I used to have frequent dreams that I could fly -- but not regular flying. I had to swim the breaststroke through the air with just the right timing and momentum, otherwise I'd lose altitude. These dreams started a good 12 or 13 years ago, when I first started swimming for a local club team.
The dreams happened so often that the flying ability itself ceased to be the focus of the dream. Sometimes I was spying on people via my flying ability, or making my way through a secret facility, or trying to cross a chasm. Because of the effort and skill involved in my in-dream flying, there was always the constant fear that I wouldn't be able to stay in the air -- the flight was constantly filled with the danger of my losing my rhythm or running out of energy, then plummeting to the ground below. I sometimes failed at my goals, though I never had any particularly brutal crashes.
The dreams became so frequent that in the back of my mind I began to wonder if I really could fly in the waking world, and I was just too afraid to try. I knew well enough to not actually try, but the thought was still there.
When I was unemployed right out of college, my flight dreams took an interesting twist: I knew I could fly, and consistently was able to fly on my own -- but I could never prove to anyone else that I could fly. Whenever I managed to get up into the air, no matter where I was, there was never anyone around.
When I started dating the woman I mentioned in the help thread, I had a dream that I don't think I'll ever forget. I was flying with no one around to see, as usual, when I spotted someone below. A witness! I flew over the person so they could see, but ended up losing my rhythm and falling.
I landed on the person, and found out that I had severely hurt her -- and that she was the woman I was dating.
I woke up scared, upset and in tears. I haven't dreamed of flying since.