The Anatomy of a Dream

I like to think that dreams are symbolic. I usually search what the meanings of objects or people in my dreams are if I remember one that stands out to me. Sometimes, my dreams are very realistic, and others are completely insane. The first dream I ever remember in full detail I had in 4th grade. I won't go into details because it was quite lengthy, but it involved a merman pig that was buying flowers in an underwater supermarket. In the most recent dream I can remember, my best friend died. That just goes to show how much the subject of my dreams change. Because of my interest in dream interpretation, I have acquired some interesting object meanings through the years. Most objects are pretty self explanatory. For instance, if you dream of an oxygen mask, it means you are feeling suffocated. If you dream of fruit, it means you are feeling energized or healthy. If you dream of death of any sort, you feel as if you are losing someone or possibly a part of yourself. 
I personally believe that lucid dreaming and astral projection are possible. Lucid dreaming is not a spiritual experience, it is just a matter of connecting your body and your mind while you are sleeping; most of the time, the two are separate while you are asleep. I personally have not had the concentration to lucid dream in addition to the fact that I have been too scared. With things like that, you have to be in the correct mindset, and I am a person who is always worried or stressed about something. 
Astral projection is even harder to do than lucid dreaming. I think that only very spiritual people are able to do it, considering it is a journey into the spirit world. Astral projection is another thing that I am too afraid of. I have heard of people going into sleep paralysis from it, and honestly it is not worth the risk in my opinion. Even though I have never experienced it myself, I have met people who have and who have described their experience in great detail.