The Universal Nightmare: Asleep under eiderdown or lying on straw pallets, beneath handstitched quilts or under ragged blankets, in hammocks at sea or in cradles at home, the pattern is the same. In every bed in every land, we dream that we see or hear or sense the dread aggressor, we run or try to escape, we hide and it finds us; it comes after us, gains on us, until at the most terror-stricken moment, we awaken. This is the Universal Dream of being chased or attacked.

Your dreams about being chased or attacked are bound to have elements of this universal pattern. More than 80 percent of the first five hundred people from around the world who visited my website said they had experienced dreams about being chased or attacked. These dreams are very common, so don't be surprised if you have one now and then. This chapter will help you understand and cope with them.

If the pattern of your Chase or Attack dreams is universal, the variations are local. In this global dream theme, the "thing" in pursuit differs. We run away from a vast range of frightening beasts and monsters in our dreams. A roll call of creatures from the zoo chase dreamers. The evil stranger, the supernatural horror, and the vague menace inhabit our nightmares.

Being Chased or Attacked

Description: You dream of being pursued or attacked by a wild animal, evil person, monster, "thing," or some other threat. The villain may catch, harm, eat, or kill you.

Frequency: This nightmare is the most common among all people. It is a natural response to life stress.

Usual Meaning: "I feel threatened," either by some person in your environment or by some strong emotion within you. "I'm scared," "I feel attacked," "I feel hounded," "I'm in danger." Occasionally this dream is a replay of an actual event you have experienced.

We will see how each of these dreadful dream enemies has something to tell us. We can learn from our encounters with dream villains and turn the tables on these predators, making their powers beneficent rather than destructive. They can help us rather than harm us.

Before we examine how this transformation can be accomplished, let's look at the components of our dreams. We'll see who the horrific figures of your Chase or Attack dreams are, and how adult fears emerge from childish ones.

The Basic Components

Themes, Variations, Motifs: Universal patterns are all around us in the natural world, yet each is affected by the local environment. Trees branch in a consistent way, leaves take their genetic form, rivers carve a sinuous route, snowflakes fall in their basic hexameter shape. However, a tree on the coast, exposed to a constant wind from the sea, bends away from the blast. Leaves turn to the direction that provides the best local light, so they may flourish. Rivers break their banks under seasonal downpours and carve new paths. Each snowflake - a variation of the six points - is nonetheless unique.

So, too, are your dreams. The Universal Dream patterns are bent and molded by local forces in your life. Your every dream is influenced by four broad sources of influence:

• Your biological heritage
• Your general cultural heritage
• Your local subculture
• Your personal experience

As we explore Universal Dream themes, you need to be aware of all four levels that shape your variation of the universal and its features - the motifs - your dream theme contains.

Dream Influences

1. Biological

Nightmares about being chased or attacked by wild animals or violent people doubtless originated in primitive times when the threat of being pursued and attacked by a wild beast or an enemy was a part of daily life. The "fight or flight" response people around the world share as human beings is triggered during this Universal Dream, and we awake, shaken, with a pounding heart.

For eons our ancestors fought with predatory beasts to protect themselves and their families, as well as to provide food. From an evolutionary point of view, humankind has had to compete with wild animals and hostile tribes for survival. Our intelligence and ability to communicate allowed us to develop weapons, cultivate food plants, and cooperate with the members of our society, so as to dominate our environment.

Yet, the ancient memories of combat with wild animals and human adversaries are retained in our brains. The monsters, beasts, and other foes we clash with in dreams replay the age-old fight for life. We are genetically programmed to find food, to establish territories, to mate, and to reproduce. Our baffle with the beasts of the night is, in part, our reconquest of that primitive world.

Most of us no longer need to fight animals or other human beings for our basic needs of food, water, and shelter, although we still compete for territories and mates. The foes and monsters that assault us in dreams are monsters of the mind - fear, anxiety, anger, hatred, envy. These emotional monsters may be reactions to people in our environment or strange goblins In our own thoughts. The impulse to flee these foes or fight to the death is inborn.

2, 3. Cultural and Subcultura

Whatever you were taught and experienced as a child is likely to persist in your dream fears. The bogeyman, or bugbear, of English tales is a monster used to frighten children into obedience. Most cultures have evolved scary figures to curb childish behavior...

--From The Universal Dream Key : The 12 Most Common Dream Themes Around the World, by Patricia Garfield. © February 19, 2001, Harperperennial Library used by permission.