Repetitive Dreams

[karlsie]

I have a few dreams that have constantly repeated themselves at intervals throughout my life. I had one of these last night. In fact, it is my most frequent repetitive dreams, and one of the longest lasting. I've had this dream since childhood, with very little variation.

To visualize the dream correctly, you need an understanding of the geography. I live on a mountain ridge that is one of many that climb higher and higher to join the Chugach mountain range. The only true flat area for my town is a narrow strip of beach along the inlet, swamp, prairie grass and meadow. The graduating hills and stone cliffs begin almost immediately. The main highway ribbons through the first set adjoined hills. We, along with many of our neighbors, are settled on the second tier.

As a child, there were very few neighbors. The swampy lowland and the third set of hills were primarily undeveloped. As a child, I dreamed I was walking down the main road, much as it appears. However, when I looked toward the inlet, I was astonished to see it had become completely developed, with residential housing. When I looked up, the third tier of hills was also developed, with roads crossing through and connecting the entire town. My home town hasn't changed quite as radically as the dream; at least not yet; but the lowland is filled with homes and businesses, while the upper tier is becoming gradually more populated. I see this part of my dream as a prophetic one, and there is little to no variation in it.

The second part is more puzzling, and it also has very little variance. As a child I dreamed I continued walking, but was now with a small group. I still dream I'm with a small group. Sometimes, I can identify the others. Sometimes, they are complete strangers or simply anonymous. The difference is, now I usually dream I am in a car as either a passenger or the driver.

We are still following the inlet, but this is where the dream becomes strange. It's no longer the thick, gray, rolling water I'm accustomed to, but a deep, tranquil blue, with white caps. The road is very narrow as on one side is a sheer wall of cliffs and on the other, this inlet turned ocean. Occasionally, the road is so narrow, water splashes up over it and we wonder if we should turn back, although we never do. We keep foraging ahead.

The landscape is like nothing I've ever seen in my life. At one point, the water ends, and instead of an ocean, there is another wall of cliffs on the other side. I know distinctly the vehicle is climbing, but we never see our way clear between the two towering wall. Our journey ends when a rock slide covers the path from one cliff wall to the other. The rest of the dream entails scaling the rock slide that never seems to end.

The most marked difference in the dream this time was that, although I was a passenger, I was influencing the driver. If my foot pressed down from the back seat, her foot pressed down on the gas as well. I also controlled the brakes, the shifting and the steering. Again, as in a previous dream, I heard a voice say to me, "she is your sister".

I have never figured out the significance of the last part of the dream. The landscape is always exactly the same, and there is the same ending of trying to scale a wall of rocks from tremendous heights. Now, a new monkey wrench has been thrown into my twisted sub-conscious. The repetitive message of "she is your sister".

[grainnerhuad]

Karla the travelling and climbing part seem to me to signify life. Sometimes you feel in control and sometimes not, depending. Sometimes you control subtly. The "She is your sister" I would guess denotes general connectivity to ALL of creation. The climb at the end I would guess at meaning you will not have a restful rocking chair end of life scenerio, probably mostly because your psyche doesn't want one. - Just my thoughts.

[karlsie]

That sounds like a pretty good interpretation, Grainne. I guess what puzzled me most was going from a familiar to an unfamiliar landscape. Like Carl Jung, I think some of my dreams have futuristic implications, which makes me wonder at times if a calamity will change our Cook Inlet landscape. I also thought that "she is your sister" might mean I was developing a split personality, but then again, it might be the feeling of connectivity.

I had another dream the other night that disturbed me for its realism, as well as the addition of a new repetitive character. In most of my dreams, I can identify the other persons with me, even if I don't actually see them as concrete images. Lately, I've been dreaming of a male who has no identity with anyone I know. He's simply there, beside me, sometimes making short, quiet observation. Yet, he isn't beside me. He's intangible, just a voice, a presence.

This night was different. I had been having trouble falling asleep. At the moment I thought to myself, "I can't sleep", I fell into a slumber, only I didn't know I was sleeping. I was still in exactly the same position on the bed, the room still looked exactly the same, but there was another person lying beside me; the same unidentified presence; only this time, he was very real. He got up and sat on the edge of the bed, his head in his hands. I could see his image clearly, but since it was dark, only the dark bulk of his shadow. I put my hand on his shoulder. It felt quite solid. I asked him what was wrong. He answered, "I can't sleep. There are too many things going on, too many things going around and around in my head. I'm not sure I'm supposed to be here."

I woke up then, quite suddenly, and of course there was no one there. The room was precisely as it had been in the dream, right down to the degree of darkness, with a thin moon shining over the fresh snow and into the window. Still, the feeling that someone had been there was still with me and evaporated very slowly. It took several minutes to go back to sleep again, and what dreams I had were chaotic and non-sequential.

[asiaticdarkperson]

Sounds like a creepy stalker to me...and in your bedroom, lying on your bed? lol

[karlsie]

A spiritual stalker? That is a creepy thought.

[grainnerhuad]

Generally, intangible, faceless beings are pieces of ourselves. In lucid dreaming you train yourself to look at that intangible one and focus until you can figure out what in you is needing attention.

However, the presence dream I have a different opinion about than the normal dream breakdown people will tell you. I believe our families are connected to us. Also important non-blood relations. Why this is doesn't really matter, some people believe it is because we are all one and others believe it is a vested interest in family. The point is this personality can and does I believe have the ability if necessary to break through if a message is needed. But communication is different obviously for departed or far away ones. (meaning still alive but maybe reaching out-like in an astral way-however maybe not intentionally) It could be that you had a very real visitor but it would be up to you to decide if it was a real thing or one of those very real in-between state dreams.

[karlsie]

Grainne, I think I've had intangible others for as long as I can remember; sometimes in my waking state. When I was young and hitch-hiked cross-country, I would listen to this voice that would tell me where to go, where not to go and who to trust. The only times I ran into problems was when I decided not to listen. I felt this intangible voice was my deceased grandfather, who chose a vagabond life during the Great Depression, so understood my wanderlust.

I've also felt the presence of others before they've appeared, sometimes dreaming them vividly. However, this particular presence doesn't seem to be a family member or even a part of me. I know we have both a male and female side, but I felt I was pretty well acquainted with my male side. This presence seems to be apart from myself, not quite a guide; more like a companion; but not the father of my children, either.

I had another dream last night, and though it was odd, it was also comforting. I dreamed there was a hollow tree, leaning a bit to one side. At the top of the tree there was an owl's nest. Some teenaged kids kept climbing it, trying to reach the nest, until the tree fell over.

The fallen tree frightened the kids and they ran off. The mature owls abandoned their nest, so I went over to collect the eggs out of curiosity. However, as soon as I picked up the eggs, they cracked open. I now had four baby owls. I didn't know how to feed them and my intangible companion suggested giving them milk, so I did. I cradled the baby owls in my arms and fed them from the kind of milk bottle you use for orphaned puppies and kittens. The baby owls grew at an astonishing rate and soon they were about two feet tall.

Instead of flying, they walked with me everywhere I went. Touching or holding them would quickly fill me with a sense of happiness; actually complete euphoria. There was a carnival in town and my unseen companion and I decided to take them to the carnival. One of the carnies saw them and offered me a great deal of money for them. This frightened the baby owls and they clung to my legs, whimpering. My companion stood in front of me and told the carny man he couldn't have them. He gathered up two of the baby owls and I gathered the other two and walked away. Because I was holding them, I again felt the euphoric state. I woke up then, and the first thought I had was, "this is a good dream because owls represent wisdom". It put me in an enormously good mood, and tonight the northern lights were dancing. All in all, a bit odd.

[asiaticdarkperson]

The Jungians would probably come up with some rational/symbolic interpretation of the items of your dream strung together like a story, each object holding specific meaning...whatever.

But I wonder, let's say I go to a carnival with my pet owls, in meatspace (you know, "real life") ...would this also require a symbolic interpretation? If so, then why do we search for hidden meaning in our dreams but not in our waking lives? I just don't see the difference between going to a carnival in a dream, and going to one in "real" life.

I think we are somehow averse to the idea that what _happens_ in our dreams, might really be happening...How is this 'happening' any different from things that happen while we're awake? It's all perception...albeit from two vastly different states/forms of awareness.

IMO, dreams are no more and no less "meaningful" than whatever we perceive while we're awake. I believe the point isn't to derive meaning from dreams, but to act in them, consciously and volitionally, as we act while we're awake. And you have a knack for dreaming karlsie, you should definitely look into lucid dreaming IMO. Read whatever there is on the web, that would be a good start.

[grainnerhuad]

And sometimes a cigar is just a cigar...

Sometimes our mind gifts us with stories when we are asleep. As ADP pointed out we can and should lucidly act on them. It is to our benefit and enjoyment.

[karlsie]

I'm going to continue to post my dreams here because recording your dreams helps save them to memory and remembering your dreams is supposed to help in creating a stronger bridge between your sub-conscious and conscious mind.

For the first time in years, I dreamed of my long-departed companion. I had found a very large apartment in Los Angeles, which I liked. In fact, I was enchanted with it. It was filled with large, old fashioned, hard wood furniture; walnut, mahogany and cherry. The living room had a thick Oriental carpet. The land-lord opened the shutters of two large bay windows, revealing an intricate, ever changing aurora in the sky.

Enthusiastically, I returned to Alaska to get my belongings. In the dream, Alaska was just a short drive from LA. While I was packing, Hector appeared and asked where I was going. I explained to him about the wonderful apartment and he agreed to join me. We packed up and returned. Exploring the apartment, we discovered it was filled with cubbyholes and secret entrances into other rooms. Some of the rooms were filled with laughing people, who turned their heads and looked at us with surprise when we entered, but then continued on with their party.

Hector climbed into one of the cubbyholes and informed me he liked this spot. He encouraged me to arrange the apartment any way he pleased, but to leave the area around the cubbyhole alone so he could come and go without any obstacles in his way. I did as he asked, then opened the bay windows once more to gaze out at the remarkable aurora. It was far more colorful and changing than any I had ever seen and was engrossed for a long time. Hector finally came out of his cubbyhole, stood beside me then kissed me on the shoulder. "I understand everything about you now," he said. The dream faded into those nonsensical image flashes so commonly associated with dreaming, and I eventually woke up with a feeling he was still near.

[karlsie]

It's said the more you record your dreams, the more you'll remember them. I think it's true. I had another very vivid dream last night, although this one seemed to start from the end and work forward.

I dreamed there was a cosmic event that would cause the water to back up in Eagle River. Eagle River is a fairly deep, fast flowing river with cliffs cut out on both sides. In the dream, everyone hiked to the river, instead of driving, to see the event. They spent the night on the bridge. When the water began flowing again, the police tried to get the people to move on, but they wouldn't go.

Flash to the next scene. I am preparing to hike to the river and am packing my bags carefully. My sister wants to use suit cases as the clothing will pack in neatly. At first I agree, placing carefully folded items into the case, then I begin thinking about what a pain in the neck it will be to lug a suitcase while I'm hiking. I begin taking my things out of the suitcase and stuffing them into a backpack. My sister argues with me but I insist it's the most practical thing we can do.

Flash to the next scene. There is a water shortage. Everyone is putting out buckets, pails and baskets to catch all the water they can. More than this, water has become a symbol of bonding. Plastic sheets with the ends hooked up are spread out to catch water. When there is enough to roll in, all those who swear an oath of bondage take a turn rolling in the sheet. It's actually more delicious after several people have rolled in it because you can feel their essence and the spirit of bonding.

Flash to the next scene. Grainne is looking at a script that was my dream and its sequences. She criticizes it, saying the script was based on Rotten Tomatoes reviews and my own experiences. Actually, Grainne appears between each dream sequence, evaluating each one individually. With each sequence, she tells me, "you do know you're dreaming, right?" I answer yes, although I don't wake up once during the entire dream.

[grainnerhuad]

As long as I can keep you on track Karlsie. I'll be your dream evaluator anytime.