the research that has been done on dreams and the methods that she recommends for getting/shaping the dreams you want.

She writes very clearly and simply, so her books are fun to read and easy to understand. I also think that she is a bit more detailed in explaining how to work with dreams. So it seems easier to understand her methods and put them into practice.

Garfield gives great practical advice on transforming nightmares into pleasant dreams. She also has a lot of interesting information on how to use dreams to get answers. And she devotes a whole chapter to Native American beliefs about dreams and visions, and what we can learn from their methods.

This is a great book, and I’ll probably write more about it later. Meanwhile, give it a try, and let me know how it works for you.

Creative Dreaming was published several years ago, so you should be able to find it in the library. You can definitely find it on Amazon, where I got mine.

Sorry I haven’t blogged for awhile. I got a new job—but with a long commute. Then I got sick. I’ll get back on schedule with blogging as soon as I can.

Meanwhile, I feel really blessed to have a great job, working with fun people.

Until Steven Laberge popularized the term with his book Lucid Dreaming in the 1980s, I don’t think very many people had ever heard of lucid dreams. That didn’t mean people weren’t having them. They just weren’t using the term lucid dream.

Ancient texts describe lucid dreams and methods for having them. And many of us had had them without knowing what they were. If you have ever become concious, during a dream, that you were dreaming, even for a second, you have had a lucid dream.

Becoming lucid, at least for the moment it takes to realize you’re dreaming, seems to be an escape mechanism. If you’re having a nightmare, it allows you to stop the dream or move on to a less scary one. That has been my experence since childhood, but it has been rare.

I knew a girl in junior high school who could dream of going out with any boy she fancied. That was long before the best-selling book came out, and it was the first time I had heard of anyone controlling dreams.

In a comment on another post on this blog, Tony Hogan mentioned trying to remember to look at the backs of your hands in dreams to become lucid. That’s the method Carlos Castaneda described in the Don Juan novels, and I’ve often wondered where he got it, or if he really used it himself. I’ve heard people say that they have tried it, but not with much success.

In his book, Conscious Dreaming, Robert Moss describes a different method for lucid dreaming, and I think it sounds more promising. We’ll talk about that, and the Tibetan method, another time.

What I’d like to know is this: Have you had lucid dreams? What were they like?

Did you deliberately induce them? If so, how did you get started?

Or did they just happen? Were you able to control them? What did you do? Where did you go?