Themes in Dreaming

[kreeden]

When I was a child , can't recall how young but young , I use to have that dream of being chased by a witch . The last time I had it , I recall thinking how silly it was . No matter how hard I ran , I never got any farther away , but she never got any closer . So I stopped running . I turned aroound , and there she was , sitting on her broom ... waiting . That was when I realized that I did have control over my dreams . Since then , if I don't like a dream , I change it . So I no longer have recurring dreams .

Some dreams I can't change . But they are never the same neither .

 

[No*s]

Heh . I think a lot of kids have dreamt about the evil witch coming after them

 

[Saw11_2000]

I used to have very violent dreams. But only one where I've killed someone. And I am quite ashamed of it, but I was always violent to women. I had alot of bad relationships as a teenager and I suppose that is how I took my anger out on them. But the one where I killed the girl, that really changed me as a person. Especially because my dreams are almost always lucid. Has anyone ever had a dream where they killed someone? Or any other dream that really changed your outlook on life?

I can't remember exactly, but I do think I have had a deram where I've killed someone. Even though you are a lucid dreamer, it is important not to blame yourself. Although after your dream starts you might be able to control it, but the actual beginning of your dream (the setting, characters, and start of the plot) is actually just a random thought assembled by your brain. Part of your brain sends up a totally random thought, and another part of your brain desperately tries to assemble this fragment, basically creating its own story. Most times this is uncontrollable.

 

[Master Vigil]

I didn't blame myself. It was just a feeling that overcame me afterwards, it made me view life differently. Thats all.

 

[Saw11_2000]

**Change blame to ashamed, sorry I thought you said blamed. I didn't get much sleep last night.

 

[Druidus]

I had a dream that my sister was an evil witch, and that her and her witch friends were doing a ritual. I snuck up to their ritual area, and hid in a corner (though it was a circle). Surprisingly I stayed unseen by moving around, for some time. However, finally my sister saw me and killed me. I was very young, and so was she, but she was older in the dream, and I wasn't.

 

[Runt]

Heh . I think a lot of kids have dreamt about the evil witch coming after them

I haven't! I think that has something to do with growing up with the concept of the "good witch" (my mother and some of my close cousins were Wiccan, and I was as well for a while).

Anyway... themes in dreaming... I've had a few. One of the major themes is the knowledge that I'm dreaming and yet the inability to take full control over the dream (meaning I know I'm dreaming, but that doesn't mean the dream "reality" gets reconciled with true reality; for example, it may still seem that the reality of my life is that I'm living on a spaceship, even though I realize I'm dreaming.)

With the realization that I'm dreaming often comes the desire to try to look at myself in a mirror or raise my hands before my face. I'm not entirely positive why this occurs, but it happens. I've heard it suggested that my urge to do that (and indeed my actual attempt in the dream to do so) represents the attempt by my semi-conscious mind to reassure itself of my existence.

And another common theme associated with this ability to know I'm dreaming and the desire to assure myself of my existence is the inability to actually lift my hands before my face (they feel too heavy or simply won't obey me) or see the features of my face in the mirror (especially my eyes--as soon as I try, everything looks blurry); at that point, and both actions lead to a general inability to see anything in the dream, and my knowledge that I'm dreaming usually dissipates as I start to believe that I'm "losing my vision" and the dream usually proceeds from there without my knowledge that it is a dream.

Oh, and another really common theme in my dreams (completely unconnected with the previous themes) is the idea that the house I live in is far larger than it truly is, and that it possesses lots of hidden rooms and passage ways (which in the dreams I sometimes discover for the first time, and which at other times I already know are there but the rest of my family does not). That I should have dreams like this comes as no surprise to me; my house already has an odd array of strange passageways, and in my own apartment, a hidden door in the wall that leads to a long cabinet just big enough to crawl through and which spans the length of 2 rooms. There was once another opening into my room, but was nailed closed before we moved in.

Sometimes the passage ways in the dreams lead from one familiar room in my normal house to another, just as the real ones do (only on a grander scale). I can, for example, go down a sort of chute from my attic apartment to the laundryroom of the house.

However, sometimes these passages lead to an entirely different set of rooms--indeed, sometimes an entirely different, fully furnished but abandoned house--which in some cases are haunted. Sometimes, these other rooms have objects that I find that I believe (in the dream) to have belonged to a previous owner.

There are two rooms in this "dream house" that are often reoccurant. One is an attic room, filled with chests and other things, that is haunted (by what I don't know... it changes sometimes, and although it is "haunted", I'm never afraid of the ghost). This room can only be reached from a trapdoor in the ceiling that I have to jump up to and pull myself through.

The other room is in the basement of the house. Under the staircase there are some boards against the wall. These can be moved, revealing a narrow passage that I have to crawl through on my stomach, and they can be closed behind me to hide the hole completely. If I slide through the passage, I enter a large basement with white walls and no furniture. Sometimes in the dream I believe this was once a room where several children slept-- like a dormitory that has long sense been cleared out. In the corner of the room is a small door in the wall, that reveals another passage. This one is big enough to crawl through, unlike the one in the basement that had to be slid through, and it leads to a small white room with a little girl's toys: a baby cradle, dollhouse, etc. Strangely, I don't like this room, or rather, I dislike the things in it. All the toys are too... sentimental and girlish, and all are white. :areyoucra

 

[No*s]

Runt, whoa. You remember a lot of details. You seem to dream a lot about your house . Thanks for the stories, though

 

[Runt]

Heh, I kept a dream journal as a kid. When I was a young Wiccan I was taught to believe that dreams were VERY important and must be paid attention to, so I learned early to remember details. I used to be able to remember 3-4 dreams a night. Now, although I still think dreams are important (they can give valuable insights into your own life--how you feel about certain things, how to solve certain problems, etc), I don't think they have any... magickal significance, and I don't pay quite as much attention to them... but some habits die hard. :bonk:

 

[No*s]

I understand that Runt .

I pay attention to my dreams not because I expect something supernatural to be told to me (well, it could happen, but if it did, I would fear prelest more than anything, and thus return to square one ), but rather, because they represent what's going on in me under the surface. Of course, I can't remember anything but a vague feeling and concept 99.5% of the time, but when I can, it falls into clear patterns lol.

 

[michel]

[PART QUOTE=Runt]

I haven't! I think that has something to do with growing up with the concept of the "good witch" (my mother and some of my close cousins were Wiccan, and I was as well for a while).

Anyway... themes in dreaming... I've had a few. One of the major themes is the knowledge that I'm dreaming and yet the inability to take full control over the dream (meaning I know I'm dreaming, but that doesn't mean the dream "reality" gets reconciled with true reality; for example, it may still seem that the reality of my life is that I'm living on a spaceship, even though I realize I'm dreaming.)

With the realization that I'm dreaming often comes the desire to try to look at myself in a mirror or raise my hands before my face. I'm not entirely positive why this occurs, but it happens. I've heard it suggested that my urge to do that (and indeed my actual attempt in the dream to do so) represents the attempt by my semi-conscious mind to reassure itself of my existence.

And another common theme associated with this ability to know I'm dreaming and the desire to assure myself of my existence is the inability to actually lift my hands before my face (they feel too heavy or simply won't obey me) or see the features of my face in the mirror (especially my eyes--as soon as I try, everything looks blurry); at that point, and both actions lead to a general inability to see anything in the dream, and my knowledge that I'm dreaming usually dissipates as I start to believe that I'm "losing my vision" and the dream usually proceeds from there without my knowledge that it is a dream.

Oh, and another really common theme in my dreams (completely unconnected with the previous themes) is the idea that the house I live in is far larger than it truly is, and that it possesses lots of hidden rooms and passage ways (which in the dreams I sometimes discover for the first time, and which at other times I already know are there but the rest of my family does not). That I should have dreams like this comes as no surprise to me; my house already has an odd array of strange passageways, and in my own apartment, a hidden door in the wall that leads to a long cabinet just big enough to crawl through and which spans the length of 2 rooms. There was once another opening into my room, but was nailed closed before we moved in.

Sometimes the passage ways in the dreams lead from one familiar room in my normal house to another, just as the real ones do (only on a grander scale). I can, for example, go down a sort of chute from my attic apartment to the laundryroom of the house.

However, sometimes these passages lead to an entirely different set of rooms--indeed, sometimes an entirely different, fully furnished but abandoned house--which in some cases are haunted. Sometimes, these other rooms have objects that I find that I believe (in the dream) to have belonged to a previous owner.

There are two rooms in this "dream house" that are often reoccurant. One is an attic room, filled with chests and other things, that is haunted (by what I don't know... it changes sometimes, and although it is "haunted", I'm never afraid of the ghost). This room can only be reached from a trapdoor in the ceiling that I have to jump up to and pull myself through.

The other room is in the basement of the house. Under the staircase there are some boards against the wall. These can be moved, revealing a narrow passage that I have to crawl through on my stomach, and they can be closed behind me to hide the hole completely. If I slide through the passage, I enter a large basement with white walls and no furniture. Sometimes in the dream I believe this was once a room where several children slept-- like a dormitory that has long sense been cleared out. In the corner of the room is a small door in the wall, that reveals another passage. This one is big enough to crawl through, unlike the one in the basement that had to be slid through, and it leads to a small white room with a little girl's toys: a baby cradle, dollhouse, etc. Strangely, I don't like this room, or rather, I dislike the things in it. All the toys are too... sentimental and girlish, and all are white. :areyoucra [/QUOTE]

I've had a bit of a 'go' at interpreting dreams; I may be 'well off the mark', but I would see your dreams in this light

This paragraph seems to me to indicate that you are recognising the many facets of your higher self, some of which you think go unnoticed by the familly; there seems to be something in your past (a trend, a way of life) that you decided was not the way you wanted to be, and you made a deliberate effort to cut yourself off from that character trait.
I would interpret this as an 'exploration' of yourself; most likely half memories of previous lives, where you get a glimpse of yourself as you have been, in the past.

the next paragraph, I would hazzard a guess as it being a recognition that you have had to face similar 'trials' in previous incarnations, and that you are feeling frustrated at making the same mistakes. I would also guess that you are familiar with the excercise and know that you can always 'Have another go'.

I would imagine the 'blue' paragraph to be indicative of some form of regret of being seperated from others you have loved in the past and you are very determined to 'move on'; you feel as if you're still 'drawn' to habits, or to things that you would prefer to'shake off'.

The general tone of the dream in its enterity gives me the impression that although you want to 'move on' , you still find yourself 'attached' to old ways that you would rather shake off, and progress to 'new pastures'.

I feel a bit strange having done this, because, to be frank, I didn't intend to do so. I am aware though that when I feel a strong urge to 'focus' on something, there is a reason for it, and that, at the risk of making a fool of myself, I need to 'pass on the feelings that I have. I hope you don't mind!

 

[Runt]

I don't mind at all. That was a fascinating read, and your opinions seemed in many ways correct. I'll have to think about it a little bit more.

 

[Prima]

Well, dang, now I can't remember the dream I've had the past two nights. I'll tell you when it comes to me.

 

[Dinogrrl]

My dreams...cary a lot. Sometimes I am myself (in one of my various forms)...other times, I am one of my characters. Heck, I've been male a lot too.

But they usually have to do with flying, and/or trying to get someone, and/or trying to get away from or trying to defeat Evil. A lot of running.

The Evil usually manifesting itself in the form of one of my personal demons...meh...

um...yeah.

 

[No*s]

What are you running from?

 

[Dinogrrl]

Dunno. Usually bad things...but what those bad things are, I don't know. I just know that I need to run away from them.

Yeah. My dreams are wierd and cryptic and they suck muchlies. But I get to fly a lot, so that almost makes up for the suckiness. <333334

 

[No*s]

*nods*

I wouldn't say that they suck. Your dreams are part of you, and common themes say things about you . I can't guess why you'd be running, though.

 

[kreeden]

I haven't! I think that has something to do with growing up with the concept of the "good witch" (my mother and some of my close cousins were Wiccan, and I was as well for a while).

In this case Runt , the Witch is more the Halloween type . No offense meant to any Wiccan or other Witch .

 

[johnnys4life]

It is, it feels so real when it's happening, you think the human brain would be able to say, hey I'm dreaming don't be stupid now, but instead I was like...OH $#*(!

Saw, sometimes if you yell at yourself or pinch yourself in a dream you wake up, at least that works for me. One time I had a nightmare and I started saying, "Karen, wake up, you're having a nightmare, wake up!" and I did!!