Do you ever have themes that re-occur in dreams?

[I Have A Dream]

I've only had it happen one time to me. For several years, I would have dreams about trying to take a shower and either not be able to do so or it being extremely difficult to do it.

For example, I'd dream that I was trying to shower in the middle of a restaurant, and I would be trying to have people not see me naked. Same thing once on the beach. Also, I'd dream about just trying to find a place to shower and not being able to. I'd have this dream about once a month for a couple of years.

I kept thinking that it meant that I needed to cleanse myself and wasn't able to do so. I thought about all aspects of my life to see which part needed cleansed.

After my relationship of 9-1/2 years ended, I never had the dream again. It's been over 8 years, and I've not had one.

I keep wondering how I could have figured out that the dreams were in reference to my relationship. (I'm assuming that I should have been able to get the message, but it wasn't clear to me.)

[DemExpat]

1. I don't know how one can tell what dreams like this are about

until later. :shrug:

I have several recurring dreams, one similar to yours, which I also have not had in a long while - of sitting naked on a glass-walled toilet on a crowded schoolyard....:blush: :blush: :blush:

YIKES!

I always felt this had to do with the feeling of lack of privacy that I had growing up in a large family, one in which the members didn't show much respect for the others, like barging in on you as you bathed, used the toilet, etc. :wtf:

I also have until the present day recurring dreams of having a group of beloved pets break loose somewhere and run across highways, get into other dangerous situations....etc., and I can't get them all back together to keep them safe. :cry:

Another is one in which I enter a fabulous ancient house and wander from room to room marveling at the richness and incredible feeling of expectation and joy knowing that this home is mine. Mine to decorate and use as I want to. Someone has told me that this type of dream could symbolize one's soul......or perhaps experience from past lives?

I dream every night and seemingly for long periods, remembering many of them when I wake up. I love to dream!
It is a whole other life to experience in my dreams.

:kick:

DemEx

[I Have A Dream]

2. Very interesting, DemEx. Thanks!

The pet dreams sound really bad. You must wake up exhausted!

[japple]

3. Over the years, I've dreamed of driving a huge

tank of a car full tilt through a crowded parking lot. Of course we all know that means I must have been feeling out of control at the time. I've also repeatedly dreamed of driving a car on a road that at times disappeared under water. I've had several dreams of going home to a dilapidated house, very sparsely furnished, with lots of sickly cats inhabiting it. I think I remember reading that houses represent feelings about one's higher self, and, thankfully, I haven't dreamed about this for a long time. Years ago, I dreamed several times of wandering around lost in a strange city that somehow seemed familiar and finally coming to a bakery that I was familiar with and being overjoyed that I'd finally found what I was looking for. I think that must have meant that I was on the right track in my spiritual quest.

[linazelle]

4. Two recurring dreams...

One was that I would be in my house but there would be all these additional rooms in it. I would be awestruck that there was so much more space than I knew existed.

I also had a dream for about a year or two, off and on, about being chased to a body of water where I needed to dive in to escape the villain. I love swimming. I swim well. But, I would never dive in. I would wake up before the villain caught me. Sometimes the places I needed to dive from were very high cliffs. I chalked it up to fear. The dreams stopped a long time ago--I guess I conquered those fears.

[DemExpat]

6. linazelle, in my post above I mention my dreams about houses,

and what you dream about the awe in discovering new rooms that you didn't know about is often a significant ingredient of my dreams...:D....this makes me feel it might have soemthing to do with our souls or our psyches - of us being much more than we are conscious of in daily life.

:hi:

DemEx

[linazelle]

10. I agree with that. I think it's connected to the other dream in that

there's "more" (to do...to explore...to achieve--whatever) and it's already there and available to me. Just like I can already swim, but won't in my dreams. Hmmmmmm.

[u4ic]

5. Plenty!

I understand the bathroom one! I often dream of no walls in a bathroom, or one being in a weird place...last week, I had a dream of a bathroom (sans walls) in a kitchen. I grew up in a similar situation, large family who didn't respect boundaries.

Niagara Falls...interestingly enough, when I was younger it used to be only one of two nightmares I had. I have relatives in the Falls, and used to visit there frequently when I lived near Toronto. As I got older, the Falls became smaller and smaller in my dreams...to the point it was a small waterfall on a hill, or the whirpool would end up as a small stream. I would them climb up the hill right by the falls and wonder what all the (tourist) fuss was about!

Elevators that shoot up out of the building. Elevators are often a factor in my dreams...they are often at strange angles, or take me to various places (one was a Victorian-era sanitarium, which was very disturbing).

Being on a higher floor in a building, and it shaking so much that I have to lay on the floor and hold on for dear life. These occur quite frequently.

I have history in dreams that is different from real life. It amasses, to; in certain dreams where the history pops up, I can buy a red car, and in the next dream, I'm driving that same car. They don't occur as much as they used to.

I have had deceased relatives visit me in dreams.

My dream life is far more interesting than my waking one!

[Why Syzygy]

13. I've had the elevator

dreams for years. I always wonder what they mean. Often there is something wrong with it. As you say, odd angles, go unexpected places, shaped oddly, won't stop, dark,etc. In the dream state, I'm always amazed that I arrive safely. If I kept a dream diary it might be clearer. But perhaps these dreams mimic real life in some way.

[DemExpat]

7. kick...because I just love reading about dreams!

:hi:

DemEx

[Behind the Aegis]

8. Gonna take a crack at this...

Reoccurring dreams are our subconscious' way of saying "hey! listen to me!" However, I feel you have realized what the dream was saying...gots to love that hindsight! :) However, let me see if I can shed more light on this.

Taking showers or baths can, and do often, represent trying to "cleanse" oneself of something...or someone! Your need to cleanse yourself (trying to find a place to shower) might indicate you 'knew' something wasn't quite right. The really telling thing for me is that is was in public places (a beach, restaurant...maybe a park, and concert/sport's event were also locales (just a guess on my part)). You could not "wash yourself" because others would then know your hidden issues (nakedness). You didn't want them to be privy to that information, but in not 'exposing yourself' (being naked in front of others), you were unable to complete the task...cleansing yourself.

Without knowing more information, I am going to make some "guesses." The dreams didn't start until problems in the relationship started. After a particularly troubling incident, you would have the dream (or a variation). When the decision was made to end the relationship, you started to open up to others, seek advice, even from 'strangers.' As the decision to end the relationship became clear, the venues where you tried to shower became more and more open and you were less concerned about being naked, and more concerned about showering. There may have been two incidents where smaller venues (shopping mall, restaurant) popped up toward the end, and the focus was more on being naked and not showering, indicating "second thoughts" and being more worried about perceptions of others and not of being "clean."

The aforementioned is just some 'sensations' I got reading your post. I could be WAY off! It wouldn't be the first time. :) However, as for your last "wondering" (how I could have figured out that the dreams were in reference to my relationship), I would have to know more about the dreams.

[I Have A Dream]

9. Thank you for your insight, Behind the Aegis. n/t

[LWolf]

11. Yes.

Throughout childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood, I had variations on falling off cliffs; in cars, on foot, alone, with people....I died in one of those dreams, and rose above to watch the burning wreck at the bottom of the canyon. One was a jump into a vast ocean; I was lost in the water. The rest I woke before I hit.

A few about being too deep in water to make it back to the surface, also in my younger days.

A few dreams about flying.

A recurring theme throughout my adolescence was being "stalked." Most often, some sort of stalker entered my bedroom window at night to....I don't know what. Choking fear, and I'd wake up. A few times, I was stalked walking through public places. Once the stalker came in through a window in someone else's house I'd gone to visit, and left a knife in the bed. Once the stalker was invisible, and picked me up, shook me, and tossed me around the room while I screamed.

When my marriage ended 5 years ago, I had dreams about the ex for about 2 years; always dreams in which we were talking about the breakup, and bringing the closure that never happened in waking life.

About 2 years ago, I began to have repeated dreams about being homeless, looking for home, trying to move....those haven't repeated since I actually made the move. :D

[NMDemDist2]

12. i have a reoccurring dream that i just had again a couple days ago

it's about an old boyfriend and we are in a restaurant that is being attacked by aliens or some supernatural critters and we have to escape through the roof, as soon as I get to the roof, I wake up


i still haven't figured that one out. Our relationship was very dysfunctional (mostly cuz we both were at the time) and I haven't seen him in years, but still I have this dream of him several times a year

:shrug:

[DemExpat]

14. I used to have recurring dreams about a highschool

girlfriend who I hadn't heard from since we were rooming together in college and both had a hard time with ourselves and relationships (not each other).....

I finally found her address on the Internet and sent her a Chrismtas card 3 years ago and she replied. Just having re-connected with someone who had been so important to me in one period of my life was what I "needed" somehow.

Since the reconnection - even though we don't communicate now - the dreams are over.

Strange....:shrug:

:hi:

DemEx

[BlueIris]

15. For the longest time, I had not infrequent dreams of pregnancy

and miscarriage. They were the strangest things ever. In the dreams, I wouldn't recall a thing about the circumstances surrounding the beginning of the pregnancies. After a while, a friend of mine theorized that the dreams were most intense during periods of time when I felt I had experiences a great loss or defeat, and that the miscarriage dreams in particular symbolized my feelings about these losses. I think I stopped having these kinds of dreams (it's been three years since the last bad one) after I mastered the art of being compassionate with myself about my "failures" in the academic, material and social world.

[Why Syzygy]

16. I had a series of dreams

where I suddenly realized I had a baby (in a crib and dark room). I didn't have food or diapers for her and I was aghast. She was so neglected. I had that dream many times. Then my marriage ended and the dream changed somewhat. I remembered to have formula and diapers for her, but she was always still in the crib. I went to therapy, and expanded my spirituality. The last time I dreamed of her, I was holding her on the front porch of a big house. She was all dressed up complete with little ruffled diaper panties! This is such a perfect picture of my inner life, which was neglected during my marriage and blossomed once I began to cultivate it.

One year I began to dream of reuniting with this husband. Sometimes it was almost every night. I again entered therapy during this time. Sometimes I would wake up and believe that he and I had gotten back together. We both were so happy to get back together (in the dreams). It made me very sad during waking hours that this was just a dream and not reality. Finally, I realized that the dream was trying to tell me that 'he' represented a part of myself which I needed to re-integrate into my life. Love, maybe. I can't say for sure. Haven't thought about exactly WHAT that component is/was. But I did stop dreaming about 'him' after this realization.

Before that marriage, I was engaged for two years to a man I did not marry. I started dreaming about that guy some ten years after we broke up. They bothered me so much, I contacted a friend of his to find out where he was. I called him and told him about the dreams. We are still on friendly terms. After talking to him, the dreams stopped.

There are many familiar places I visit during various dreams.

DemEx .. I too love discussing dreams.

[I Have A Dream]

17. I love the baby dreams and also the fact that you were able to figure...

out what they were trying to tell you.

[davsand]

18. Does anyone else have Dental Dreams?

Sometimes (not terribly common) I have dreams that my teeth are falling out or breaking off. No pain with it--but still disconcerting. When I have one of those I sit and think about what is making me feel "toothless" be it from age or even as if I've been "de-fanged." Usually there is something at work in my life that causes them.

I also have dreams about buildings or houses. I'm about like the rest of you--I am blown away by the number of rooms that are there that I've never seen or at how nice they are. It makes a lot of sense that those are dreams that are working on self realization. Makes perfect sense to me, in fact.

A lot of times when I have dreams that disturb me, they are based on something that came up during that day and I didn't fully explore it at the time.

Just a few days ago, I made the decision to send my husband and my daughter to his family's house for Christmas without going along. I had a funeral to attend and I didn't feel it was fair to push the entire family's holiday back just so I could be there. This is a BIG deal for them all, and I just was not happy about shortening the visit for them.

That night, I dreamed that my husband and daughter were killed while traveling to see his family. I woke up absolutely terrified and crying. I told them both about the dream and I explained that I thought it was because I knew I was gonna miss them both a great deal while they were gone. I also told them that I was gonna worry about them while they were traveling, but that it was because I care, not because I honestly thought anything was gonna happen. Later, I also realized there was an element of abandonment there. I was afraid they wouldn't want to come back to cranky old me! :) (There are elements of my own insecurity and guilt that just stagger me--even at this point in my life!)

They made the trip just fine and are having a great time...

Usually, I have found that my subconscious talks in very specific terms and in ways that are peculiar to my own images and thought patterns. If I think about it long enough, it will ultimately come clear. I have to "chew" on it for a while. (Go back to the dental dream thing--this last statement lends a whole NEW meaning to why teeth are in my thoughts sometimes--eh?)




Laura

[I Have A Dream]

22. Luckily, I've never had a dental dream.

:scared:

[Why Syzygy]

24. See Post 21 for background

Delaney suggests an 'interview' method to help determine dream meanings.
(I've had the losing teeth dreams too. Sometimes they would just crumble and fall out.)

Suggested Interview Questions: (she suggests imagining an alien is asking the questions, so you can more fully explain your experiences)

1. Why would a human like you (remember, I come from another planet) care if his or her teeth fell out? In other words, what's wrong with having your teeth fall out?

2. If you know, describe which teeth fell out and how it came to happen.

3. How do you feel in the dream about all this?

4. Do the feelings you have in your dream remind you of any feelings or of a recent situation in your life?

5. How so? Check to see if you have made a good match or bridge between your dream and your life feelings. If not, describe your dream feelings more fully until you see the parallels in your life.

Of course the questions need to be asked as related to the timing of the dreams.

[FreedomAngel82]

19. I keep having dreams where

I'm in some sort of school enviornment whether elementary, high school or even college. :shrug: Mostly those three branches. Hardly junior high.

[I Have A Dream]

23. It's been a long time, but I have had dreams like this.

It would be things like I couldn't find my high school locker and I had to get to class, I had to take a test in college but hadn't gone to the class all semester, etc.

[NashVegas]

20. Lately It's Been Communication Troubles

I've had two of these in the last couple of months, and they've been very upsetting.

In one, I blew off a friend for a lunch date, made up a bullshit excuse because I was expecting that he would do the same, so I wanted to be first. I felt like crap for doing it and tried to call him back right away, but my cellphone kept dialing a different number. I tried to get through for hours and couldn't. Finally I called from my phone at work. He picked it up, and then asked me to hang on for a minute, but he never came back to talk. Just left it off the hook.

In another, I was planning to join some other friends for a weekend out of town, but I was going to leave a day early and tried to contact them to let them know. Again, my phone wouldn't dial the proper number.

[Why Syzygy]

25. Interview Questions

From Delaney's book (post #21) ...

1. Describe the situation in your dream. Does the phone malfunction? Doe you have the right change or credit card? Are you unable to get through to someone?

2. Can you describe the person or organization you are trying to get through to?

3. Does this person or organization, which you describe as (restate the description), remind you of anybody in your life, or is it an actual picture of the person you need to communicate with?

4. how so? Elaborate on the connection if you see one.

5. Why do you want to get through to this person or group?

6. What are the obstacles? Does this obstacle, which you describe as (restate the description), remind you of anything in your life?

7. Does this dream describe any difficulty you are having in waking life communicating with a particular person or asking for help in a particular situation?

8. How so?

9. If you don't have the right change to make the call, does this remind you of any way in which you are ill equipped ot make effective communication with the person or persons in question?
...end of quote

Seems that you've answered the first question. Nine could read, "does the 'wrong number' ..."

[Why Syzygy]

21. "In Your Dreams . Falling, Flying & Other Dream Themes"

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0062514121.01._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-dp-500-arrow,TopRight,45,-64_AA240_SH20_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

http://tinyurl.com/dhzul

I found this book while helping my RM clean his former house! It is exactly about recurring dreams.

snippets (quote)
... In fact recurring dreams signal recurring situations and often indicate that we are stuck in a rut in our personal or work life. ... Learning why we dream a common dream and someone else s's? Learning why we dream a common dream at a particular time in our lives can open the door to new insights that will help us understand ourselves and get out of the ruts that keep us from maturing and living fuller, happier lives. In most cases, our common dreams represent a recurring theme or problem in our lives. Often this theme is one we share with many other people. ... I have written this book on common dream themes to provide you with material that respects your individuality and the unique circumstances of your life. Here are the tools to uncover the personal, practical insights your common but personalized dreams contain. ...
(end quote)

The last chapter is titled "Becoming Your Own Dream Expert", and includes a section, "Tools for Solo and Group Dream Study". http://www.gdelaney.com ... Any interest in trying something like that? Or is that what we're already doing?
I've barely begun on the book, but will share what Delaney writes about various themes in this thread as I can.

edit: She has excellent advice for keeping a dream diary. I've written down many of my dreams, but never on a consistent basis and never made notes about what was happening in 'real' life. This morning when I awoke, I had vivid dream recall, but then started talking to my RM and now I can't remember a THING! I'm sure parts will come back during the day as my mind idles. :D