Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Conquering the Naked Dream

I have lots of dreams, and they are often graphic and vivid. I dream about the same things over and over.
I dream that I'm back in high school or college again, because the first time I graduated didn't count and I have to do it over. I dream that all my teeth are breaking and crumbling inside my mouth and falling out. I dream that I'm flying and trying to get to the sky, but there's always one more roof above me.
But there's one dream I don't have anymore: the naked dream. The one where you're doing something important, like giving a speech or performing on a stage, and you look down and realize you're completely naked.
I don't have that dream anymore because I conquered it.
The last time I dreamed I was naked, I was working in a factory of sorts. There were tons of people milling around, mostly men. I suddenly realized I was naked and everyone could see me. But instead of being ashamed and trying to find things to cover myself, I just went about my usual business like nothing was up. I talked to my coworkers like nothing was out of the ordinary, and dared them to look down instead of up. Inside my head, I was thinking, "Yeah, I'm naked... so what? We all know it's there, there's no need to be weird about it." I even felt a little cocky, like, "Hey everyone, look at me! I'm naked, and proud of what I've got! Don't I look good?" At no point in my dream did anyone try to arrest me for public indecency, or even say, "Uh, you should probably put some clothes on."
I am sure that the naked dream is a metaphor for self-acceptance. No one wants the whole world to see them for what they really are, faults and everything, but the sooner we learn that our faults are part of the package that comes with being human, the more freedom we have with ourselves, and consequently, the rest of the world. My naked dream was about allowing myself to be exactly who I am, and telling the world, "Deal with it!"
Now if only I could apply that lesson to my waking life...

2 comments:

Christina Rodriguez said...

Never had the naked nightmare myself, but my most hated dreams are the ones where I REALLY have to go to the bathroom. In the dreams, I'll find a rank stall with no or little privacy (it always looks like the locker room bathroom in my high school gym) and wake up once I realize that it still feels like I have to go.

The Feed said...

I do agree it's about conquering self-doubt. It seems that you're at a place right now where you're comfortable with whom you are. I've never had the naked dream in my life, but I guess my version of a dream is being aware I'm in dream and being lost. As often happens in dreams, places mesh together, and surroundings change within seconds, my inability to make sense of it all or to find my way around a dream I'm aware of dreaming is my naked dream.