MOST people have more than 100,000 dreams throughout their lifetime, according to dream expert Lauri Quinn Loewenberg, author of “Dream on It: Unlock Your Dreams, Change Your Life!” But how many of those can we actually remember when we wake up? For those of us who do remember the details, the content of our dreams can help us with our waking reality, says Karen Silverstein, author of “Journey of an Apprentice Dreamer.” “Dreams can be our inner selves telling us to wake up and pay attention,” she says. “We should always ask questions and go deeper. We can use our dreams to help us make better choices for our lives right now.” Check out some of the most common dreams and how experts interpret them.

    The dream: full exposure

    Finding yourself naked in public is a classic dream and may reflect feeling vulnerable and exposed in waking life, says Loewenberg. For example, Loewenberg says she had the dream the night before she went on “Good Morning America.” The root of the dream is often connected to the concern that others are going to see your flaws.

    The lesson: Have you ever noticed that no one else in the dream seems to care that you’re naked and you’re the only one freaking out? Your dreaming mind is reassuring that you are the only one giving so much thought and energy to this situation.

    The dream: school daze

    Almost all back-at-school dreams can be connected to job stress, says Loewenberg. Can’t find your locker or class? “That’s a good indication you’re feeling uncertain of your place at work or even your career choice,” she says. Worried about the school bell ringing? That suggests we feel time is running out on us in real life in the career department.

    The lesson: It may be time to look for a new job or find ways to make your current situation more meaningful. Lowenberg suggests asking yourself how you can be more helpful to your co-workers or looking for an opportunity to put your creative side to use.

    The dream: losing your teeth

    These dreams can be connected to the way you communicate in waking life. “It may indicate you allowed something out of your mouth that should have remained in there, like your teeth,” Lowenberg says. Another variation is the “teeth crumbling or breaking” dream. This is often about weak speech. Maybe you don’t feel you made your point well enough in an argument, or perhaps you didn’t say anything at all when you should have.

    The lesson: Just as you polish those pearly whites for aesthetics, polishing up your communication skills will make you shine too.

    The dream: Where’s my car?

    Losing your car in a dream is connected to uncertainty or loss of motivation, says Lowenberg. She suggests asking yourself what in your life you no longer want to continue or what is causing you to feel uncertain. She says she has found this to be a common dream among retirees. It can be a reflection of their feelings of being directionless now that they no longer have a job to get up and go to every morning.

    The lesson: Your dreaming mind wants you to find a new path. It’s time to try something different because the direction you are headed in now isn’t going to get you anywhere.

    The dream: flying high

    Nothing beats the flying dream. It’s often connected to your ability to soar to new heights and reach a higher level in life. You may find yourself flying in your dreams when you have broken free from a bad relationship or a heavy situation the previous day.

    The lesson: This dream is telling you to continue being inspired about something you’re doing. And remember, says Loewenberg, when life brings you down, this dream is showing you that the ability to rise above and break free is alive and well within you.

    The dream: running for life

    A commonly recurring dream for women involves being chased. These dreams are caused by “fight or flight” situations in waking life in which you choose avoidance rather than confrontation. If this is a dream you’ve had recently, ask yourself what it is you’re running from in your daily life, says Silverstein.

    The lesson: You can’t run forever, says Loewenberg. Avoidance only prolongs the pain and anxiety. These dreams will stop when you face and deal with whatever it is you fear during waking hours.

    The dream: stupid smartphones

    Smartphones and social media are the latest pop icons to find their place in the pantheon of dream interpretation. The most common tech-centered dreams deal with dialing the phone. “Either you can’t get the numbers to display so you can make a call, your fingers are too fat or your call keeps dropping,” Loewenberg says.

    The lesson: It’s connected to communication issues in real life, says Loewenberg. “If you are unable to make a call — for whatever reason — then you may be feeling your thoughts, opinions or feelings are not being heard or considered by someone else.”(SD-Agencies)