Pearl Nash
Often our dreams are filled with characters from our everyday life.
Sure, they may not always look like the real-life version, but we somehow recognize who they are meant to be.
That’s why it can feel strange when you dream of someone and you have zero clue who they are.
You may wake up and feel like this mysterious man has left an imprint on you. He feels significant even though you do not know him.
So what does it all mean?
This article will share 9 reasons why you’re dreaming of a man you’ve never met.
So let’s get started!
1) He represents part of you
I once had a very weird dream about a man holding me hostage.
He locked me up and I felt I had no choice but to just accept it.
Yet I felt guilty and ashamed that I had allowed myself to stay prisoner when I knew I could quite easily escape.
I spoke to a friend of mine doing his Ph.D. in psychology and he told me something really interesting:
That this man probably represented a part of me.
Rather than being separate or something outside of me, these characters were simply different elements that existed within me.
They were my “masculine” energy and my “feminine” energy (because we have a mix of both of these energies within us regardless of the gender we most identify as).
He suggested that the feminine part of me was feeling pushed down and repressed by my masculine energy.
As soon as he said that I realized he was totally on to something!
Growing up I had a tendency to ignore the softer more feminine associated parts of myself as I feared they were weak. In adulthood, I was spending more time allowing these gentler sides of myself to come out.
You see, even though we don’t fully understand dreams or why they happen, experts tend to agree that they say more about us than anything else.
This man you have never met may be some part of yourself that is being explored and voiced through your dream.
As always, the clues are in the content of the dream as well as how it made you feel.
You mystery man may well be you!
2) He represents something you think you are missing
Does this man have something you admire? Something you envy or aspire to?
As I just said, the biggest clues dreams point to are about what is going on in our own lives.
If you happen to be a woman, forget for a moment that this is a man.
Think about the qualities he has.
Think about the lifestyle he lives.
Or perhaps other things that may draw you to him.
Would you like to see more of these things in your own life?
Is there a goal you want to fulfill that is feeling neglected?
Essentially, consider what this mystery man represents to you. What stands out most?
Now apply that to your own life and ask yourself whether it is signaling something you feel could be lacking.
This man’s appearance in your dream is trying to highlight this to you so that you can feel more fulfilled.
3) He represents your “dream man” and what you are looking for in a partner
Are you still searching for “the one”?
That special person in your life who feels like a soulmate.
If so, the man you’ve never met could be your imagination getting to work and painting a picture of your ideal guy.
Of course, this is far more likely if in the dream you felt desire or romantic feelings toward him.
Think of it almost like a subconscious tick list of your dream guy that your brain is giving a voice to.
Perhaps he has the things that you want in a partner. In this way, it is simply your natural healthy desire coming through.
Did this man you’ve never met seem perfect to you? Was he everything and more that you could ever hope for?
As lovely as that may sound, you also need to beware!
On the surface, a “dream man” sounds like a wonderful idea, but it could be time to consider whether you have any unrealistic ideas about relationships.
A lot of us grow up hoping our Prince Charming will arrive and “save us”. Often this desire or notion is subconscious.
Many of us were raised in societies that feed us fairytale endings and arguably outdated ideas of what love is like.
The problem is that real love, real relationships, and real men have difficulty stacking up to the dream!
4) It’s a psychic clue to your future
If you felt a strong connection, desire, or even a strange sense of familiarity about this man you’ve never met you might be wondering:
Is this a sign? Could this guy be destined for my future?
As improbable as it may sound, it’s certainly not impossible.
Here’s the thing:
The general consensus is that there is little scientific evidence of so-called precognitive dreams — aka dreaming of something that will happen.
But depending on your beliefs you may feel, as the Shakespeare character Hamlet once put it:
‘There are more things in heaven and Earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy’.
Meaning, although science can explain a lot, it doesn’t yet have all the answers.
Although there isn’t concrete evidence of precognitive dreams coming true, there are real-life examples.
One of which was the famous psychologist Carl Jung, who was fascinated by the predictive ability of dreams. He said that he had a dream that predicted his own mother’s death.
A more scientific take on precognitive dreams has also been put forward.
Neuroscientist and dreams author Sidarta Ribeiro, Ph.D. says that perhaps dreams do have a predictive element — but not necessarily in the way you might think.
As he explained in Mind Body Green:
“[Your dream is] not a deterministic oracle that can predict what’s going to happen, but rather it’s a very sophisticated, probabilistic, neurobiological machine” that simulates possible futures based on what happened in the past.”
“In other words, our dreams are constantly putting out potential scenarios for what the future could look like, based on what our brains know of the past.”
Whether it’s a psychic clue or a potential future your brain has guessed — this man you haven’t met yet might one day enter your life.
5) You have a new crush
In fact, perhaps unknowingly to you, this unknown man may already be in your life!
That’s because people can shapeshift in our dreams.
After all, they’re not literal. They are merely a representation of thoughts and pictures that exist in our heads.
So although you feel like you’ve never met this man, that doesn’t mean he isn’t real.
He could be created from snippets of information your brain has put together.
For example, without realizing it his image might be based on a cute guy you spotted at the grocery store once. Or a model you saw in passing on a billboard.
Your mind could be projecting genuine feelings or desires you have in real life onto this image.
So it’s worth asking if you have any crushes in waking life right now.
Is there someone you’ve found yourself attracted to?
Have a real think about it, as you may not even be conscious of this crush — which is why it’s coming out in your dreams.
6) You’re feeling frustrated in your current relationship
Ok, so what if you are in a relationship already when you dream of another man?
Depending on the content of the dream, you can wake up feeling pretty strange.
Even though you understand it’s not real, plenty of people feel guilty about dreaming of someone else when they already have a partner.
First off, it’s really common.
It certainly doesn’t have to be a big deal. But it can point to some frustrations you might be feeling in your relationship right now.
That might be:
- Boredom (especially after the honeymoon period)
- Unfulfilled sexual needs
- Unfulfilled emotional needs
- Unresolved conflicts
- Relationship stress or anxiety
- Doubts you are having about your relationship
- Certain needs or desires you feel are not being fulfilled
- A longing for some excitement or novelty
The truth is that all relationships have their ups and downs.
Your subconscious might be letting you know that there are things that need some work in your relationship.
This man you are dreaming of that you’ve never met might represent some escapism from the realities of your waking life relationship.
7) You’re longing for more connection in life
According to the dream theories of the famous 19th-century psychologist, Sigmund Freud, our dreams are:
Representations of our unconscious desires, thoughts, fulfillment, and motivations.
In “The Interpretation of Dreams,” Freud said our dreams are “disguised fulfillments of repressed wishes.”
He believed that the things we most long for we sometimes bury within ourselves. But they are revealed when we sleep through our dreams.
That is why your dream about a man you have never met may symbolize a deeper longer within you.
Depending on how you felt about this man in your dream and what happened, it could be a sign you desire a greater connection.
Are you longing for intimacy?
Perhaps you are missing the sense of connection from being in a relationship. Or the connection you miss may not even be romantic, it can be platonic too.
It may symbolize a general desire for stronger meaningful relationships in your life. It can even represent a longing to form a greater connection with yourself.
8) You’re craving some romance
Connection is one thing, but in many ways, romance is something else entirely.
For starters, you may not be wanting anything particularly meaningful. But you could still have desires for romance.
After all, those butterflies and excitement that we feel at the thought of a romantic partner are compelling.
If it’s been a while since your last romantic encounter or crush, dreaming of this man you’ve never met could just be a sign you’re ready for a bit of amor in your life again.
Maybe that’s a fling, just a few dates, some no strings attached fun, or a deep and lasting love.
If there were romantic feelings that were coming up for you in your dream you could be craving the excitement of some romance.
Similarly, the same goes for if this dream turned a bit hot and steamy with your mystery man!
Until it shows up for real in your waking life, your subconscious is just trying to give you a bit of what it is your heart desires.
9) You’re actually dreaming about a feeling and it’s nothing to do with the man
Here’s the thing:
Like I’ve said already, dreams aren’t literal. They are representative.
That’s why this man you’ve never met may be a total red herring.
Consider this:
The man is just a messenger rather than a person.
Perhaps he has absolutely nothing to do with the real hidden meaning of your dream. He may simply appear as the conduit for certain emotions.
There could be particular feelings within you that are looking to be expressed. This stranger is the package your subconscious mind created to express them through.
Instead of focusing on this man, and what he may have said or done in the dream, turn your attention to the feelings he brought up for you.
- How did he make you feel?
- Were any strong emotions coming through?
- What was the overall mood of the dream like?
To conclude: How to interpret dreaming of a man you’ve never met?
I hope this article has already given you some strong clues and insights about what your dream could mean.
Dreams are undoubtedly tricky to interpret. They are not only incredibly subjective, but they are rarely about what they seem to be on the surface of it all.
They are the inner world we create with our imagination. But they still give us glimpses into real thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and events taking place in our lives.
For example, research has shown that our waking mental health might well influence the contents of our dreams.
When trying to interpret dreams my top tip is to think symbolically rather than literally.
To help you do this, ask yourself:
- How did you feel during your dream?
- How do you feel now thinking about it?
- Were there any symbolic clues in the content of your dream?
- Does any of this relate to events taking place in your waking life?
