Make Your Way 7, Schulbuch mit Audio-CD und CD-ROM

4 Falling Falling has an emotional significance even in everyday speech. We talk, for example, of falling into temptation or of falling in love. This applies equally to dreams. Falling symbolises the fear of losing control over one’s feelings or over a situation. It can also mean that the dreamer worries about sexual potency. 5 Flying and oating on air People who dream that they are flying may suffer from an inferiority complex for which they are compensating themselves. In this dream, the weight of everyday problems disappears and the dreamers feel superhuman. 6 Running from a pursuer Over 70% of people report dreaming of being chased or pursued. Very often they find themselves trapped and unable to escape for one reason or another. Such dreams are usually related to frustrating or worrying situations that are occurring frequently in their waking lives. 7 Crime and punishment Psychologically, a crime is a thought or wish of which the dreamer’s conscience disapproves. In dreams we have no control over our feelings, so we allow the expression of hostile thoughts which are repressed during the day, e.g. negative feelings towards a parent. Similarly, we can dream of being punished for guilty thoughts we have had in our waking hours. 8 Taking an examination Dreams of passing an examination usually relate to some form of wish-fulfillment; this could be the desire to pass a real examination or it can symbolise the desire to achieve success in some forthcoming activity. Dreams of actually taking an examination can express deep anxieties about tasks we face in our everyday lives. The “action replay” dream is fairly common for this dream type: We take again an examination which we have already taken in real life. 9 Death and dying If we dream of the death of others, it means that unconsciously we want to get rid of them. For example, Freud was once told about a man who dreamed regularly about the death of his children. Freud thought that the man was unhappily married and regarded the existence of the children as an obstacle to divorce. His interpretation turned out to be correct. If we dream of our own death, it can frequently reflect a desire to return to the blissful pre-birth life in the womb which is remembered by our subconscious. 10 Appearing naked in public The dream of being naked may mean that the dreamer would like to expose to other people that aspect of his or her personality which he/she regards as his or her true self. The dream reflects a wish on the part of the dreamer to let others see him or her as he/she really is. The embarrassment may mean that the person does not dare to be him- or herself because he/she thinks others might disapprove. 113 6 Extensive unit 6: Dreams Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv