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Posted on 07/23/2024 9:12:58 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
Dreams are absurd and unpredictable. However, while we each have our unique dream experiences, there’s a lot of commonality in what we dream about. Many of us share the same feelings of desire, nostalgia, and stress that are often the root cause of so many dreams — but why do we often get the same dream repeatedly? Here are the most common recurring dreams and what they might mean.
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More than 50% of people experience these unpleasant dreams. Being chased in a dream may mean you’re avoiding something important in real life, or that you’re refusing to accept something you disagree with. If you’re the one doing the chasing, it may mean you feel like you’re falling behind in life and need to catch up.
Being transported back to school just in time for an exam you’re unprepared for is a common recurring dream. This situation usually represents real-life deadlines, which manifest as exams in the dream world. If you feel anxious about a work project or an upcoming major life event, that sense of unpreparedness can creep into your dreams.
Falling is one of the most common recurring dreams. It often indicates a deep sensation of helplessness. If you feel powerless at your job or like you’re losing control of your personal life, you’re more likely to experience a dream where you’re falling. If the falling is accidental — such as tripping off a cliff — then that may relate to a lack of stability and security.
That's very interesting, because I've had several of those similar type of dreams over the years. I've been retired for almost 21 years, but in my recurring dream, I'm back working, not permanently, but as an extra in NY State's prison system, despite knowing in my dream that I'm retired, and making that status known to others in my dreams. It's weird, because I know there is no way I'd be allowed to do that in real life. Once you retire, there's no going back. In most of my dreams I'm not dressed in the standard issue uniform...but in civilian clothes, and I realize I'm not dressed according to the rules. I can't figure out why or where those dreams come from. I sure as hell don't miss the job, and I never dream of any of the people I worked with.
One night I was asleep and dreamed that I was awake so I woke up only to find that I was asleep.
Hallways, doors, stairs, hallways, doors, stairs... it’s now a cue for me that I’m dreaming.
Talkin’ World War III Blues” by Bob Dylan
https://youtu.be/TYtVc56o9oo?si=Q1rery_B5GVGFGgH
I have one where I’m getting off work and cannot find my car. I can’t remember which car I drove and where it might be parked. So I end up trying to walk to where the car might be parked.
Other dream I have often is I’m at work and trying to go to the bathroom. There is no bathroom on my floor but I know there should be, so I go to another floor and in that bathroom the stool is out of order or not there. Then I have to keep looking or think about peeing in a corner. Of course I eventually wake up and sure enough, I have to pee and head to the can.
Shrinking babies. Giant waves crushing against a wall on a narrow beach. Black water. Trains and roads that lead to beaches and forests in the middle of the city. Being in eighth grade and trying to plan my life so I have the same children I do now. Large rooms filled with old furniture in buildings that do not have those rooms.
Ambien will do that.
I’ve had recurring dreams of being chased and taking a flight of stairs only to find at the landing, the second set of stairs is missing so I can’t get to the next floor down.
So I have to go back up the way I came.
The dream mind is like a passenger stuck in a car where it can only observe the driver. In frustration it creates nightmares to get your attention when it sees things going bad. The solution is to try and remember what you dreamed and try to understand what your dream mind is trying to tell you.
The dream mind processes information in a very animal like way using symbols. I'm somewhat unusual in that I can actually read things in my dreams but it is nowhere near as understanding as my reading while awake.
For a few years, I would occasionally have nightmares that my husband and I were no longer married, getting a divorce, or I was married to someone else.
You know what those dreams told me?
I needed to make love to my husband more.
As long as we were connecting frequently, the nightmares went away.
Since I value my husband and my sleep, we connected frequently.
Peaceful dreams. Happy marriage.
I have similar dreams of trying to fond a bathroom, although mine includes trying to find one with privacy or that is clean.
And same end. I wake up because I have to go.
A long time ago I would often have that that dream of being in just my underwear and trying to get back home!
As a kid I used to throw a tennis ball against the stair wall that led down stairs (to the spooky basement). I had a recurring dream that when I dropped the ball and had to go downstairs to get it the trolls would chase me.
I would run to the stairs but then the stairs would flatten out and I would slide down back to the trolls. It always ended just as I was in their grasp.
One night the dream kept going after the stairs flattened out, but the trolls didn’t get me. I grabbed on to the stair railing and pulled myself up and escaped the trolls.
I never had that dream again! I was probably around 12.
The basement remained spooky though!!
I mentioned the dream to my brother maybe 10 years ago. He said he had a similar dream of trying to climb a sand dune, but the sand just keeps giving way and he keeps sliding down. He said he still gets that dream once in awhile.
He thought it was always striving to live up to mom and dad’s expectations. Maybe. I’m not sure I ever felt that pressure from them. And he was and is very successful with the perfect home and family - much more so than me.
Perhaps it is just because I don’t care what others think of me, and figured that out at a young age. Or, it was just a goofy dream that I figured out.
I visited the South Pole in Antarctica. The pole itself is located in a flat area paved over with flagstone or masonry with a rock wall on the far side. One follows a trail through rough terrain to reach it. It is guarded by police who are very unfriendly to visitors. The South Pole even has a zip code--88329Nearby is another trail that leads to the top of a hill, where one can view the rugged terrain in the surrounding area. However, I didn’t see much when I climbed up there because it was night.
There is also a small town nearby called Winesburg. There, I drank a wine cooler and joked about drinking wine in Winesburg. Someone told me that there was a winery nearby.
The weather was pleasant, this being summer, but I was told that winters at the South Pole can be quite cold.
This isn’t useful. I want to know why I dream of not having clothes on. I hate those dreams.
Yep - not knowing you even had the class! I actually had a math class freshman year of college where the homework wasn’t part of the grade -just the exams. Well - I had other hard courses where the homework was graded, so...
I did okay (well, passing) until the long final exam as I had focused on my other courses. I’m going through perhaps 10 pages of questions and flipped through the entire thing looking for one that I KNEW that I could do.
Nothing.
Started over again to look for something I might figure out. The professor came over, sat down and said “Don’t stress over it. Just leave it. I’ll see you next year, and I’ll bet you do the homework.” (Said in a nice manner).
Interesting posts and
subject.
I’ve dreampt a few times
of being confined in
tight spaces, though there
is always some way of escape.
Hard to explain the anxiety
and fear. Some of these
dreams have bothered me for
days at a time.
I never take anything.
I read your replies about your days as a prison guard. That is not a job I would’ve wanted to have. And those are not dreams I would want to dream.
Cars. Funny you should mention that. I dream about cars that I used to own some 20-40 years ago. I used to be responsible for a few fleet cars at work and I would go to the shop where they were kept only to find they were missing. I have had a few of these dreams and they bother me. Because I liked those cars.
If I dream about the ocean, it means I have to get up and go to the bathroom.
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