Dream of Flying Without Wings Meaning

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In this post we look at the meaning of a dream of flying without wings. By flying, we mean that you, yourself, are flying without wings and without flapping your arms. Unaided – no airplane, helicopter or hot-air balloon. And no parachute. Just you, flying without wings in your dream. In your dream you can push yourself up from the ground and begin flying, almost effortlessly – although I find I do have to concentrate in the dream to maintain the flight.

In general, the meaning of flying in a dream is that you are rising above your challenges. Whatever they may be. It shows you are in control of your destiny and can overcome great challenges in order to succeed. But it can mean other things too, so keep reading to find out more.

When we dream of flying without wings, it can be exhilarating and scary – and awe inspiring when you wake up. In some cases it can make us really wish we could do this in real life too. But, despite how real the dream may seem, of course it cannot be so in reality. The physics of the universe is a law which, no matter how hard we believe, cannot be overcome. Human bodies are denser than the air in which we exist (considerably so) and we do not have powerful wings. Alas, therefore, flying – as we might sometimes do in our dreams – is not possible in reality.

Pity – because flying in a dream can be one of the most wonderful dreams you can have. We’ll look closer at what it might mean spiritually.

spiritual meaning of flying in a dream featured image

What Is The Meaning Of A Dream Of Flying Without Wings

If you’ve read any of our other dream interpretations you’ll not be surprised that the meaning of a dream of flying without wings relies a lot on the context of the dream and your current daily life. The interpretation is also influenced by who’s around you currently, what you’re experiencing and sometimes even just what it was that you were doing before you went to sleep.

The type of dream we’re looking for the meaning of in this post is one where we fly, almost effortlessly, without wings and are in control of the flight. We are not free-falling from the sky (though this can be a part of the dream if we lose concentration during the dream or something in the dream happens). Dreams of falling from great heights are an entirely different experience and have very different meaning.

In almost all of the interpretations, to be able to fly in a dream is an exhilarating experience. And it seems entirely real within the dream. Do not be surprised if you wake up and become disappointed as you realise it was a dream.

It will be up to you to decipher, based on how you felt about the dream, what else was going on in the dream and your current daily life.

A dream of flying without wings can mean;

  • Gaining a different perspective on an issue in your life
  • Relaxing and floating without a care
  • Freedom from everyday hurdles and challenges
  • Rising above those challenges and sometimes other people.
  • A spiritual awakening is happening.

If you’re experiencing challenges in your daily life, a dream of flying like a bird can signify that other parts of the dream (since the flying rarely occurs in isolation) may give you a different perspective on those challenges. Indeed the flying itself may give a you different perspective. Look at your challenges from above and try to see the bigger picture of them rather than becoming bogged down in the minutiae of it all.

Or, it could simply be that you found the experience joyful and relaxing. Flying without effort in our dreams is a wonderful feeling and can help us feel refreshed and ready for the day when we awake. It can also signify that we are becoming more free of our everyday hurdles and challenges – and this is also relaxing of course.

Sometimes it doesn’t mean we are becoming free of our hurdles and challenges, but instead shows us that we are able to rise above them and overcome them. Sometimes in life the way through something is not through at all, but over. Combining this intuitive sign with the notion that the dream is trying to show you a different perspective can help you overcome your challenges in life by approaching problems from a different angle.

Finally, dreaming of flying like a bird can be a sign a spiritual awakening is happening. This might be your first sign and may be the way you find out that you’re ready for such an occurrence. Embrace it and look into beginning your spiritual journey.

Becoming Entangled In Wires While Flying In Your Dream

Electricity wires to illustrate becoming entangled in wires while flying in a dream
Becoming entangled in wires while flying in your dream.
Image by Wayne Jackson from Pixabay

If you dream of becoming entangled in overhead wires or other things while you’re flying this can be a sign that you’re concerned about obstacles in life catching you and bringing you down. It can mean you are moving forward too fast in something in your life and you need to slow down so that you can take appropriate avoiding action if an obstacle appears in your path.

Having this happen in your flying dream can also be a sign that you’re presently feeling trapped about something in your daily life. You may need to have a stop and think about what it is that you’re doing – or about to do. If you’re flying away from something in the dream this could be symbolic of the thing that you’re feeling trapped by in your personal life.

Usually this is a warning to make you stop and investigate any big changes that you might be embarking on within your life. Make sure you read the fine print so to speak. Check and double check the way ahead so that you don’t get caught in powerlines or spurious netting during the next phase of your journey.

Dreams of Falling During Flight

If your dream of flight is going well but suddenly you find yourself falling this can be a prescient warning that you are about to lose status with those around you for some reason. That could be losing a job, or some kind of reduction in living standards. It may mean that you are falling out of favour with someone.

If you began flying again before you hit the ground, this is a good sign that you can recover whatever it is you feel you are losing. Look for the different perspective we mentioned in the overall dream of flying in that case and see if you can find a way of avoiding the fall in the first place.

Sometimes though, rather than being some sort of warning it can simply be that you’re scared this might happen with no good reason. Remember, the Law of Attraction and Manifestation suggests that what we concentrate on, we manifest – and the subconscious assigns no difference between positive or negative thoughts. If you are scared you may fall out of favour, try to replace your thoughts with positive ones so you don’t end up manifesting the very thing you’re scared of. This dream could simply be trying to remind you of that.

Dreaming Of Being Scared While Flying

If you are scared of flying in your dream it may be that you are in fact holding yourself back from your full potential due to fear of failure in your waking life. This is actually a surprisingly common human trait so take solace from the fact that you’re not alone.

Look at the outcome of your flying in the dream if you’re scared of it. Did you succeed and soar above your obstacles? If you did, then this is showing you that you can do the same in real life. If you came crashing down you need to look at two possibilities – that the things in your life you are presently trying to overcome will beat you unless you come at them from a different angle, or that your own fear held you back and made you fail.

There is even Biblical precedent for this when Peter attempts to walk on water to meet Jesus as walks across the lake. Initially he is able to do it, but as he looks at the obstacles around him (the wind and the waves) he begins to doubt himself and ends up sinking[1].

Dream of Flying Away From Enemy Or Danger

This type of dream is also remarkably common. It is often associated with a dream in which you become trapped by an enemy or enemies and the only way out is to fly away from the danger. Sometimes, the enemy will have pursued you for so long in the dream that you decide to end the chase by flying away. It is rare, in my experience at least, that the enemies will also be able to fly. Though sometimes, they will be able to climb uncannily or will hang around below you waiting for you to fall or simply land again.

This dream signifies that you are able to overcome your enemies and/or your obstacles in life. You are able to gain insight and wisdom from a higher source than they can – and you are able to use this to your advantage.

Very often after waking up from this type of dream you will feel powerful and exhilarated. You may have renewed energy and vigour for the challenges you’ve faced recently as you realise you can achieve almost anything. Of course, the ability to fly is metaphorical since we know we cannot discard the laws of physics in the 3D realm.

Dream of Flying With Someone

Generally speaking, if you are dreaming of flying with someone it symbolises a deep sense of happiness and trust with that person. This is particularly true if you hold hands while flying and the other person is flying with you, as opposed to you carrying the person. If the other person is flying with you then you believe they are your equal and likely trust them implicitly.

Flying with someone in a dream shows that you trust them because you’re aware that they can keep up with you, and can bring you down at any time if they so chose. The fact that they don’t shows you believe in them and trust them.

Are You Actually Dreaming Or Are You Astral Projecting?

There are some who believe that dreams about flying aren’t actually dreams at all but some form of Astral Projection – this is something that we would say depends quite considerably on the content of the dream. It would certainly seem possible – given that Astral Projection requires a quietened mind – that dreams of flying could be Astral Projection. It’s worth remembering that Astral Projection is not the same as Remote Viewing – in that the things you see while Astral Projecting are not necessarily of this realm but are in fact of the Astral realm. This might explain why you are seeing things that are not always actually present in the 3D world.

It’s also possible that this dream is a form of Lucid Dreaming – which is where the dreamer becomes aware they are dreaming or aware that they are in control of at least parts of how the dream progresses. Some people can teach themselves how to lucid dream and many of them claim that this is a similar experience to Astral Projecting and can lead to enhanced wisdom and gaining knowledge they would not otherwise have. However, it’s important to note that lucid dreaming and astral projection, although they might feel similar, they are not the same thing.

According to a 2014 study by the American Journal Of Psychology, 83.5% of participants in the study had experienced lucid dreams[2]. The study suggests further study into lucid dreaming is appropriate and specifically mentions that people who lucid dream will often dream of flying.

How Do You Fly In Your Dreams?

This is an interesting question because in order to decide to fly in your dreams you’re going to need to be lucid dreaming, which we touched on in the previous section. To do this is not easy, but is achievable with some training. We won’t go into the detailed aspects of how to lucid dream in this post, we’ll circle back to this post and add a link when we’ve written a post specifically about how to lucid dream though.

For now, if you want to fly in your dream you’re going to have to learn to recognise when you’re having a dream. This differs for everyone but one can often use tell-tale signs in a dream to recognise it as such. Some ways of potentially recognising you’re in a dream are;

  • Noticing that the time is always a certain time and does not change no matter how long the dream goes on for.
  • Recognising people without actually ever being able to discern an actual face.
  • Realising that things that should hurt actually don’t.
  • Seeing that somewhere familiar doesn’t look quite right.
  • Being able to do things you wouldn’t normally be able to do, such as flying in the dream.

You may need to remember your dreams when you wake up in order to consciously work out what it is specifically for you that will enable you to realise you’re in a dream. To do this, it can be helpful to keep a dream journal and note down different things that happen each time you dream. Once you begin to notice a pattern you can use this to your advantage.

Once you have the ability to recognise that you’re in a dream you can then begin to learn to control the content of the dream. This is extremely difficult to explain, as it will often just happen naturally as a normal result of your recognition that you are in fact dreaming.

What It Means To Dream You Can Levitate

Dreaming you can levitate is very similar to dreaming about flying. The spiritual meaning of dreaming you can levitate is exactly the same as the spiritual meaning of dreaming about flying, at least in the context of this post. Of course, it’s quite different if you’re considering dreams whereby you’re flying in a plane, helicopter or hot-air balloon. But we specifically discounted those types of dreams when trying to explain flying dreams. We’ll look at those in a separate post.

Summary Of Spiritual Meaning Of A Dream of Flying Without Wings

We’ve looked at what it means when you’re flying in a dream and noted that in almost all cases it’s a positive dream to have. It indicates that you are strong willed and able to overcome challenges in your life, either by rising above them or by looking at them with a very different perspective. Some might call this ‘thinking outside the box’.

When you dream of flying without wings or machines such as airplanes, it can indicate that you are able to achieve great things in your life. If you’re scared of the flight it can show you that you need not be so. In some cases, the dream will show you that the only thing to fear is the fear itself, since it is only the fear that will hold you back. Flying in a dream signifies fantastic freedom in your life.

We also looked briefly at whether flying in a dream is actually a form of astral projection and/or lucid dreaming and gave some quick tips on how to try to control your dreams more easily.

All in all, it is quite a positive sign for your life if you are experiencing flying in a dream.

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References

1: Jesus Walks On Water, Matthew 14:29-31. New International Version.

2: Stumbrys, T., Erlacher, D., Johnson, M., & Schredl, M. (2014). The phenomenology of lucid dreaming: an online survey. The American journal of psychology, 127(2), 191–204. https://doi.org/10.5406/amerjpsyc.127.2.0191