Mouth
Your mouth is a fundamental part of life. It takes things in such as food, pleasure or even pain. Basically the mouth is a pleasure area, but it is also the way you express pleasure or pain, as with smiling, crying or grimacing. So the mouth is a way you communicate as well as satisfy yourself or gain your needs. As an organ of expression the mouth can also give thanks for life and utters beauty in words or sounds. This is a way you can uplift the dark things in you and transform them. See Using the Voice
Sometimes speaking can be likened to shooting things out of the mouth, projecting them to or firing them at other people angrily. But the mouth can also be receptive as when we take things into our mouth pleasurably.
As we eat with our mouth, it can indicate what you take into you, or what you expel or need to get out of you, as in the following example.
Example: I go into a bathroom and begin pulling weeds from my mouth. Weeds, weeds and more weeds come out from my mouth – come from deep down inside of me. I am still pulling them out when I leave the bathroom and someone, a woman walking behind me, helps me to pull some weeds that are trailing from my mouth behind me.
Pulling stuff out of the mouth, such as hair or weeds, is a common dream, and most likely expresses the feeling of discomfort we feel if something foreign is in our mouth or throat. It shows the feeling of urgently trying to rid yourself of something that is unpleasant – perhaps feelings you have taken in, or things we have said or done that leave a nasty taste in ones mouth. Perhaps there is something you are not admitting to yourself. Or it can represent the lies and untrue stories we have been fed as a child, but also strong emotion as we express the results of trauma. See Exploring Sound
A dream of our mouth being buttoned – button your lip – or sewed up, could suggest that inwardly you regret having said certain things, or need to hold your tongue. Or perhaps you have been made to hold back your feelings as a child, so have had to sew up your mouth – figuratively. But speech is a lot more than noise or emotional expression; more even than utterance of thoughts. It is the giving form or clarity to what was previously unseen or unknown. Through the mouth we can pour love, praise or crit to others.
Sometimes the mouth may represent your house and the teeth the inhabitants or your family or other inhabitants. So the dream of losing a tooth thus logically becomes a symbol that a person in this household is dead, or that one wishes him dead.
Chewing: Considering something; mulling over something; trying something out – getting a taste of it so to speak. See Digest
Kissing: On the mouth is often a way of intimately sharing oneself, emotionally, and also a sharing of body fluids, which is either a form of trust or of careless introvention.
The kiss, oral pleasure, was our first area of loving with our mother. From that original centre of pleasure, it grows into anal and genital pleasure. When that happens the body begins to move. But there was still no engorgement. The movement was the forerunner of the inner pleasurable urge to thrust or be penetrated. So there can be a slow and internal growth through escalating feelings, and not an outwardly ordained set of movements that lead to “sex”!
Mouth fixed closed: Inability to express something, or a decision not to express something you hold inside. Sometimes a feeling of being inadequate socially, or that you do not have the power to get people to hear you. As in the example below, not having people understand what your difficulty is.
Example: I am in a situation which is different every time, but always includes different people in a conversation. Suddenly I can’t talk. It’s as if my mouth is sewed together on the outside. I make muffled noises, straining my muscles to open my mouth. I think that if I pull hard enough the stitches will tear, but they never do. It seems to me that even my muffles are loud enough to be heard as a scream, but no one I’m with seems to notice. They smile and carry on as usual. By this time I feel so desperate I usually wake up in a terrible state.
Pulling something out of mouth: Trying to clear emotions or attitudes not properly expressed. Perhaps one is not admitting something. Try Arm Circling Meditation but allow any sounds that you feel a need to express.
Teeth coming out of mouth: See: teeth; Chew.
The mouth can also give birth: People often dream of giving birth from the mouth. The shape of the mouth is similar in some ways to our sexual organs, and can also discharge things. This usually happens when the person has something important they want to say, and is a way of allowing life in us to give thanks and birth to something new. See birth
Idioms: a bad taste in my mouth; all mouth; a big mouth; butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth; down in the mouth; hand to mouth; horses mouth; loud mouth; mouth watering; nasty taste in the mouth; put your foot in your mouth; put your money where your mouth is; shoot your mouth off; shut your mouth; silver spoon in mouth; word of mouth.
Useful Questions and Hints:
What is happening to the mouth and in what way might that link with everyday experiences or feelings?
If I remember how I felt in the dream, when has that feeling occurred in my waking life?
Do any of the above descriptions link with what is happening in the dream – if so what are they describing about my life?
See Being the Person or Thing – Trauma – Examples of – Digestion – Self Help – Letting things Happen – mouth the function of
Comments
I dreamed that I had fingers growing out of my gums, I could tuck them away in my mouth, I dreamed I went to a hospital to get them removed, then I met a boy named Billy’s with a kind face, saying he only had a short time to live, he then went away with his family, smiling. After that, I decided to keep the fingers, they at one point in time grew from fingers, to a whole arm, up to the elbow. They were grabbing someone, I think to protect me.
What does this mean
Hello
I have this recurring dream where in the dream I have this awkard flesh growth inside my mouth that is almost as big as my mouth and making it hard for me to speak. I try pulling it off but it will still be connected to my mouth by means of some flesh. It feels horrible.
Could you please interpret this?
Dear Meeni – The flesh that has grown inside your mouth may reflect particular religious, political or other beliefs that have become part of your structure and this inner structure hinders you in expressing yourself freely and independently; http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/beliefs/
See also http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/individuation/
An approach that can help you free yourself is http://dreamhawk.com/approaches-to-being/opening-to-life/ and also writing a dream journal will assist you on this inner journey; http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/dream-diary/
Anna 🙂
So I’ve had a bit of a hard time finding the meaning behind my recent dream….I was at a gathering with my gf and one of the guest started throwing salt when the girl who got hit by the salt she threw it back but it landed in my mouth and it was absolutely stuffed with this mound of salt I then went to wash it out in a sink and it was all grainy and almost felt like sand stuck in my mouth….is there a meaning to this?
I dreamt I opened a cupboard and there was a snake in there. It got out. At first i fellt a bit scared. I called my husband on the phone to ask what to do. He said I should try and catch it. It was a red snake; I caught the snake and I put it in my mouth. I could feel it moving in my mouth. Then I woke up.
Please could you tell me what does this mean.
I woke up from a dream where I felt completely hopeless, both physically and emotionally. I’d feel lethargic in my dream and end up collapsing but what caught me off gaurd was that when I was on the ground, my mouth started moving on its own accordance, very animatedly in a terrifying manner and it wouldn’t stop. There were also people surrounding me and looked amused, one person in particular who I know was crouching over me and laughing. I woke up feeling panicked and exausted but relieved to be awake. I really want to know what it could possibly mean?
I do not have nightmares often at all, in fact, I ususally don’t remember dreaming of anything at all, but the rare times the I do have an unpleasant dream, it usually is very graphic and ends with a mouth. Although who I see in these dreams isn’t consistent, it always involves people around me becoming disfigured, their jaws unhinging like demons and they either swallow me, or try to eat me. Usually it’s just a stranger that I don’t know, but the worst dreams are those where the person or people trying to devour me is a friend or family member. One time it was my close friend, and another time it was my younger brother. Both of them appeared normal until I got in close. Then their mouths just expanded wide suddenly, and they tried to envelop me in their gaping voids for mouths.
Dear Aidan – Being the victim of cannibalism in your dream might show that you feel “eaten alive” by work, a relationship, a system or a condition in your life.
Because with your close friend and younger brother it only happens until you “got in close”, it may reflect your fear of engulfment; the loss of self through being controlled, consumed, invaded, suffocated, dominated and swallowed up by another.
These fears probably stem from childhood experiences and/or from defining your worth externally through others’ approval rather than defining your own worth internally yourself.
The way out is not to want to change your friend or your brother or a system.
This is merely about how to create a safe inner space where you can work with and overcome your fears of engulfment; learning to love yourself rather than abandon yourself.
This book may be of help to assist you in this process; http://mindfulnessforteens.com/the-mindful-teen/reviews-of-the-mindful-teen/
Let me know if you have any questions Aidan.
Anna 🙂
I had a weird dream last night. I woke up trying a clear a pill (a pill that was fatal if swallowed) from my throat. I was frantically trying to cough it up as I imagined it would kill me if swallowed. Then the pill was swallowed and I was expecting an inevitable death but I was not too bothered by this prospect. Shortly after I woke up but I see to remember the dream happening again shortly afterwards. Anyone know what this is supposed to mean? I suffer from depression and insomnia and anxiety so perhaps it’s linked to that.
Hi. I have had now three times, a dream in which I am unable to stop my teeth from pushing down on each other. It’s like my whole jaw is locked in that position. It’s actually very painful when this happens. I’m wondering if it’s some sort of sleep paralysis, or it is in fact just a dream. Could anybody please help?
Kind regards
Dear Nayomie – Dreams have many functions and one of them is that they are an expression of what is happening in the physical body.
So your dreams may reflect that you are grinding or clenching your teeth; this is also called bruxism.
The locked jaw – also known as temporomandibular disorders (TMD) – may be a result of that.
Do you perceive the pain you describe after waking up?
See also http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/temporomandibular-joint-disorder/Pages/Introduction.aspx
Anna 🙂
I had a dream recently and its been reoccurring for a week and I had this wrapper stuck in my throat and I keep trying to pull it out but every time I try to it is stuck to the wall of my throat like every time I try to pull it it feels like I’m going to destroy my throat or that actually its part of my throat that I’m pulling out.
Dear Elise – Your dream reflects that you have not find the right approach yet to express the content that is “hiding in the wrapper”.
Because you wrote that the wrapper feels like being part of your throat, I think that “wrapping things up” rather than expressing them has become a part of your inner structure; it reflects the way you have been programmed.
Einstein mentioned that doing the same thing over and over again – “I keep trying to pull it out” – and expecting different results may not reflect a form of persistence that is helpful.
In the context of your dream I think what is meant by Einstein is being persistent in trying to move beyond feeling stuck by experimenting with other approaches than “pulling it out”.
See http://dreamhawk.com/approaches-to-being/opening-to-life/
Another approach could be to use http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/acting-on-your-dream/#BeingPerson and imagine that you open up the wrapper and observe what thoughts/feelings/bodily sensations/images etc. arise.
See also http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/active-imagination-and-dreams/
Anna 🙂
Just woke from a dream where (long story short) I had got frustrated at something in the dream, then my boyfriend got frustrated at me in the dream. I then see him driving a van wrong and crashing it in to things and he hasn’t noticed so I try calling out to stop and look what he’s doing. He can’t hear me. I struggle to shout. So I run to the van and try talking but my mouth is full of lumps of soggy cotton or soggy kitchen tissue. I used my hand to quickly scoop it out. But there’s still a lump left at the back. and if I shout louder I will choke on it. I then woke with the frustration of being unable to call out to him.
I can’t find any interpretations of soft cotton stuck in ones mouth. It was odorless, tasteless and I took most out in one quick scoop. Any idea what it could mean?
Hello,
I had a dream last night that I was at a dinner party and my ex boyfriend was sitting to my left. We were talking closely and I touched his arm which felt so soft. We started kissing and he passed a gold ring with a square piece on top – ornate but no stone- into my mouth. I took it out to look at it and wondered why he did this.
Last night I dreamy I was chewing something and everytime i tried to chew on the right side of my mouth, my teeth woukdnt line up properly which made it impossible to chew right. No matter how many times I tried I was unsuccessful. Not sure what that dream meant.
I have had this dream before and again last night. That I have this one continuous hair stuck in the gaps of my teeth that I keep pulling and pulling. The feeling I have is panic and worring. I wake up in a flutter and on edge. What could this mean. !?!
Dear Snezana – Did you read this page of the Dream Dictionary on mouth?
“Pulling stuff out of the mouth, such as hair, is a common dream, and most likely expresses the feeling of discomfort we feel if something foreign is in our mouth or throat. It shows the feeling of urgently trying to rid yourself of something that is unpleasant – perhaps feelings you have taken in, or things you have said or done that leave a nasty taste in your mouth. Perhaps there is something you are not admitting to yourself. Or it can represent the lies and untrue stories you have been fed as a child.”
A way to explore your dream so that you can get a deeper understanding of the symbols and move on and so away from being stuck and feeling panic and worried is to use http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/acting-on-your-dream/#BeingPerson
Perhaps reading http://dreamhawk.com/dream-dictionary/fear-dealing-with/ will be helpful too?
Anna 🙂
I awoke from a dream in which I pulled a snake out of my mouth from deep deep within as it was trying to crawl inside. I caught it’s tail and pulled it out. It was long and I gagged as I could feel it wiggling around inside. Once I pulled its triangular shaped head out, it dropped to the ground ready to bite but I stomped on it and cut off its head. I woke myself up with the force of my stomp. I praise God for the victory!!!
I vaguely remember thinking it was ok that the snake was crawling in because once it got to a certain opening, stomach acids would kill it, but it was too big. It was so big that i realized that my defenses weren’t going to be enough to kill it and that’s when I began to pull it back out. Really gross. I literally gagged. But I had to get it out before it poisoned me.
Body was dark green, head was black and triangular.
I had this same exact dream except I couldn’t pull the snake all the way out of my mouth its as though it was stuck on something I woke up while I was pulling the snake out of my mouth
I have full dentures and at times when I’m sleeping with them in I have a feeling that I can’t open my mouth. This causes me to wake up in a panicked state. Any idea what this could mean?
Dear Susan – It could mean that you are experiencing sleep paralysis; http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/sleep-paralysis/
Do you remember what you are dreaming when this is happening?
Do you unconsciously perceive/believe that with losing your teeth, you have lost your ability to open your mouth and express (parts of) yourself?
In general teeth in our dream can depict aggression or defensiveness, as when we bite someone. They can suggest the ability to ‘chew things over’. In some dreams they indicate our ‘bite’ on life, or the ability to get what we want. For instance if we see someone with few or no teeth, it often arouses a feeling that the person has lost their effectiveness in life, their social power – they have ‘lost it’. This may be exactly what we are portraying in losing our own teeth in a dream – the feeling, even temporary, of ‘losing it’. This may be felt as the sense of not being able to get what one deeply wants, and so is experienced as a sort of death, or a loss of self in some degree.
See http://dreamhawk.com/dream-dictionary/teeth/
Anna 🙂