Sunday, October 11th 2009, 4:00 AM
I often dream that I am back in school being tested ... and sometimes I am even tested by my mother, who is asking me a million questions.
T. Banks, Manhattan
Dreams of being tested reveal performance anxiety and the perfectionism of the dreamer, who does not want to be caught off guard. It is a preparatory measure, a safety net for not slipping up.
Being quizzed by your mother is an even harder test to take. There is the wish to measure up to her expectations.
Facing down a hurt
I dreamt that my 5-year-old daughter was alongside me on a neighborhood street when she started skipping near the curb of a driveway and fell with her head in the street and the rest of her body on the sidewalk, perpendicular to me. I ran to help her up, but a mini- van out of nowhere was backing up to park and it ran over her face, flattening it out. She didn't die, but when she got up her face was flat on one side and there was one small bloody skid mark on her cheek.
I woke up screaming and have walked that street with her to shake it from my head. What does this mean?
Stephanie, Ridgewood, Queens
When your daughter skips ahead, it symbolizes that she is in another space in time, and this triggers the maternal worry that you will not be able to protect her. Similarly, to fall in a dream indicates there are issues with loss of control.
Yet your dream is far more complex: Remembering that your daughter lay perpendicular to you brings a whole new interpretation to your dream. Taking this lengthwise position into consideration, she is you to a T. This means that someone ran roughshod over you and you wish to rid yourself of this painful memory, to squelch, squash or flatten its effect. Whatever happened left an imprint. So when you say you want to shake this dream from your head, you really want to steamroll over this memory.
Door to the past
In a recurring dream, I go back to the house in Havana where I grew up. I'm knocking on the door but I cannot go in. Sometimes I dream I'm in the house, up in the nursery rooms, wandering around in that area, and it is bittersweet. What does this mean?
E. Fanjul, Manhattan
There is a desire to gain perspective on the past and reclaim what time has taken from you. But knocking on a door is confrontational in nature; it involves a fist. It is a declarative statement that wishes to be heard and responded to. So the door that remains shut represents something you are barred from, childhood memories perhaps.
When you are in the house, the room defines you - it is viewed as a representation of the self; wandering around in the nursery expresses your sentimentality and the wish to be cared for.
Victory dance
My college had a "Funk Night" of music and dancing that was held downstairs in a courtyard. Because of a muscular problem, I am slow getting up stairs. So in my dream of this event, everyone but me had already left. I was at the bottom of the stairs when the deejay said over the microphone, "She's not ready to go yet, she still wants to dance." I had to dance by myself with everyone watching. The music was so fast I danced on every third note to accommodate my muscular problem. When the music ended, someone yelled down to me, "Hey, what's your culture?" This was wonderful to hear.
Tatiana, Manhattan
This self-empowerment dream focuses on self-acceptance: A personal difficulty is embraced as a favorable part of your identity. Your muscular problem is instilled with cultural heritage - it becomes exotic and provocative, a component of rhythmic style rather than a physical hindrance. Your disadvantage is perceived as an asset - an ultracool style of dancing.
Movement is not feared but indulged in and validated by those who watch you dance. Your fast thinking - dancing on every third note to slow down the music - proves that the cerebral dominates the physical. Dancing to certain notes and not others reveals your independent spirit. You dance to your own beat.
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