Dreams…. And what we can learn from them during our waking hours

Since I was a child I have experienced vivid and often paralyzing dreams. Looking back, these nightly visitors to my sleeping subconscious would have been considered night terrors. 
Today as an adult, I still experience vivid nightmares but recalling them during my waking hours gives me opportunities to explore what my subconscious is trying to work out in my sleep that my consciousness cannot or will not address during the day. 
Transitions, difficult situations, fear and a lack of control in my life generally evoke these nightmares. Sometimes I’m not even aware of how much is going on in my life until I am awakened by the imagination of my subconscious prodding me to address my feelings and the situation. 

I am a terrible judge of character. I give people the benefit of the doubt. I try and see the good in everyone, and I often ignore the bad. I am loyal to a fault. Worse, as much as I am warned by others about people, I ignore the foreshadowing in lieu of my own interpretations which are often a misguided view that good will always prevail. I am a con artist’s wet dream, and I am probably the worst person to have as your addiction recovery support because I will always believe your lies. 
This gullibility and desire to filter out the bad for the good leaves me open to be mistreated, taken advantage of and hurt. It also means that I tend to waste time developing friendships with people that otherwise have the 'Scarlet Letter' because A) I believe there is more good than bad B) I am sympathetic C) It becomes a mission to be the voice of optimism and acceptance D) If everyone dislikes someone, it makes me want to like them more because everyone needs a true friend.
Obviously my reasonings, while have the best intentions, can guide me down a path of idealism and ignorance. Everyone probably needs a balance of having a bleeding heart and a jilted remembrance of the past. I just tend to filter out past experiences and embrace the dangers ahead with a wild abandon. Basically, I am the un-evolved cave woman that goes to embrace the charging lion after just witnessing said charging lion a week earlier eat my friend. I tend to think A and B won’t eventually or always equal C.

How do these glaring personal inadequacies and embarrassing admissions relate to my current nightmares? 
My subconscious in all of its’ terrifying direction is playing out scenes not just from a horror flick in the making, but as a figurative warning of the situation around me. Seeing perceived danger surround me from all sides in my dream, and feeling the fear is a reminder to my waking conscious that the warnings are valid, yet not pre-determined in my future.
I fear and dread what I see (and also don’t see) in my dream. I know the danger or the potential of danger is there and at my core it is a fear so deep it is paralyzing by nature. What doesn’t happen in my dream however is just as important as what does. I don’t experience an attack, and while the object of my fear is outwardly dangerous in appearance, it could also be benign (terrifying but benign). 
Seeing the danger all around me is a way of my subconscious reminding me that the real threat of getting hurt emotionally is also all around me. Fearing what I see and don’t see is also a reminder that I am concerned about the unknown. I fear the unknown, and I also fear being wrong about people, not having control and not knowing the truth. 
The fact that the object of my fear in my dream is wild reminds me that as much as I can’t control it’s actions, I cannot control the actions of people in my life. It is something to fear, yet it is something that I have to inevitably accept. 

So what are your dreams telling you? What is your subconscious trying to convey to your waking conscious to prod you along to a better awareness? 
For me, I need to address my fears and release them as well. I cannot change the core of my DNA that regardless of past experiences will continue to see the good and filter out the bad. I have to continue to rely on other people’s judge of character taking in their warnings, but also experiencing everyone for myself as well. The dream tells me that my fears might be greater than the possibility of an attack. Knowing and accepting my flaws is another step towards growth, but also knowing what I can’t change about myself is also staying authentic. I have to accept the consequences of my flaws. I might be hurt more than necessary. But just maybe one day I will be the one that was right about someone… and will be rewarded with a friendship of someone worth the emotional risk. 
Remember your dreams... allow your subconscious to not just scare the crap out of you, but to guide you to an awareness of your fears, your accountability, your situation, and to your deeper intuition.