When you combine the active imaginations of children with dreams, very disturbing nightmares can occur.  Adults often feel helpless when it comes to dealing with a child’s nightmares.  It helps to keep a few ideas in mind:

1. Never, ever brush off or dismiss a child’s fears.  When you say, “Oh, that’s nothing, you’re being silly,” you are insulting the child as well as diminishing their concerns.  If they are legitimately frightened, it’s far from “nothing” and they aren’t being “silly,” they’re being children.
2. You don’t want to blow the nightmare or the dream up larger than they should be, of course, but you should listen to the child as she or he tells you what happened in the dream.
3. Instead of saying, “Monsters don’t exist!” – ask the child if he/she has ever seen a monster.  Tell them that you haven’t either (which will carry a great deal of weight, since the child probably thinks you’re about as old as old gets!).  Allow them to come to the realization that it was just a dream and that monsters (or whatever) really don’t exist.  Stay calm, casual, and never tease or make fun of them.
4. Help them  understand that dreams are like little movies our brain creates to entertain itself while we’re asleep.  Tell them that, apparently, their mind thought it was time for a scary movie and that it will probably want to create a comedy next.  Let them know that watching several cartoons (lighthearted) before bedtime the next night will probably encourage their brain to keep things funny!
5. If the child is afraid to go back to sleep, ask yourself this question:  “If you were their age and felt totally afraid of your dreams and the dark, what would you want your mom or dad to do?”   You’d want them to let you stay awake for the time being – with the lights on!  If you try to force them to go back to a frightening place, you aren’t going to be much of a hero, are you?

Nightmares are a part of growing up, so are “monsters under the bed” and “creepers in the closet.”  Just try to be as calm and reassuring as you can and you’ll help them disappear soon.

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Here’s the first submitted dream we’ve received since the relaunch of Dream Prophesy:

“I have a recurring dream that I desperately need help understanding.  Each dream has knives in it.  In the first one, my son wanted to play his guitar but couldn’t find it.  He opened the closet and a huge knife fell on him.  Blood was everywhere and we were screaming.  Then I woke up.

In the second dream, I was cooking supper and cut my hand off with a butter knife!  The third dream was just about the same, except it was a steak knife and it cut off part of my plate.

These dreams are getting to me, especially the one about my son. I’m scared of what the next dream will be about and who will get hurt in it.  Please help and thank you.”

I can see how these dreams would trouble you. The first thing you need to do is to remind yourself that these dreams aren’t prophetic. They aren’t signaling an accident or anything bad ahead. Dreams deal with what HAS happened, what IS happening, and your emotions and feelings. Some of these emotions and feelings the dreamer is fully aware of. Others, the dreamer doesn’t seem to be aware of whatsoever.

When I hear about people dreaming of knives, my first reaction is this: There’s something in their life that they want to remove, or “cut out.” These could include:

• A bad habit.  Smokers who want to quit smoking often dream of knives.  Their desire to “cut out” this habit weighs on their mind and presents itself in their dream world.
• Wanting to lose weight.  Wanting to lose extra weight will also lead to knife dreams.
• Dislike of an annoying co-worker, fellow student, neighbor, or even family member.  The dreamer doesn’t (of course!) want to harm this annoying person – but they wouldn’t mind AT ALL if fate cut them out of their life and put them in someone else’s!
• A desire to leave your job, school, home, community, etc.  Wanting to separate yourself from a current situation or place can lead to knife dreams.
• A thought or feeling.  Sometimes we feel things we wish we didn’t feel or keep having thoughts we wish would go away.  We think, “Why don’t I just cut it out?! ” – But we seem unable to.

All of the above are instances that can lead to these types of dreams.  When it comes to recurring dreams, more times than not, fully realizing WHY you’re having the dreams is enough to send them packing.  Even if you haven’t arrived at the solution yet,  your subconscious mind seems perfectly content with you just knowing the situation exists.

I truly hope this helps!

Thanks so much for submitting your dream.  I’ve learned from experience (from the last time the site was up  BEFORE disaster struck!) that people are greatly helped when they read other people’s dreams.  So, know that you’ve helped others simply by sharing your dream.

“Dreams are road signs along the nighttime highway of sleep.” – Astrid Alauda

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As a realistic dreamologist, I’d say that the happiest, sanest place is somewhere between the two illustrations above. No, you don’t have to over-obsess over EVERY detail of EVERY dream, but to totally dismiss your dreams is thisclose to foolish.

The subconscious mind is like a treasure trove filled with thoughts, hopes, dreams, fears and insights. Many of these are alien to our conscious mind, which is often far too busy to dwell on such transcendent thoughts. However, while we are asleep, the lid of the treasure trove can swing open, allowing all the gems to roll out!

If we would get more in touch with what our own unconscious minds are trying to tell us, who knows what all we could accomplish! Below are a few examples of how our dreams can help us.

Troubled Minds and Troubled Dreams: If you begin dreaming what we term “troubling dreams”, you might want to take a long, hard look inwardly. More likely than not, you are more troubled by recent events or circumstances than you may realize. Troubling dreams are dreams in which, while you don’t experience tragedy or sorrow, you are aggravated, annoyed and mentally tormented by something or someone. A few examples of troubling dreams would be misplacing something important, driving in circles unable to find your way, being wrongly accused of something, etc. They’re grating annoyances that aren’t nightmares but are far from being pleasant.

Nightmares: Nightmares are not always indicative of a mind in turmoil. Medications, stress, and even spicy food can cause outrageous dreams. Some people experience the worst dreams if they eat too closely to bedtime. However, over half the time a nightmare is a result of having too much on your mind. Think of a small wind-up toy car. If you wind it the perfect amount, all goes smoothly. If you over wind, it basically goes amok. The same can be said for our psyches. If we are putting too much on our proverbial plate….our unconscious mind runs amok.

Hidden Meanings and Symbols: Our dreams speak their own language, primarily using symbols and codes. Once you know the meanings and interpretations, you can decode what it is your unconscious mind is trying to tell you.

Dream Prophesy is a website which is devoted to the world of dreams. You will find an ever growing collection of articles dealing with dream interpretations, dream symbols, dream analysis, and dream meanings. There will also be a great many articles dealing with the world of sleep – how to achieve greater sleep, the benefits of sleep, etc.

You’ll also find an area that’s often gravely overlooked:  Daydreams! Daydreams carry an unbelievable amount of insight into our subconscious thoughts, feelings, and desires.  You will be amazed how much we can learn about ourselves simply

The wisest person is the person who is always looking for ways to grow. They never settle for good enough and would never claim to “have arrived”. They will always keep growing and learning, because it’s the only way they know how to live.

Dream analysis is simply another avenue to take on this trip we call self-discovery.

“Dreams are free therapy. Consult your inner Freud.” – Grey Livingston

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