Recurring dreams Dream Meanings

Recurring Dreams Dream Meaning: From 6 Different Sources


Recurring dreams

If we keep a record of our dreams it will soon become obvious that some of our dream themes, charac­ters or places recur again and again. These recurrences are of various types.

A cenain theme may have begun in childhood and continued throughout our life—either without change, or as a gradually changing series of dreams. It might be that the feature which recurs is a setting, perhaps a house we visit again and again, but the details differ. Sometimes a senes of such dreams begin after or dunng a particular event or phase of our life, such as puberty or marriage.

Example: ‘This dream has recurred over 30 years. There is a railway station, remote in a rural area, a central waiting room with platform going round all sides. On the platform mill hundreds of people, all men I think. They are all ragged, thin, dirty and unshaven. I know I am among them. I looked up at the mountainside and there is a guard watching us. He is cruel looking, oriental, in green fatigues. On his peaked cap is a red star. He carries a machine gun. Then I looked at the men around me and I realise they are all me. Each one has my face. I am looking at myself. Then I feel fear and terror (Anon.).

The theme of the dream can incorporate anxious emotions, such as the above example, or any aspect of experi­ence. One woman, an epileptic, reports a dream which is the same in every detail and occurs every night. In general such dreams recur because there are ways the dreamer habitually responds to their internal or external world. Because their attitude or response is unchanging, the dream which reflects it remains the same.

It is noticeable in those who explore their dreams using such techniques as described under dream pro­cessing that recurring themes disappear or change because the attitudes or habitual anxieties which gave rise to them have been met or transformed.

A recurring environment in a dream where the other fac­tors change is not the same. We use the same words over and over in speech, yet each sentence may be different.

The envi­ronment or character represents a particular aspect of oneself, but the different events which surround it show it in the changing process of our psychological growth. Where there is no such change, as in the examples above, it suggests an area of our mental emotional self is stuck in a habitual feeling state or response.

Some recurring dreams can be ‘stopped’ by simply receiv­ing information about them. One woman dreamt the same dream from childhood. She was walking past railings in the town she lived in as a child. She always woke in dread and perspiration from this dream. At 40 she told her sister about it.

The response was ‘Oh, that’s simple. Don’t you remember that when you were about four we were walking past those railings and we were set on by a bunch of boys. Then I said to them, ‘Don’t hurt us, our mother’s dead!” They left us alone, but you should have seen the look on your face.’ After realis­ing the dread was connected with the loss of her mother, the dream never recurred. Another woman who repeatedly dreamt of being in a tight and frightening place, found the dream never returned after she had connected it to being in the womb.

Recurring dreams, such as that of the railings, suggest that pan of the process underlying dreams is a self regulatory (homocostatic) one.

The dream process tries to present trou­blesome emotions or situations to the conscious mind of the dreamer to resolve the trauma or difficulty underlying the dream.

An obvious example of this is seen in the recurring nightmare of a young woman who felt a piece of cloth touch her face, and repeatedly woke her family with her screams. Her brother, tiring of this, one night woke her from her screams and made her talk about her feelings. His persistence gradually revealed that she associated the cloth with the burial shroud of her grandmother. This brought to the surface grief and feelings about death she had never allowed herself to feel before.

The nightmare never returned.

See nightmares; dream processing.

Dream Source: A Guide to Dreams and Sleep Experiences
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Recurring dreams

At certain periods in life, we might experience the same dream several times over. Otherwise known as a recurring dream, it can be as regular as every night, or three or four times a month. Usually when this happens we’re going through a transitional phase. Something has upset the status quo, leaving us feeling unsettled and the recurring dream is our way of dealing with the changes. The dream itself may be pleasant or disturbing and it’s a good idea to look at the actual symbols involved as well as the emotions to find a clue to the deeper meaning.

Some people experience an entire series of dreams in sequence. Again, it’s a good idea to identify the underlying narrative and what it might reveal about your life. For example, a story that outlines two people, falling in love and eventually getting married, might suggest the dreamer is looking for a of ‘happy ever after’ ending in real life.

Dream Source: Dreams Interpretations Hidden Meanings Symbols
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Recurring dreams

Recurring dreams can be highly useful and important to analyze. They happen for one of two reasons: (1) they reflect an unhealthy pattern that you have fallen into in real life, and they are trying to show you that your behaviour is not helping you be happy. Or, (2) they represent unresolved feelings, such as anger or sadness over a past situation that you have not healed from. In many recurring dreams, your sleeping self is trying to solve a problem - or confront an emotion - that you are unable to face in real life. Whatever the subject of your recurring dream is, you can be sure it is reflecting something in your current life situation, even if the dream takes you back in time. Use the Dream Dictionary to analyze the major symbols and events in your dream, to piece together its message. Think carefully about what in your life might be causing you continual stress or worry.
Dream Source: My Dream Interpretation
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Recurring dreams

Recurring dreams often coincide with phases in your life and are particularly common when in transition from one life stage to another, or when you are forced to deal with a new and unknown situation. As such, they can be seen as signposts on your journey through life, providing signals about where you are heading and how you are feeling. By looking at the themes that feature in recurring dreams, you can then identify which part of your life is being indicated. Although some recurring dreams are associated with stress and trauma, when these dreams occur they offer a unique opportunity to understand what motivates you from the very deepest level. Some of the most common recurring dream themes that can occur at any life stage are as follows:
Dream Source: The Element Encyclopedia
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Recurring dreams

Repetitive dreams are a clear message from our dreaming mind that we are stuck in a particular mind set or behavioural cycle.

• If a dream continues to repeat itself, it is worth exploring it’s meaning as it needs your conscious understanding and action in order to resolve something in your emotional make-up.

• Recurring dreams can be a trauma relieving response to the original event that triggered them.

Dream Source: The Premier in Dream Dictionary
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