Does anyone else have certain themes and motives that keep appearing in your dreams? Almost every one of my significant dreams centers around a building or tower. This has been the case for as long as I can remember. I can remeber in vivid detail every single building I have drempt about, and there are hundreds of them. I often sit during the day recalling all of these images. The buildings are always very large/tall and complex, and they are always very unique. However thinking of them always conjures up mixed emotions because in spite of the intrigue and beauty of these buildings there is always something ominous about them. The action, or story, that takes place in these buildings in my dreams is usually either confusing, frightening, or depressing. Any ideas? What pops up in your dreams again and again?
Hmmm… Just off the top of my head, here are some recurring themes:
– Flight: Superman-style or flapping arms.
– Losing my teeth: Sometimes I dream that I wake up to find my teeth completely gone. Other times, my teeth rot out or become so loose that they fall out one by one. Not at all pleasant.
– Tornados: I had tornado dreams frequently when I was a child. They usually took place in my grandmother’s back yard… We were running like mad, but everything we did to get away from the tornado seemed to be in slow motion.
Here lately, my recurring theme has been “frustration.” Not any one scenario comes back, but it’s all about how I don’t have enough time, or people are stopping me from doing what I want/ need to do. I occasionally dream about my dad, who passed away about a year and a half ago. Still wake up crying.
I wish I could say I have more “happy” dreams… Well, actually, I wish I could say I dream about sex more often than I do. I’d like to be able to program my brain to have erotic dreams. <girlish giggle>
Ever since I was a kid there are two things that happen all the time in my dreams
One is floating. I’m walking and I can make a step last as long as I want. So I can rest during each step if I want. I always walk that way in dreams. Sometimes if I get some momentum going I can float up to the tops of the trees but I am always on the verge of panic the whole time so it’s not any fun. I always go through a lot of crap about whether I’m too high or too far away from the trees.
My teeth fall out too! All the time! It’s always really upsetting because I know I can’t get them back. I always wake up grinding my teeth when I have that dream.
I don’t know if I ever dream about the same places, but sometimes I do dream that I dreamt the same place before. Like, I will dream that I can remember other dreams. I always think “Hey maybe this dream world is real because this place hasn’t changed since the last time I was here.” But then when I wake up I think… no I never dreamed that place before, I just thought I did because I was asleep.
Oh and my frustration dreams always take the form of not being able to dial a phone. I will just try to dial it and have to hang up halfway through about 500 times until I’m screaming. I always get upset when I misdial a phone in waking life because of those dreams. I’m irrationally upset even if I only misdial one time.
Water. It’s always the coast or a river, never a puddle or open sea.
[digression] I’ve found that I have 4 points of view in dreams.
I am me, in my own body, in the dream, and I am aware of this body. Sometimes it’s as though I’m watching a film about myself and I’m the camera as well. I know what expression’s on my face, what I’m wearing, how I’m sitting/standing… It makes as much sense as any other point of view at the time, but when it comes to explaining it, there are simply no words for it.
Same as above, but I’m firmly inside my own head.
I see the dream as though I was a camera.
Nothing to do with me. It’s just happening and I’m not there to see it (…don’t think about it).
Incidentally, I always dream in colour, and I’ve dreamed in touch and taste (which is rare).
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When I appear in my own dreams, there’s almost always that horrible gut-bending feeling of uncertainty which you get when you know there’s something you have to do, or you know you’ve done something wrong… I guess it’s that feeling which comes from being completely out of control while waiting for the other shoe to drop and the faeces to hit the fan.
It’s dreams like that which make me glad I usually dream about fictional people. My last memorable dream centred around Steerpike’s efforts to kill Sam Gamgee, and it also had Boohbahs in it.
My history teacher from school shows up to offer some sort of cryptic advice. Last time, some two years ago, he rescued me at sea with a submarine and told me not to fail the upcoming electrodynamics exam.
Guns. I blame playing too many first person shooters on that, but weird firefights seem to dominate my dreams. Ever since seeing Dirty Harry revolvers have to be reloaded after 6 shots in the dreams…
When I was younger I dreamt of tripping in a hole in the ground and would wake up, because my leg would twitch when stepping into said hole.
Also when I was a kid, I had a recurring dream of vampires hunting me down in a “Kaufhaus” (think shopping mall). They finally caught me in the elevator and I woke up when I died in the dreamworld.
I’ve had the teeth dreams, too. Since I got my dental problems under control, however, they have gone away.
Other themes:
School - though not in a while
Living in crappy apartments that usually have water leaks on a large scale.
Walking through downtown Savannah
The Elevator Dream: I get into an elevator, push the Up button, and within a few floors, the car begains to tilt backward as it goes up. I usually bolt upright at this moment, but I did manage to make it all the way through and the elevator car ends up upright again. (note: I have never had a negative incident in an elevator)
The huge building dream: I am in some monstrously huge building, usually it’s hotel-like, but sometimes it will include stores.
Last night I had a dream inspired by When Worlds Collide.
My dreams are usually all over the damn place, but when it’s a nightmare, I’m usually being chased by something. I wake up gasping for air when that happens. I’ve also woken up screaming, but with no sound coming out. That is absolutely freaky, let me tell you.
I often find myself searching for things in dreams. Opening drawers, going through boxes, turning pages… I’m very disorganized, so it’s probably just a reflection of my usual reality sneaking into my dreams.
Oddly enough, I’ve never ever had a tooth dream. Or a flying dream. Or a “showing up late and naked for an exam” dream. Those are supposed to be very common, though.
I’ve had the toothless dream off and on throughout my life. Supposedly it’s to do with losing control and/or power.
I’ve also had childhood dreams involve fire and the ground opening up. I swear I’m not making this up. If it helps, I’m not Catholic either.
Recent dreams I’ve had was standing around talking to people from my past. Nothing particularly interesting, just talking. Come to think of it, it’s pretty similar to those ‘people representing aspects of your life when you’re unconscious’ episodes they have in scifi shows.
Last week I had a dream where I was Thor fighting off a biplane, 3 spitfires and a F-18 with a magical returning spear. I woke up shortly after I nailed Loki using a boomarang trickshot with my throwing axe. I’d don’t think it’s a recurring theme, but I’ll keep you guys posted. Most fucked up dream I’ve had in a long, long time.
Oh God, YES! At least 5-6 times a month I dream that someone is trying to steal my purse, has stolen my purse or is “thinking” about stealing my purse.
It is very stressful…and it is always an expensive purse that I have to keep replacing and replacing and replacing…
Sometimes I get the purse back, but most times not.
Wow! Other people have the teeth dreams, too! That’s probably my most common theme. I can feel them all loose and wiggling in my mouth, then they start crumbling and I can taste blood. Ugh. Gives me the heebie-jeebies just thinking about it.
Another common stress-related dream for me is that I realize it’s the end of the semester, and that I’m in a math or science class I’ve completely forgotten to attend, and that the exam is the next day. It’s never something like literature or history that I could fake my way through.
I’ve never had a flying dream. I wish I could, though.
For a couple years now, I’ve had these dreams about walking several times a month. My legs are always just KILLING me, but I have to walk a great distance. There’s usually alot of people standing around watching me, and I pretend like there’s nothing wrong. In fact, I am almost having to pick up each leg and move it with my hands with every step. I’m sure this has something to do with fears of inadequacy or self-sufficiency or something like that.
I used to have this dream that when I went to put my contacts in, they were huge. Like, the size of both my hands put together. After a few months of having this dream, I called a morning radio show when they had a dream interpreter on. She said that the contacts represent my looking at something very carefully, as what’s really going on in some situation may not be what it appeared. I’m not sure what the situation was, it could have been a few different things, but the dreams went away.
I have heard that the way to interpret dreams is to take every element of the dream, and determine what that particular thing means to you, specifically. When I do try to intepret my dreams, this approach seems to make sense.
I’ve never had a teeth falling out dream, but Disney seems to be a pretty consistent theme through my life.
That’s right. Disney.
I often dream that I’m one of the Disney princesses and that I’m trapped in some situation and I can’t get out because I’m a fricking Disney princess. Totally helpless and unable to help myself.
A peculiarity of my sex dreams is that the guys are guys that I know in real life, but they look and sound nothing like they actually do. They’re always waaaay more attractive and dark-haired. Like Alec Baldwin, really, now that I try to nail down a look.
To sum up, Alec Baldwin and Disney princesses, but never at the same time.
I have the tooth falling out dream too, and I also have the hair falling out dream, which is just as bad (female, long red hair - I had the hair dream the other night and cried hysterically all through it, woke up exhausted.)
I have many dreams set in school buildings, where I am walking purposefully through the halls.
Lately, I keep dreaming that I’m about to get married, but there’s a major problem, usually revolving around the dress. My SO thinks it’s highly amusing my nightmares are about a shopping crisis.
I have the teeth dream often - probably about twice a month, at the least.
Forgotten rooms is a strongly prevalent theme in my dreams - walking through a house and finding a suite of rooms I had completely forgotten existed - I would say I have this dream-theme once a week.
Unlike pokey, I can dial a phone, however, I can’t actually have a conversation over it, and the feeling of frustration is overwhelming.
Many, many wonderful dreams of flying effortlessly around.
I have recurring locations that to my knowledge don’t exist outside of my dreaming mind, but they show up over and over again in my dreams - and I invariably wake up and know that I’ve “been” there before.
Is it just me, or is anyone else capable of having many dreams in the space of a few minutes? I’ve taken 20 minute naps and had 10 dreams over the course of the nap. I can also take a 20 minute nap and have a dream that spans two weeks worth of time. Of course, I wake up feeling more tired than I did when I went to sleep. My most vivid, and most bizarre dreams usually take place when I sleep during the day - especially if it’s hot (I have no idea why that is). And if I want to guarantee myself a truly bizarre dream adventure, I need only take a nap in the summertime with Pink Floyd on the stereo and Monty Python on the TV. Who needs LSD??
One of my more disturbing recurring dream themes is the hide-the-corpse dream. In the dream, I have this corpse. I usually know the deceased; it is often a family member. I did not kill the person. As far as I know, there has been no foul play. However, I am quite certain that if I get caught with this corpse, I will be in Big Trouble, and I must find a way to hide it. Fear, revulsion, grief for a loved one . . . this dream has it all.
I also often have dreams where I drive my car off an uncompleted bridge or overpass. Usually I am having difficulty controlling the vehicle; the steering doesn’t respond as it should, and the brakes are spongy. Then I end up in a construction zone. Next thing I know, I am hurtling off the end of the pavement, and I wake up. This dream is so pervasive that every time I have the slightest trouble driving my car, I instantly think, “My god, is this a dream?” Also, the sight of bridge or overpass construction always gives me a case of the creeping meemies.
I often dream that I’m back in high school or even junior high, because there’s a math class I have to take or retake because of some stupid technicality. I usually get into a fight with the teacher over something, and I end up screaming, “For Pete’s sake, I’m an astronomer! I use [the quadratic equation, or the Law of Cosines, the conversion from cartesian to cylindrical coordinates, or whatever] every day of the week and twice on Sundays! You’re doing it wrong!”
I used to have the dream where you come to class and discover there is going to be a test you haven’t studied for. Well, now that I’m teaching, I often have dreams where I arrive in class completely unprepared for lecture, and I have to wing it. I am always awful.
My most vivid, and most bizarre dreams usually take place when I sleep during the day - especially if it’s hot (I have no idea why that is). And if I want to guarantee myself a truly bizarre dream adventure, I need only take a nap in the summertime with Pink Floyd on the stereo and Monty Python on the TV. Who needs LSD??
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I discovered long ago that when I get too hot while sleeping, I have nightmares. Hmmm… I wonder why that is, and do you think the government will give me a grant so that I may study this phenomenon more closely?? Using myself as the subject, of course!
I have a lot of those frustration dreams. I’m supposed to be somewhere, or do something, and I just can’t. It probably says something deep and meaningful about my life, but I’m going to gloss over that.
I also have a lot of pregnancy dreams. Very often combined with the frustration–either nobody believes I’m pregnant, despite the labor, or I’m in labor, and nothing further is happening. Once again, we’re going to gloss over the possible ramifications.
I don’t have sex dreams nearly often enough. And there’s usually even more frustration in those (story of my life). I want to have sex, I can’t find a convenient place, aliens invade so we don’t have time, whatever.
One thing I’ve noticed is that if I have a random Dream Extra person who shows up more than once or twice, I should keep a lookout for that person in my every day life. In junior high, I had a lot of dreams that contained one specific girl who was usually portraying one of my other friends. That girl turned out to be my college roommate. The guy who played a waiter in every dream containing a restaurant all through high school ended up being my first real love (as far as I know, he’s never actually been a waiter, however). I’ve learned to pay attention.
When I dream I’m at home, it’s always the house I lived in, ages 2-12. Sometimes there is a hidden doorway that leads to rooms and big, huge bathrooms. Or my office has moved and I’m crawling through cubicle after cubicle looking for my stuff.
I also dream of bathrooms with many stalls, row upon row, and they’re all horribly nasty except the ones without doors. And I work up my nerve and try to pee and it never relieves the pressure, so I look for another stall over and over again. Until I wake up discovering I have to pee so badly I can barely walk. I’m telling you, it’s only a matter of time before I need plastic sheets.
I also have the most annoying habit of being “visited” by several of my dead aunts. Damn busybodies; always full of advice. This is usually when I have a big decision coming up and need to talk it out. I love how your brain gives you what you need, even when you don’t know it.
Never dreamed about teeth. My anxiety dreams I’m naked and no one notices. Or it’s final exams, and I’ve forgotten to go to Lab the entire semester, and have to make up the science lab book in an hour.
Finding rooms/spaces in my house that I forgot about or that are hidden
Weird pregnancy dreams (I have never had children before in real life)
One that I have all the time is especially interesting. I dream I am in high school or middle school and I have forgotten the combination to my locker, or I forgot which locker was mine, and I have to go to the office to get the number and combination, and I am late for class, etc.
I also dream that I am in college, and there is a class I signed up for that I forgot about, and never attended any of the classes, then I remember it at the end of the sememster so I have to prepare for the exam without having been to any of the classes!
