Dreamreader
Do your dreams really mean anything? It is one of those eternal questions that will probably be asked forever with no definitive answer. Personally, I do not subscribe to the notion that dreams are anything more than the random thoughts and images that can, and often are, induced by many different means, be it coffee, food, or alcohol. I am not saying that dreams cannot be a part of everyone's normal sleep cycle, but I have a hard time swallowing the hyper-narrative details that some people claim to recall from their dreams. It's not that I think they are lying, but, as with any good narrative, dreams can benefit from a good editor who fills in the logical gaps with any number of devices in order to comprise a whole.

What I will admit is the distinct idea that dreams can be terrifying beyond belief. Some of the common occurrences in my dreams that bother me more than anything else are those in which I cannot speak or my voice will not project properly even though I know what I want to say. For example, I have had my New York Times stolen on several occasions. So, what happens? I have a dream where I'm looking out of my window down upon someone in the midst of taking my paper. I am yelling at this person, but they do not hear me because my voice is not projecting properly. This happens a lot. The other example of really troubling dreams I have are those in which someone, usually a stranger or an intruder, remains in the dark. Another example, my roommate and I are pushing someone out of our apartment, but they remain in the dark because the hall light will not come on. Of course, I am yelling at the person, "Who are you," and they do not respond.

I do not claim to know what any of this means. To me, it is probably just two examples of things that are troubling to think about and that most people fear, being without a voice in moments of trouble and an intruder who you cannot see or will not tell you what they want. Other than that, I think dreams are not windows into the soul or deep interpretations of some Freudian psychology. They just occur.