2/19/07

Sleep To Dream

I had this dream the other night. And now that I've had this dream for the third time, in a relatively short period of time, I now feel comfortable enough to label it a recurring dream.
In the dream, I am on a bike trail riding my bike. And I'm riding through the woods. The landscape is very hilly. I am inclined to think that this is a dream version of a park I've ridden before or the Northern part of my state. Anyway.....I'm riding along (sometimes alone, sometimes accompanied by someone - not sure who) and the trail leads to what looks like part of a rather large Estate. I'm assuming this would be the DuPont's as I'm pretty sure I'm in Northern Delaware (in my dream). On the left are some average-sized homes. I'm assuming these are quarters for the "help". And straight ahead, in the middle of the trail, is this large, boxy, Georgian-style mansion. It's usually a slate-blue color with white shudders. It's quite clear that this home has historic significance. I dismount off of the bike and enter the house. Everything inside is perfectly preserved. And when I enter, there is a museum-like feel to the house. I walk around, looking at the artifacts, inspecting the furniture, the floors....everything. Sometimes I head up to the 2ND floor, sometimes I simply mill around the first floor. But after walking around for a few minutes, it becomes clear that I am not alone in this house. I hear banging and clanging, footsteps, creepy noises, moaning and any other number haunting noises that you can imagine. I end-up hauling ass out of there & shortly thereafter, waking up.

This past week, I've had that same dream. Only this time, inside was a "tour guide". She was an older lady, dressed in period clothing. She seemed very warm, welcoming, sweet and generally-speaking: grandmother-ish. In the middle of her spiel about the dining room artifacts, there it is. All of the footsteps, loud banging, moaning, wailing, and related haunting noise. As I begin to take notice of all of the noise, the old lady just smiles this apologetic, non-plussed smile, shrugs it off, explains this happens all day, everyday and continues on with her tour. I look at her with a blank stare and run as fast as my size 8's will carry me back outside. Where upon, I wake up.

This dream is freaking me out. I discussed it just the other day with Rav for the first time. And we began discussing recurring dreams - old and new. I decided as him & I were talking, that I'd have to google Recurring Dreams and see just what in the hell was going on.

I did just that the other day & the results were quite interesting regarding my particular dream. It seems that when you dream about a house - that represents yourself. If you dream of an attic - that is your mind, your intellect. Different rooms are different parts of your personality/life. If you dream of a haunted house, that usually means that you need to deal with an old issue or repressed whatever. Dreaming of a haunted house could also mean that you are shedding old ideals/adopting new ones, but that something has yet to be dealt with.

This whole explanation has got me thinking. I certainly, over the past year or so, have shed some old ideals and have been changing my way of thinking. I've been looking past myself & trying to take a different approach to the way I deal with things.

I don't really know what the unfinished business is. Considering that most of us tend to have a bit of it over the years. I know that I'm not excluded in that. I guess what it comes down to is quieting myself down enough to listen to what is really bothering me and having the courage to take it head on.

I'm ready to ride my bike in my dreams and find that the trail is not obstructed by this big, old, boxy house. I'm ready to find that the trail extends through the woods, over the hills, to a bright, sunny field.

4 ripples in the pond:

joker the lurcher said...

this is interesting! as a child i had a recurring dream of walking to a road near where we lived. it was dark and there was a huge truck parked with the back down. on the roof was an orange flashing light. i was compelled to walk into the truck by some sort of force and then the door shut. i had this dream over and over - i think in the period up to when i stopped living with my mum when i was 8. each time it left me terrified.

nowadays i often dream i am in large slightly run-down mansions. it is usually dark. in the distance, in another part of the house, i can hear a party. however much i search i can never get to the rooms where the people are. i knew the house was an architype for the mind but i hadn't realised the bit about the attic.

Jon said...

Hmm. Not to be a nay-sayer, but you know, sometimes a dream is just a dream? Or maybe it means you're scared of ghosts? Cause ghosts are scary.

Slackermommy said...

I was getting ready to get out my dream book but then I saw that you had already interpreted it. Dreams fascinate me and although some can be "just a dream" I think many of them are a figment our subconscious. I have a recurring dream about my parents. Probably because it's an unsettled issue with me that can get me pretty down so I tend to push those feelings deep inside but they always manage to resurface in my dreams.

Pippajo said...

I've heard before that a house in a recurring dream is a symbol of yourself, too. I frequently dream that I'm walking through my house as if I'm seeing it for the first time and I'm delighted with what I see. And I even say, "WHY haven't I ever appreciated this before?" And then, always in the same spot, at the top of the stairs, where our storage attic is IRL, I discover a large, very charming room I never knew was there before. It's always the same room, in the same place and I'm always shocked that I could have lived in the house that long without knowing it was there. Never made much sense to me.

Lately I've been dreaming of my grandmother who died three years ago. I have no idea why. I wasn't very close to her by the time she died and in the dream I keep saying to her, "What are you doing here? You DIED! Go back to where you BELONG! Gosh!"