Recurring Theme dream

[VintageBabe]

I keep having what I call recurring theme dreams.  I've had dreams of more than one theme, not on the same night tho, but several nights later I may sort of pick up where I left off in the previous dream.  My most recent was last night....

I often dream of my ex-husband and his family.  In real life, we were high school sweethearts that married at ago 20 (40 years ago now) and divorced 9 years later.  We even actually dated for a couple years after separating and before divorcing, but I haven't seen him in about 30 years now.  I spoke to him once on the phone about 12 years ago, but other than that, have had absolutely no contact, direct or indirect, with him since 1981, nor any of his family or friends.  When I spoke with him back then, he told me his mother had passed away about 10 years earlier, and that his father wasn't in good health now either.  I believe his father has now passed away too, as there is no longer any phone listing for him or even my ex, anymore and I have no idea where he would be or even if he's alive now either. So why I would have any kind of dreams about him now (as in last 2-3 years) is beyond me!

Last night's dream was that I was in "our" house (didnt recognize it at all tho), and his parents were apparently living with us.  I had been standing in the dining room when hubby left for work, and was now heading down the hall towards the bedrooms when his sister and her hubby and kids came in the side door.  She smiled at me as she stood at the beginning of the hallway and the kids ran up to me with big hugs as I walked back down the hall towards them.  Her hubby, smiled at me and held out his hand as if to shake mine, and said how nice it was to see me again after all these years.  His sister said the same kind of thing and started to make herself at home, taking off her coat, and the children's coats (in real life the children would now be middle aged), while her hubby went into the kitchen and took something to drink out of the fridge then leaned against the counter asking me where everyone was and when was dinner going to be.  Told them my hubby had just left for work, and that my in-laws would be home in awhile.  We basically did the chit chat thing, and that was really all there was to the dream.

A couple nights ago, I dreamed that my mother-in-law and I were preparing some kind of special dinner for my hubby and my father-in-law.  I didn't actually see any food being prepared or anything like that, but the inference was that a big meal was being made.  My hubby apparently worked with his father at some kind of lumber place or construction place that my father-in-law supposedly owned and my hubby was learning in order to take over the business one day.  They both came home wearing those "handyman" type of tool belts or aprons, not sure what they're called, but they hang down the front and have loops and buckles etc around the belt part to hang hammers, other tools, etc.  They took them off and laid them on the dining room table. His Dad and I sat down to have a drink together and chat about the day's activities while my hubby showered and changed his clothes.  As my hubby was changing clothes in his old bedroom, I went in and sat on the bed talking with him about how great it was to be back here, and how I was looking forward to the dinner for him and his Dad.  We laughed and joked around a little, and that was about all there was to that dream.

There are other dreams that I can recall at least some of the details, and can post them another time, but for now, that will at least give you the idea of what I mean about recurring theme dreams.

Anyone else have similar dreams??

[spiritalk]

Dreams are about our unresolved emotions from the conscious state.  It would appear there are some unresolved emotional issues around the separation and divorce from your ex.  

Recurring dreams are meant to tell us we haven't resolved the issues yet.  Is there some left over emotional residue with this relationship and the people involved?

[VintageBabe]

No there's no unresolved issues that I know of at all.  None.  It was a mutually agreed on divorce back in 1981...that's what's so weird about that particular recurring theme.  Can't think of a single reason at all I'd be dreaming about him and his family as if we were still together, or as if we'd gone back together.  

Also this is just one of the "themes" I have with my dreams.  Others include visiting a place I lived about 10 years ago, but each time I visit, some one else is with me and sometimes they drive, but usually I'm driving.  We stop and visit various friends I had in real life there.  

Another is I keep dreaming of a place that I dont think I've ever been in real life or even if it really exists, but I apparently live in an apartment (or one floor of a house) that is across from a park which borders on a lake/river.  The surrounding buildings are always the same, as is the apartment layout itself.  I'm there with various people, friends, family, co-workers etc. and involved in various events i.e. one time just standing in the park looking out at the water with someone who is obviously my lover/partner/spouse (I'm actually single in real life), or I'm "supervising" another house being renovated across the park from my apartment, and the inference is that it will be my place when it's finished. Or I'm shopping in a couple of the shops that are on one side of the park and then I take my shopping back home to the apartment and put it all away.  And I always find the dream causes me to feel "peaceful" when I wake up, as if that's where I'm meant to be.

Another is dreaming of various neighbourhoods, (and not ones we really did live in) and my parents (deceased now) are always in it, sometimes also real life deceased family members and friends are also in them.  My Dad always seems to be angry with me for one reason or another (in real life people always thought he was angry because he seemed to always be scowling even when he wasn't) and I'm a mixture of ages from young girl to grown adult, depending on what's happening in the dreams.  These ones, when my Dad is angry with me, the majority of the dream seems to relate to me trying to figure out why he is mad at me and rectifying it, yet arguing with him when I can't get answers from him as to why he's upset.  Generally life goes on as normal in my dreams and they seem eerily "real" to me upon waking.

Another when I was a little girl (in real life), used to be I was walking home my usual route from public school and there would be this huge dump truck ahead of me.  It would knock me down on the roadway and drive over me, but I was never hurt, just very scared.  As soon as it would drive over me, I'd get back up and continue on home.  Sometimes there were school mates in the dream, other times just me, or maybe me and my younger brother.

There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to these dreams, no pattern of when they will/wont occur, and little to nothing that I can recall from within previous day or two that would account for me even thinking of dreaming about these particular dreams.  Also, I'm often able to wake up even briefly from these dreams and then go back to sleep and sort of pick up where I left off.  I don't have a mixture of these theme dreams on the same nights, they are always on their own separate nights.  Sometimes, they give me the nervous impression that I don't want to wake up from them, but keep on dreaming to see what's going to happen.  

I also do have "regular" dreams which usually I can reason out depending on what's happened lately in my real life, but these recurring theme things, got me stumped!!  These recurring theme dreams have been happening, off and on, for about 50 years now.

[spiritalk]

The theme involves home and travelling to it, or building it.  It would appear that although you are alone, perhaps you have issues that would like to have a partner or companion.  But as the dreams are themes from childhood perhaps you just need to come to terms with home.  Home is meant to be a place of refuge and that may not be what you are facing or encountering in the dream themes.

[Rook]

VintageBabe

Out of interest do you have some form of creative hobby that you find gives you a sense of peace similar to the dream?  Or alternatively is there anything you do that gives you that sense of peace?