It's thought the reason why dreams recur is that they contain a theme in your life you're not addressing. It is something you are not looking at, and that you must, inevitably, to shift the game into its next logical progression.
My recurrent dreams are hardly ever static or identical, but they do tend to follow similar storylines. One dream I've never been able to shake, from childhood, is that there is someone coming in the door. It's a bizarre way to express it, but I can think of no better. For this, what they're doing, is a continuous action. Throughout the dream, there is the knowledge of them (or perhaps more aptly "it") standing behind the door to my house. But not static. They are not merely standing, but actively in the process of coming through the door. And it is up to me and me alone to lock the door before they can do so, and I almost always fail, and even when I do manage to, the dream knows it's but temporary.
The monsters inevitably find a way of coming through the door. And I remain powerless to stop them. It's a dream, quite evidently, about the narrowness of my own shoulders. About the belief that I am not strong enough, sturdy enough, imposing enough to keep the monsters from my own (and my family's) door.
Not really dream-related, but spooky atmos.
Another theme that dogs me is one of the most cliched of all -- I am being pursued. I am being hunted. I like to imagine myself a deer, not in my life, but in my mind when I close my eyes. This theme takes many, many forms. Modern times and ancient, angry mobs and ravenous wolves. Perhaps it's a suggestion of my own play-too-close-to-the-fire nature.
There is something worrying inside myself that likes to tempt fate, to invite into itself untold danger that it could otherwise elude. Perhaps my dream is warning me that I must stop this game. Or perhaps, and I tend to lean towards this latter interpretation, it's merely a prediction,
As long as you do not stop tempting fate, you will continue to be hunted. You will have no choice but to keep on running, to ignore the aching under the dome of your ribs, and play for your life. You will run, perhaps, all this long life, not because you couldn't if you wished to stop, but because it's not your nature.
Perhaps.
A final theme that haunts me is that of freedom. Of escape. Or perhaps that's wrong. It could be argued that the overarching theme in all these dreams is ultimately that of freedom. Of escape. Most recently, I dreamed I was not one but two vampires in an Edinburgh that was both modern and medieval at once (as it is). That I (as a we) was (were) captured by a rich, decadent family who wanted to put me (us) on display at parties. Imprisoned alongside an old, mortal couple, who in the end betray me (in my duality). There was no fear in these wealthy folk of vampires, merely amusement, titillation almost at having such a novelty dropped in their laps. Naturally, I escaped. Clawed my way through grate and grit to freedom, but is it really that, if you're meant to be running your whole life?
At the time, I was also experimenting with a dream interpretation app, which had this to say:
Imprisonment in your dream underscores feelings of restriction. Captivity alongside humans in this metaphorical dungeon might mirror constraints experienced eternally in waking life or internally at a psychological level. The lovers imprisoned are almost timeless, an older couple, mirroring perhaps entrenched patterns difficult to break free from. Do you feel parts of yourself have been locked away, unable to be expressed fully, perhaps due to conforming to societal norms or personal commitments that feel stifling?
Transitioning to the rich man's perspective offers an interesting switch, perhaps indicating a turning point or awakening, seeing the escape route through his eyes. This character embodies the captor, but also holds the key to freedom. What realization in your waking life might symbolize this dual role of both restraining and enabling liberation?
Worth it? Asking AI about my unconscious? Maybe. It certainly had some interesting ideas - the app itself, called Temenos Dream, is pretty interesting as it allows you to create a library of themes, characters and patterns to interpret and analyze your dreaming (of course, from a Jungian perspective). Worth checking out.
Do you have recurrent dreams, or themes in dreams? If so, why not participate in the #MemoirMonday challenge by @ericvancewalton. It's such a fun, smart method of engagement on this platform we call home. Try it.
Omg... I'm really surprised to find this post as the latest entry on your blog, how about knowing that I came straight to tell you that I had a dream about you? This was yesterday, but I hadn't found the time to stop by and say hello.
Funny thing about life. I find your own interpretation of dreams more interesting than that of the AI, although all visions can help to awaken something that allows us to understand what the next step is to overcome it. Although, I think it all really comes down to knowing whether or not we want to change our realities. It ends up being a matter of bravery, do we all really need to be superheroines? such laziness. haha.
Anyway, I dreamed about you. It wasn't a wild nor complex dream, no one was running away or trying to open the door for us. We were standing at the bar, wanting to order some good coffees, but there was always someone interrupting us and who we ended up helping to get their orders before we could order ourselves. There was a discussion about espressos that we couldn't conclude because of the interruptions and we ended up talking more with understanding glances than words. Haha it was not an exasperating situation, but more like embracing the odds.
So I thought it would be nice to tell you about it, it seems to me that my brain wanted to let me know that it's not fair not to say hello to you frequently. I hope you are well, sending you a big hug!
Oh love what a coincidence! I think it says a lot about your perception of us that we were helping others get their coffees before getting our own (aren't we awesome?!) <3
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I'm glad your dream sent you here! <3 I keep meaning to say hello to you too, but I know we both know that there's hugs and understanding even when there's no hellos said. <3 Still. Hi! I'm quite well. And you?
Me? I'm smiling at my phone while reading this. ❤️❤️❤️
It's been a long time since I've had a recurring dream. Perhaps one dreams oneself out, as one gets older.
Usually, a dream will be so loud and haunting it's a puzzle to unravel to answer a question or solve a problem. I love those dreams. It's always best to listen to the dreaming self, as she often has all the answers you didn't know you had when you were awake..
I can't get over this. You know, Jung and co. used to say a lot that the more you pay attention to your dreaming self, the more she'll reveal to you. Didn't expect that to be true, but I always find that when I take a minute in the morning to record or think about my dream in some way, the next dreams are also more prominent and clear. I just woke up now and it seemed like a chaotic run-through of everything I've been thinking/doing these past few weeks. Like on TV. Odd.
I don't think I have had recurring dreams before. My dreams are always bizarre and tend to leave me baffled each time I wake up, making me wonder what goes on in my subconscious.
I have never had the same dream twice, I do not know if that is normal. 😂
Wow, these are fascinating! There may be some truth to writers having more vivid dreams than others. Maybe the part of our brain we use to write is overdeveloped compared to those who don't write and is responsible for our dreams? What immediately came to mind reading your description of that second dream was paganism. I know animals have different meanings in the pagan religion, it would be interesting to explore that path a little. That third dream would make a killer piece of fiction. It would be a good exercise in exploring both the paranormal and privilege/perversion that comes with certain social classes. That would be a winner. I'm definitely checking out that app! Thanks for your contribution to Memoir Monday, this was truly awesome.
Here you go.....Deer have significant roles in the mythology of various peoples located all over the world, such as object of worship, the incarnation of deities, the object of heroic quests and deeds, or as magical disguise or enchantment/curse for princesses and princes in many folk and fairy tales.
I generally forget about my dreams, often thinking I'll never forget them, but when I wake up properly in the morning, it's mostly disappeared. One disturbing theme is being chased, almost like your very vivid dream, but being unable to move, almost as if I'm glued to the ground and cannot start running. Would be interesting to see what that could mean? I'm super curious about what our dreams are trying to tell us, must keep a pen next to the bed, and learn to jot down pointers.
I hope you're keeping well dear @honeydue 💞