What did you dream about last night? Did your teeth fall out or did you fly? Maybe you died or someone you know did. Or maybe you were back in high school and realized suddenly that you were naked. These are among the most common dreams people report, said Ivy Norris, field director for the Oklahoma Schools of Metaphysics, and they all mean something.

    Many dream researchers, Norris included, think that understanding your dreams can lead to significant improvements in your waking life.

    "If people know what the symbols represent, then they know what part of themselves that they’re running from or that they need to face or need to embrace,” Norris said. For example, dreams of death represent changes in your daily life, as do babies in dreams. Cars in dreams represent the physical body and can indicate health problems. And animals represent habitual behaviors that can be detrimental and need changing.

    People in dreams represent aspects of the dreamer. People of the opposite sex represent subconscious aspects of the dreamer while people of the same sex represent aspects of your conscious mind with which you’re more familiar.

    Dreams are a universal connection, Norris said, because almost everyone dreams and a "symbolic universal language of mind” applies to anyone at anytime. Many dreams have very specific interpretations. Here are some of the most common dreams and their interpretations or symbolism.

    Dreams of flying. Dreams of flying represent feelings of freedom that may result from an instance when you overcame a limitation or obstacle. Usually, children have more flying dreams than adults, Norris said, because children are more open to their possibilities, and adults have often accepted limitations imposed by society.

    Teeth falling out. Food in a dream is symbolic of knowledge because food nourishes the physical body and knowledge nourishes the soul. Teeth are a means to break down food or knowledge. When your teeth fall out in a dream, it could signify that you feel ill-equipped to break down the knowledge that you have available, that the way you break things down has changed. That change can be either positive or negative.

    High school dreams. Either you’re woefully unprepared for a big test or you’re naked. High school is a place of learning from the past, Norris said, and dreaming of being unprepared for a high school test can indicate a struggle to access information you need to handle in your life.

    Being naked in a dream indicates open and honest expression. Clothes represent how we express ourselves and the face we show the public. If your dream nudity makes you feel embarrassed, this could mean that you need to work on being more open and honest in your daily life. If your nudity doesn’t bother you, you are more comfortable with your self expression.

    Recurring dreams and nightmares. Recurring dreams are your subconscious mind’s way of trying to get your attention. A recurring dream is a step down from a nightmare that is a louder, more insistent way your subconscious mind communicates. If you have a recurring dream, Norris recommends trying to stop in the dream and identify what the dream is trying to tell you. That could mean asking someone who is chasing you what he or she wants as in the case Norris recalls of a woman who dreamed for years that an old, haggard woman was chasing her around her Home. When she finally stopped in the dream and asked the old woman what she represented, the old woman suddenly turned into a beautiful young woman and replied, "I represent your question of ‘what if?’” 

    你昨夜梦到了什么？掉牙齿抑或在天上飞翔？梦见自己死了，或者认识的人死了。或者是梦见自己回到了大学且赤身裸体。俄克拉荷马大学的学科领导人艾菲诺丽说，这些都是人们最经常叙述的梦境，而且都有特殊的含义。

    包括诺丽在内的许多梦境研究者，认为理解自己所做的梦，大大有助于改进清醒时的生活状态。

    “如果人们知道梦境代表了什么，也许他们就更了解自己，诸如自己来自何方，需要面对或欢迎的事物。”诺丽说。例如，梦到死亡或者婴儿，代表你的生活发生了变化。汽车代表了身体，梦境有有汽车表示健康可能出了问题。梦到了动物，表示日常生活中你养成了一些坏习惯。

    梦境中的人，也反映了做梦者的心态。梦到异性是做梦者下意识的结果，而梦到同性也表示对同性要更加熟悉些。

    诺丽说， 梦境具有普遍性。因为几乎所有人都会做梦，而且梦境可作用一种符号语言来解读。许多梦都有特定的解读方法。这里谈到了一些最普遍的梦境，以及他们的含义及特征。

    梦到自己在飞翔。梦到在飞翔，代表你在现实中受到了某种限制，或者遇到某种困难，渴望获得自由。通常，儿童们会比大人更常梦到自己在飞。诺丽宣称，因为大人通常已经接受了社会加诸在身上的限制，而儿童则仍保有天性。

    梦到掉牙。梦境中的食物，象征着衣食无忧且身心愉快。牙齿则是代表了食物或者知识的却饭。当你梦到牙齿掉了时，意味着你深感自己的知识不够用，而这个促使你感觉环境已经改变了。这种改变也许是消极的，也许是积极的。