Dreams of walking on your hands

See, I didn't forget that I promised to get back to talking about dreams on this blog. LOL For those who don't know, I've been into dream interpretation for almost 20 years. It has been both a hobby, as well as something I occasionally do for friends of mine.

I also include many of my dreams in my books. The Lilith Mercury series, for example, is filled with dreams taken straight from my journal. I also use dreams as a source of inspiration for which direction to take some of my stories. 

As I was sitting here today, working on a new book, I realized that there is a new reoccurring pattern to my dreams. Lately, I keep dreaming about walking on my hands.

One dream in particular about walking on my hands will be included in the third book of my Unseelie of Atlanta series, Lord of Frost.

But lets get on with the dreams. 

Here is the first dream I had about walking on my hands. I'll edit out the names so as not to spoil the book this dream will be featured in. Everything else is exactly as it was in the dream.

As the dream begins, I know that I am dreaming. I am fully aware, yet I make no effort to take control. I want to know what my mind is trying to show me.

XXXXX is in front of me, lying on the floor between a bed and a wall. We are in someone else’s house. I have no idea whose house it is, only that it belongs to someone we do not know. He is fully clothed in his usual attire, jeans and a flannel shirt.

The next thing I know I’m doing a handstand. It takes me just a moment to steady myself. At first my back is straight. Then I realize it would be easier to balance my weight if I curled my legs toward my head in a scorpion position. I widen the position of my hands, and begin walking toward him. As I do this, he smiles.

In reality I don’t go around walking on my hands. I’m not even sure if I have the upper body strength, but in the dream it felt very natural. He moves his legs together so that I can straddle him with my hands and walk up his body.

We’re face to face and he continues to smile at me. The emotion in his eyes breaks my heart, because even in the dream, I know it isn’t real. But I miss this, so I allow myself to see and feel what I need to. It is both a comfort and a burden.

I lean down as if to do a push-up and press my chest against his. Slowly, I lower my body down, inch by inch until I am lying flat against him. His smirk is adorable as he says, “Please, continue.”

My heart flutters the way it used to when he smiles at me that way. Then we hear whoever owns the house coming back in. We laugh and get up, I’m assuming to hide or leave.

I wake up with a pain in my chest.

Needless to say, the first time I dreamed about walking on my hands was bittersweet at best. But, I figured it was too real to not put in a story somewhere. I felt like others could certainly relate.

This is the latest walking on my hands dream I had. This one was pretty simple. I was walking down a dirt road. The scenery was peaceful, woods, green fields, and I remember hearing birds. In this dream I knew that the path led to my house, even though that is not what the road looks like in reality. But in the dream, I knew I'd traveled this road many times. It was all very familiar to me. I felt at peace. I can still remember the way the ground felt beneath my hands. I wasn't struggling in the slightest to hold my weight. I felt free. And then I woke up.

Now, let's interpret, shall we?

Dreams are overlooked by so many people, but I believe they are how our higher selves communicate with us. Sometimes they hold messages we need to remember, or have yet to receive. Other times, they just remind us of what we’ve lost and break our heart.

The first time I had this type of dream we were in someone else’s house. Houses can represent people, our relationships with them or our feelings about them. But this was a stranger. Maybe I feel that some unknown aspect took this person from my life? After all, he was in the house when I arrived. Or maybe some as yet unknown part of myself knew it was time for me to move on.

He was lying on the floor beside the bed. Beds usually signify something about sex, even though this dream was not sexual despite how it might sound. In this case, maybe people would not have approved if I was sleeping with him and that’s why he appeared on the floor. I mean, it certainly seems that no one liked him, but didn’t tell me until after he was out of my life.

As for walking on my hands, hands are often symbolic of work or current projects. To walk on them means to take all the pressure, all the weight, in a way the body isn’t used to carrying it. I had to balance so carefully, just to be near him. Too much work and effort for someone who turned out to be toxic? I think so.

As for all of the emotions I felt ... I think I was just missing someone I once felt very close to, even if that person didn't really exist. At least, not the version of them I thought I knew.

The latest occurrence of this dream type was a much better experience, being in nature is always a good sign. This can pretty much be interpreted however the dreamer sees fit. For me, bright and beautiful scenery is self explanatory. 

I am really excited about the birds in the second dream.

Birds often symbolize goals, hopes and dreams. To hear them chirping and singing, like I did, represents joy, harmony, and love. This entire dream signifies a positive outlook on life and spiritual freedom.

I was still walking on my hands, still taking on a great deal, but it was not weighing me down.

These dreams happened roughly 3 months apart. I take this as a positive sign that I'm moving in the right direction.

So, what are your experiences with walking on your hands in dreams? I hope this helps someone in looking to interpret their own dreams.

Now, it's back to work for me. :) After all, books don't write themselves.

Running on all-fours

I wrote a post in 2009 about dreaming of running on all-fours like a wolf. (I say like a wolf and not like any other type of animal because that is how I imagine myself when I run.)

Here is a link talking about my dream, if you're interested.

It amazes me how many hits this article continues to get. Since there is such an obvious interest, I thought I might do a little more research on why people might have this dream.

As I've said before, I keep a dream journal. I've done this for at least 12 years, maybe more. I don't keep up with my dreams as much as I used to simply because I don't often have the chance to dream. Dreaming, for me at least, requires a deep state of sleep which I am not often afforded these days.

I am a very light sleeper and every small noise wakes me. My husband (and my dog) snores. Plus we have an idiot who is fond of riding by at 3 AM with loud music, at least 3 nights a week.

Having said that, I should clarify something. I do still dream. I used to recall my dreams every single night. Now it's more like I remember one dream a week, sometimes two.

I'm also still experiencing the "running on all-fours" dream. I don't call this dream reoccurring because only one element remains the same, the running on all-fours part.

The last time I had this dream I was running down a road near where I live. I was jogging normally, but then I started to pick up the pace. As I moved faster the road changed. It turned to dirt instead of pavement. The next thing I knew I could feel the dirt as it brushed across the palms of my hands, the light yet rough pressure of it as my weight shifted to run. Without any noticeable transition at all, I was suddenly running on all-fours as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

In my opinion, it is the most natural thing in the world. I've studied dream interpretation for years, for a number of reasons. For one thing, I get lots of ideas for books from my dreams. I'm a writer and new ideas are always a good thing. Dreams are a great source of inspiration, especially if you can figure out their meaning.

But aside from that, I enjoy trying to figure out how the subconscious mind works. There are many things that we know when we are asleep and somehow forget when we are awake. Instincts that have been long forgotten in our waking life remain dormant, waiting for the chance to reemerge when our mind isn't "working" so hard at being normal.

I've come across lots of theories about these running on all-fours dreams. I've also discovered that thousands of people have experienced this.

Some people speculate that a dream of this kind means you are about to overcome some huge obstacle in your life. You are literally racing toward your goal.

Others see it as you you feel powerless in your waking life, so you seek the feeling of power that such dreams can give.

And then there is another explanation. Perhaps werewolves are real? You heard me right. There are people who believe that we who experience dreams of running on all-fours are merely reliving what happens when we transform into a wolf. No, I'm not joking.

These are the three most prominent theories I've come across in my research. I'm not saying I believe or disbelieve any of them, but here is MY interpretation.

As for myself, I am always racing toward one goal or another, so this interpretation is only the tip of the iceberg. It doesn't have any real meaning for me. Saying that I am racing toward a goal is like saying I'm going to breathe today.

The second theory doesn't really resonate with me either. Although running this way in my dreams is a wonderful feeling, I don't necessarily crave the power of it. Who doesn't want to feel that kind of freedom? It's a rush each and every time it happens and I can't help but feel that the rest of the world is missing something. This theory has some merit (in my opinion) but it is also only the tip of the iceberg.

When I stumbled upon the third theory I was both excited and amused. I write erotic paranormal romance. MANY of my characters are werewolves. There is something so virile to me, so powerful about a man who is part beast. Especially, if he is in control of his inner monster.

Do I believe that there are people who actually transform into wolves? Unfortunately, no. Why is it unfortunate? Because it would be awesome if it were true. The macabre has always fascinated me so theories about werewolves being real are nothing new in my book. For those who believe that lycanthropy is a mental condition in which someone believes themselves to be a werewolf, this dream theory might have some weight.

I think my own dreams are a combination of many things. As for this particular dream, where the road turned to dirt, maybe I am feeling a need to get back to basics? To release stress and "run free." That is certainly true for me. Maybe it is for a lot of other people also.

In this dream I never actually saw myself as a wolf, it was more of a feeling I had. Although, in other dreams, I have seen myself as a running wolf.

Do I believe I'm a werewolf? Of course not. Just because I write about werewolves or speculate on theories doesn't mean I'm a nut job. Ha. Ha. Ha. The subconscious mind is like the ocean, we may never fully explore it and this fascinates me. I was almost a psychologist after all. I was an undergrad in criminal psychology and considered specializing in sex therapy as a graduate. But, I'm getting off subject.

The wolf has many desirable qualities that lots of people may find themselves drawn to. Power, freedom, confidence. The list could go on.

Maybe those qualities are why I see myself as a wolf. Or maybe it's just because I write about them.