Dream Within a Dream Meaning: 11+ Interpretations (2024)

Co-authored byJennifer McVey, Chtand Carmine Shannon

Last Updated: September 11, 2023Fact Checked

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   Anxiety from waking life Dreams are reflections of our waking consciousness, so a dream within a dream can indicate a thought buried in your subconscious. When you’re having a dream about waking up and failing a test or being late for work, that’s often a sign of anxiety.^[1]

   • If you’re anxious about something happening in waking life, your sleeping brain may play some scenarios of what it would be like to experience it.
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   Self-deception Having a dream within another dream points to a created reality. You may not be able to accept everything in your life due to the perceived consequences, and so your mind is hiding one reality with another that’s easier to digest. If this is the case, you’re being told to address the situation before it reaches a critical point.^[2]

   • It can be hard to face uncomfortable facts, but by opening your mind to the true nature of things you can continue on your journey to success.

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   Receiving messages from other beings Dreaming has been considered a way to communicate with the spirit world across centuries and cultures. If you’re having a nested dream, it could be that the spirits are sending so many messages that they spill over into each other.^[3] They could be coming from spirit guides, deities, or deceased relatives.

   • If you’re continually having dreams within dreams it could be that your spirit self is trying to find the best dream plane to communicate on.
   • Learning shamanic dreaming can make it easier to receive these messages. The ancient practice allows you to access higher planes when you dream to bring back psychic information.
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   A sign of psychic abilities A dream within a dream can signal a connection to the spiritual world. Everyone constantly gets input from higher selves, but some are more attuned than others. An intense connection to a higher self and other worlds can manifest itself within a nested dream.

   • In this scenario, the dream means that you haven’t reached your full psychic potential. Receiving many messages at once and not being able to separate them shows that you have some spiritual alignment to work on.^[4]
   • You can delve deeper by lucid dreaming and interacting with your surroundings. Some ways to lucid dream are to check if you’re awake by plugging your nose and breathing in sharply or trying to remember a set of numbers like your address.
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   Signs of changes in your waking life Your brain can recognize a change before you consciously understand it. Your consciousness goes into a waking state before your body does, which represents your mind waking up to something, like a movement between phases in life.^[5] You’re becoming “awakened” to what is happening around you.

   See Also

   Should You Wake Someone from the Throes of a Nightmare?The 10 most common nightmares and what they could mean, from fights and illness to anxiety and failureWhat Are Precognitive (Premonition) Dreams?3 Powerful Scriptures, Songs, and Prayers to Battle Your Child’s Nightmares

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   A warning of what’s to come Dreams are commonly interpreted as warnings. In a nested dream, your mind could be telling you to pay more attention to something, usually the content of the second dream. Since this deeper dream is being “revealed” to you, it can mean you need to open your eyes to something in your waking life.

   • Since you are often unaware that the second dream is a dream, this can be symbolic of something that will catch you unprepared if you don’t have your guard up.
   • Pay attention to your surroundings, both in the dream world and in waking life. Images and occurrences from the dream can be manifesting themselves around you to try and lead you in the right direction.

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   Flying in the inner dream When you fly in a dream, it often means you feel free and in control.^[6] If you’re flying in your inner dream, it may mean you’re about to break free from a constraining situation in your waking life.

   • Flying can also be a symbol of enlightenment and transcendence. This sort of dream may indicate that someone on the spiritual plane has sent you a message.
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   Many dreams within a dream When you’re looping through dreams it means you’re feeling stuck. The repeated sensation of waking up can make you confused and feel trapped in a situation. The message you’re being sent is to take control of your life and break free from harmful patterns.

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   Dreaming about someone waking you up This dream can indicate you need support from other people. Since someone else is trying to wake you from the dream, it can mean you’re looking for help getting out of a bad situation.^[7] Find where you need support in your waking life, and reach out to friends and family for help.

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   Nightmare within a dream When you’re having a nightmare within another dream, it can mean you’re feeling trapped and afraid in the waking world. The dream is sending you a message to confront underlying trauma and muster the strength to face challenges head-on.

   • Nightmares are often caused by anxiety and PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder).^[8]
   • If you’re dealing with PTSD, consider contacting a therapist or another mental health professional.
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   Performing in a dream within a dream If you’re feeling good during this dream, it may mean you’re looking to break out of your shell and share yourself with the world. It might be time to put yourself out there and start taking risks. If you don’t want to be performing, it could mean you feel put on the spot in waking life and forced out of your shell.

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   A need for introspection. In Islam, a dream within a dream could be a sign that you need to think about things more objectively. It can also mean that you view aspects of your life as separate that are actually related.^[9]

   • In Islam, this dream can also mean that you’ve wronged someone and need to take responsibility. Paying attention to the outer dream as well as the inner dream will help you know what exactly you need to address.
   • Especially if the inner dream is a nightmare, you may have some reckoning to do.
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   Feeling trapped. In Christianity, waking from one dream to another can indicate you feel you’re not moving forward. Although you’ve had the experience of waking up, you’re still in a dream. You may feel like a situation has run its course, but you’re still stuck in it. This can come from any number of other things, like being in a relationship you’re no longer happy with or working a job you don’t like.

   • This is most common when there’s more than one dream that you wake into.
   • If you take anything from this dream, it’s that you need to take control of your own life. If you’re having trouble with a partner, communicate with them. If you’re disappointed in the job you have, try to find a more fulfilling job.

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   False awakenings In neuroscience it is thought that these dreams are caused by the brain moving toward an awakened state while the body stays asleep. This is why it’s so common to “wake up” and start going about your day in the dream. When it seems that you’re awake in real life, it’s called a “false awakening”.^[10]

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   Lucid dreams Lucid dreaming is when you become aware that you’re in a dream, and are sometimes even able to control your surroundings. Any dream can become a lucid dream, but it’s especially common in this circ*mstance. Since dreamers are often awakening into something that mimics their reality, things being slightly different can tip them off that they’re dreaming.

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   Looping You don’t have to just have one dream within your dream---you can have tons! Looping is when you continually wake from one dream into another. This dream can be very anxiety-inducing, especially when you realize you’re dreaming but can’t wake yourself up.

   • Looping dreams can cause trouble when you start having difficulty telling what is waking life and what is a dream.

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