Ever had a dream where your teeth are falling out? Or maybe you often dream that you're flying, falling or even naked.

For me, a common dream is being in a car that doesn't work--either the brakes keep sticking or I can't quite steer right. While that's not exactly the most complicated symbol to explain--(it signifies feeling out of control/lacking direction) not all dreams are so easy to decode. For example, my best friend told me she had a reoccurring dream as a kid that she was riding a ferris wheel with Sister Act-Era Whoopi Goldberg).

In any case, I thought I'd tackle this important pop-psychology issue using the ever-credible #1 dream interpretation site: Dreammoods.com.

Dream Symbol #1: Your teeth are falling out/crumbling/generally messed up

I know I've had this one before, and according to Dream Moods, this is their most common dream interpretation question. So what do the teeth stand for?

Teeth are used to bite, tear, chew and gnaw. In this regard, teeth represent power. And the loss of teeth in your dream may be from a sense of powerlessness. Are you lacking power in some current situation? Perhaps you are having difficulties expressing yourself or getting your point across. You feel frustrated when your voice is not being heard. You may be experiencing feelings of inferiority and a lack of self-confidence in some situation or relationship in your life.

Another popular interpretation of the dream is that your teeth represent your self-image and any anxiety you might have about your appearance. Researchers have found that women going through menopause are more likely to have dreams about their teeth falling out, symbolizing the change that is happening to their bodies. As if the living nightmare of hot flashes isn't enough.

Dream Symbol #2: I believe I can fly

I've had this dream only once that I can remember, but it was by far one of the most awesome I've ever had. Best thing about it? I felt during the dream that I could control my flying, feel the sensations of wind, and saw the landscape below me clearly. And unlike most dreams, I realized I was dreaming without it being a buzz kill or waking me up. Apparently with flying dreams, this isn't uncommon.

Flying dreams fall under a category of dreams known as lucid dreaming. Lucid dreams occur when you become aware that you are dreaming. Many dreamers describe the ability to fly in their dreams as an exhilarating, joyful, and liberating experience.

So what does it mean to fly?

If you are flying with ease and enjoying the scene and landscape below, then it suggests that you are on top of a situation. You have risen above something. It may also mean that you have gained a different perspective on things. Flying dreams and the ability to control your flight is representative of your own personal sense of power.
 

All of these symbols seem pretty obvious to me. Here are other common dreams that represent what you might expect: Being naked in public=Feeling insecure about something, Falling=Feeling like you've lost control over something, Failing a Test=Worry about your own inadequacies.

Perhaps more interesting are do-it-yourself therapy methods you can try at home to help solve some of these subconscious worries.

One popular method is Gestalt Therapy, in which patients try to experience their dreams from all perspectives, including inanimate objects. Here's how Dreammoods explains the method:

Frederick Perls (1893-1970) is the founder of Gestalt therapy. Gestalt therapy seeks to fill your emotional voids so that you can then become a unified whole. Perls believes that dreams contain the rejected, disowned parts of the Self. Every character and every object in a dream represents an aspect of the Self. You are the tornado, you are the attacker, you are the broken down car and you are the dusty book. Perls rejects the notion that dreams are part of a universal symbolic language. He believes that each dream is unique to the individual who dreams it.

I have to agree with old Frederick on this one. While it's fun to pretend that a dream dictionary can tell us the meaning of all dream symbols, no matter how common the theme, a dream can't have the same meaning to everyone.

Still, it's fun to try and pretend like you know what it all stands for. My interpretation of my friend's reoccurring Whoopi dream? Whoopi is the Singing-Nun-Comedic-Mentor she never had, and a ferris wheel stands for the loss of her childhood. Don't believe me? Look it up.

 

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