It’s a “bad” dream, right? Technically speaking, a nightmare is a dream that elicits a reaction of horror, terror, fear, or all three, in the dreamer. Nightmares can be so bad that sometimes it’s hard to shake off that feeling of horror, and it’s often difficult to get back to sleep after one. You need to read a funny book or watch some stupid late night TV to dispel the nastiness. Sometimes, if the unfortunate dreamer experiences a series of nightmares night after night, he or she might even try to avoid going to sleep at all. This can lead to insomnia, and lack of sleep will only serve to exacerbate anxiety.
Nightmares are more common than you might think; scientific studies tell us that roughly three quarters of all dreams contain the sort of subject matter that transforms those dreams into nightmares. One of the worst kinds of nightmares occurs when something horrendous has happened to a person in real life, and the individual is forced to endure aspects of it replaying over and over again during sleeping hours.
But where does the word “nightmare” come from? The “mare” part of the word has its origins in the Old English maere, meaning a malicious spirit, specifically an incubus or possibly a goblin. In fact, the ancient Dutch word for “goblin” is mare, and the Icelandic, mara, means “incubus”. An incubus is a poisonous female entity that legendarily sits on the sleeper, suffocating him and draining his energy, vampire-like. In the sixteenth century, the word “nightmare” was used to describe a “bad dream caused by an incubus”. In later years, we’ve largely forgotten about the supernatural aspect of a bad dream, which is probably just as well. The very thought of an evil spirit crushing your ribs and sucking away your bodily energies is enough to give anyone nightmares.
FAMOUS FREAKY DREAMERS
YESTERDAY
Paul McCartney is one of the most famous and successful singer/songwriters of all time, and one of his best-loved songs was inspired by a dream.
“Yesterday,” written in 1965, is one of the most covered songs of all times and while it’s impossible to count just how many times the song has been broadcast or performed, the official body that logs such information estimates seven million plays of the song in the twentieth century. And this song came to McCartney in a dream. It happened during the filming of the Beatles’ movie, Help. Paul was sleeping in a small attic room in London’s Wimpole Street. Here’s what happened, in his own words:
I woke up with a lovely tune in my head. I thought, “That’s great, I wonder what that is?” There was an upright piano next to me, to the right of the bed by the window. I got out of bed, sat at the piano, found G, found F sharp minor 7th—and that leads you through then to B to E minor, and finally back to E. It all leads forward logically. I liked the melody a lot, but because I’d dreamed it, I couldn’t believe I’d written it. I thought, “No, I’ve never written anything like this before.” But I had the tune, which was the most magic thing!
What’s really interesting here is McCartney’s sense of disbelief that he could have written such a fully-formed piece of music. It’s almost as though the ideas that strike us during the dream-state have the power to circumnavigate our busy egos. It’s not surprising that so many musicians, writers, artists, and other creatives are into meditation, too, since this can also help bring the subconscious mind to the fore.
NOTES
Read them carefully, if you can; this could be an oblique message from your subconscious. Actual musical notes—those little black dots—represent the first seven letters of the alphabet (a to g). If you are able to read these black dots, then it could be they’re spelling out a message for you.
NUDITY
(See Nakedness in THE AWARD FOR “MOST POPULAR DREAM” GOES TO…)
NUMBERS
Numbers are a way of weighing and measuring things, as well as handy tools of calculation. If you dream of numbers that don’t add up, then things similarly fail to “add up” in your waking life and you may be worried about your bank balance. There’s only one person who can balance those metaphorical books…
NUN (See Monk)
Except replace the word “male” with “female” and add in “repressed sexuality.”
NURSE
There are two aspects to the nurse in your dreams. Firstly, the obvious one; healing, medicine, bedpans, and kindness. The second is the sort that has erotic connotations. So, depending on the context in which your dream nurse appears, your dream is telling you that you need a particular kind of healing.
NUTCRACKER
“Nuts” are a euphemism for a particular part of the male anatomy. If you’re a man and you’re dreaming of nutcrackers, then it’s likely that this particular part of your own anatomy is being squeezed. Metaphorically speaking.