Let's talk about that ONE dream...

[YadaYadaYada]

You know the one dream that was so significant that you never forgot about it even after time had passed. Maybe it was about a loved one (pet or person) on the other side or maybe it was the most terrifying chase of your life. Let's hear about the one dream that never left your mind.

 

[GCGDanielle]

Intriguing topic! I can't wait to read everyone's replies. I apologize in advance for my very long response!

My family and friends mostly call me by my nickname - "DQ." It's always fun to explain to newcomers that my nickname is short for "Dream Queen." I have been plagued/haunted/entertained by vivid dreams my entire life, ever since I can remember. I always remember at least 1 dream from the previous night's sleep, but typically, I can recall 2-3 separate dreams. Per night. Every night. I tend to feel like my sleep isn't very refreshing, as I am often very aware that I am dreaming and willing myself to wake up. My husband is exactly the opposite. He remembers maybe 1 dream per month, and it's always because it's sexual. We have young twin sons, and so far, it seems that 1 son is dreaming like his mom, and the other like his dad. Very strange!

My dreams tend to have a beginning, middle, and end; a cohesive story that I can follow, despite the fact that many elements don't always make sense. Sometimes I have boring dreams, like packing for a trip and going to the airport, or typing on a computer behind a desk all day. And I don't mean in the general sense, I literally mean that I will be doing actual work or sitting in traffic in my dream. Tick tock. I also have nightmares from time to time, but thankfully those occur less often than any other kind of dream I have. I have a lot of "people interaction" dreams, sometimes with people I know, sometimes with figments of my imagination, and I'm usually trying to solve a huge problem or change the world.

2 atypical dreams immediately came to my mind when I opened this thread.

First:
My "continuation" dream that I've been having ever since I was about 15 years old. I have had this dream about 2 dozen times, and it always picks up where it left off. The first time I ever had it, I was in the middle of the desert in Egypt, walking towards a large pyramid. I was following a very elderly, short, stooped man. He is very tan and wrinkled, and wears a white, toga-like "dress", with only one shoulder strap. He is barefoot, with a long white beard and a bald head. He uses a walking stick. He leads me into the pyramid. I follow closely behind him. I was scared at first, entering the dimly lit passage of the pyramid, but something about the man is comforting and makes me feel safe. I know he wants me to follow, though he never speaks a word. A couple years later, I had the "same" dream, although the next one picked up where the first left off. I am following him through a maze of passages, for reasons I don't know. He has never spoken to me, and I have never seen or found anything of note in the dream. Each time since then, it was just been a continuation of the same dream. I feel like I am going somewhere, but I haven't yet arrived. The last time I had this dream was about 2 years ago. I think about my little leader often, and I hope to find out someday where we've been going all these years.

Second:
This dream makes me feel very unsettled, and I don't quite know why. I was very shaken after the dream, and I think about it probably 3-4 times per week. I had this dream once, about 1 year ago. I was alone inside a small SUV, in the passenger seat, parked behind a big, white warehouse building. The SUV was parked on a concrete pad, and it faced the back "yard." The yard was made of just grayish gravel, and it was surrounded by a chain link fence. I could see beyond the fence into beautiful pastures and mature trees. It was sunset and beautiful. Suddenly, the entire SUV started to violently shake back and forth. It terrified me because I couldn't see anything causing the shaking, and I knew it wasn't an earthquake. I jumped into the back seat area and curled into a ball on the floor, absolutely terror-stricken. After a few moments, the shaking stopped. As I peeked my head up, all of the electronics in the car suddenly turned on. Radio at maximum volume, wiper blades swishing at full speed, inside and outside lights turning on and off. It scared me so badly, that I jumped out of the car. I looked under the car and around it, but there was nothing. Then, suddenly, I noticed an amazingly vibrant and breathtaking flower. It was hot pink, large, and just sprung up right out of the gray gravel near the concrete pad on which the SUV was parked. As I approached the flower to get a better view, it suddenly started to shrivel and die right in my presence. Then, a booming laughter rang in my ears and vibrated in my teeth. And then, as it usually goes with dreams, I woke up. I don't think I moved for about 10 minutes while I tried to process what happened and why it made me feel so terrified. I still can't explain why!

 

[momhappy]

I don't really have one dream that haunts me, but I have reoccurring themes that do. The first theme is being caught in a tornado. The second has something to do with my mouth - either my teeth are falling out or I have something stuck in my mouth/teeth that won't come out. The other theme is an old high school crush that I never actually got to date because we were just friends.

 

[telephone89]

I remember one from my childhood. One of my cats bit off my fingers, and then I drove off a cliff in a punch buggy.

So bizarre and I remember it so well haha. Luckily not recurring!

 

[Amber St. Clare]

I dreamed someone cut my head off. I actually saw it and watched the blood gush from my neck/throat.

 

[YadaYadaYada]

I remember one from my childhood. One of my cats bit off my fingers, and then I drove off a cliff in a punch buggy.

So bizarre and I remember it so well haha. Luckily not recurring!

Maybe I'm a sicko but I found this so funny I literally laughed out loud.

 

[telephone89]

I remember one from my childhood. One of my cats bit off my fingers, and then I drove off a cliff in a punch buggy.

So bizarre and I remember it so well haha. Luckily not recurring!

Maybe I'm a sicko but I found this so funny I literally laughed out loud.

Shame on you! I was terrified of that cat for like a month haha.

 

[kenny]

I had this dream years ago when I was well into my psychoanalysis.

I was running for my life; a bull was chasing me.
Exhausted from running I just stopped and turn around to face the bull, and my fate.

As I turned around the bull vanished.

 

[YadaYadaYada]

GCGDanielle- I find your continuation dream fascinating because I've never heard of someone having a continuous dream over that long of a period. Pretty cool.

 

[ame]

I had a very vivid dream someone brutally murdered our dog in our backyard while we watched. I still see every detail to this day.

More recently I have had dreams of my sister having a car accident being hit by some idiot who is texting and runs a light while she's driving with my littles in the car with me being in the car behind them after we leave a lunch together and having to call 911 and report it and try to not lose my shit on the person that hit them, and then having to ride in the ambulance with the littles that they're trying to save in front of me and meet my sister at the hospital while feverishly trying to assemble my parents and her In laws and her husband who were all out doing other stuff. I have had that dream so many times now. I had it before she had the baby too and in that version they had to try to save her and the baby and I was with the other little in the ambulance

They are so vivid I wake up freaking out and have actually called the hospital on more than one occasion to check on them. It's crazy.

 

[redwood66]

What a great thread! I love the posts so far and the recurring thing is interesting that others have it. GCGDanielle we need to write our dreams down when we wake up like Stephen King.

Since I was about 19 or so I have had a sort of recurring or maybe continuing dream. I do not always remember everything but it is so vivid in parts that I do remember those when waking. I dream that I am Gene Hackman and am some sort of spy or law enforcement agent chasing bad guys or they are chasing me. I am always Gene Hackman whether chasing or being chased and many times it has been in some sort of greenery maze like in The Shining. Lots of gunfire and sneaking around but I wish I could make it to the end before waking up.

I think I chalk this up to seeing many adventure, scary and spy type movies. I saw Jaws, Towering Inferno, Earthquake, etc. in the theaters as a kid. I used to be a sleepwalker until about 15 years ago.

 

[stracci2000]

I have 2 recurring dreams. They have been more prevalent in years past. The fact that I haven't had either one in a while is probably good!

Dream 1:
I am in the halls of a school, and the late bell is ringing, but I cant find my classroom.
I am running up and down, looking into all the rooms filled with students, but I don't know where I'm supposed to be.

Dream 2:
I am in Hawaii, and I can't get to the beach. There is something blocking my access, or I'm with people who don't want to leave the hotel room. And sometimes, its the last day of the trip, and the plane leaves soon, and I just cant get there. Very similar to the school dream.

Way back in 2004, I was having the Hawaii dream alot. So naturally, I HAD to get to Hawaii. So I booked a trip for DH and I. We got to Honolulu, and as soon as we dumped our bags into the room, we rushed out of the room, down to the beach, and I pulled off my shoes and ran into the surf, clothes and all. Well, I had shorts on, so it wasn't that dramatic.
The Hawaii dream stopped for a long time after that, but once in a while, I still have a similar dream.
We've been to Hawaii many times since, and my reason was always that I was trying to keep the dream away!

 

[packrat]

I just typed out this big long reply and my internet went down ARGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

 

[UrsTx]

I usually remember at least 1 dream a night but I forget a lot of details by 10am. I know I dream in color though. I remember bright reds and yellows. Even dark gray stormy dreams have at least one splash of color in my shirt or the car color.

Two recurring themes show up in my times of stress but in separate dreams, not both at once: tornadoes and spiders.

If dream analysis books are correct, the spiders and tornadoes meant positive change was going to happen. In real life, the dreams happened right before promotions, raises, relationships, marriage. But man, those dreams were stressful when I was in the middle of them!

I also recall a few years of dreams in my mid 20s that starred Freddy from Nightmare on Elm Street. I obviously survived those dreams.

 

[missy]

Love this thread Stephanie. So interesting. Love reading about everyone's dreams.

GCGDanielle,wow on your dreams and especially how different each of your twins are with respect to dreaming and how they are similar to you and your dh that way.

I rarely remember the details of my dreams but I remember generalities. I have a wide range of dreams but I do have a recurring theme of being at work. Usually I am examining a patient and I am behind schedule somehow. I rarely run behind schedule IRL however so that is an interesting aspect of my dreams. And there are always patients waiting for me while I am with the patient I am examining and always the patient I am examining is complex with their symptoms and challenging for me to figure out how to help. I don't feel refreshed when I wake up from these aggravating dreams where there never seems to be a resolution.

A recurring dream I have had all through my childhood and adulthood (but seems to have finally quieted down just recently) is being in school and taking a test. Usually math tests. Not fun dreams for me. Fortunately and finally (graduated many decades ago LOL it is about time they stopped right?) these dreams about taking tests have stopped. At least for the past year or so. Hopefully discussing it here won't bring it back again!

I had a very disturbing dream the other week that was new for me. Again I just remember generalities. I was in the dream with unknown people and all of a sudden people were dying because bullets were spontaneously going through their bodies. No one was shooting at us per se however spontaneously bullets were killing everyone around us. Very scary and thank goodness I woke up. Not a relaxing dream either. In fact that is a theme through most of the dreams I can remember. They are anything but soothing.


LOL Stracci, I like your reasoning for getting to Hawaii! Way to put your dreams to work for you so to speak.

Ame, ugh those are true nightmares and I feel for you having experienced similar awful "dreams" aka nightmares.

Does anyone do lucid dreaming? Sometimes (and only sometimes) I am aware I am dreaming and I can change the direction of my dream. Those are some pleasant dreams and I wish I could do that more.

 

[GCGDanielle]

Such great replies! I have respectfully snipped quotes below:

The second has something to do with my mouth - either my teeth are falling out or I have something stuck in my mouth/teeth that won't come out.

Fascinating! Do the dreams about your mouth tend to scare you/freak you out? Are you afraid of the dentist or have you had extensive dental work?

I remember one from my childhood. One of my cats bit off my fingers, and then I drove off a cliff in a punch buggy.

So bizarre and I remember it so well haha. Luckily not recurring!

It's so odd how dreams can make you feel scared or awkward around people or pets. There's been plenty of times where I can't be around people for quite some time after having a strange dream about them. So funny how the mind works. What color was the punch buggy? lol

I dreamed someone cut my head off. I actually saw it and watched the blood gush from my neck/throat.

Oh my! I can certainly see how that dream made a lasting impression - yikes! Did you know or see the "someone", or was it just an undefined person?

I was running for my life; a bull was chasing me. Exhausted from running I just stopped and turn around to face the bull, and my fate. As I turned around the bull vanished.

Really cool, Kenny. I would have felt a great sense of relief.

I had a very vivid dream someone brutally murdered our dog in our backyard while we watched. I still see every detail to this day. More recently I have had dreams of my sister having a car accident being hit by some idiot who is texting and runs a light while she's driving with my littles in the car...They are so vivid I wake up freaking out and have actually called the hospital on more than one occasion to check on them. It's crazy.

Absolutely terrifying! I'm sorry you have to experience such awful stuff, even if just in your dreams. Along the same lines as you actually calling the hospital, I sometimes have trouble remembering if events have occurred in "real life" or if they are memories from dreams. lol

GCGDanielle we need to write our dreams down when we wake up like Stephen King.

Since I was about 19 or so I have had a sort of recurring or maybe continuing dream. I do not always remember everything but it is so vivid in parts that I do remember those when waking. I dream that I am Gene Hackman and am some sort of spy or law enforcement agent chasing bad guys or they are chasing me. I am always Gene Hackman whether chasing or being chased and many times it has been in some sort of greenery maze like in The Shining. Lots of gunfire and sneaking around but I wish I could make it to the end before waking up.

Yes, we do! My husband bought a journal for me to keep on my nightstand for that very purpose, but I haven't been very diligent in recording my dreams. I love hearing about others' dreams, but it seems most people don't care or aren't very interested, so I usually wonder if there's really any point - lol.

I absolutely love your Gene Hackman dreams! lol! I actually want to dream them myself - haha. So very cool!

Dream 1:
I am in the halls of a school, and the late bell is ringing, but I cant find my classroom.
I am running up and down, looking into all the rooms filled with students, but I don't know where I'm supposed to be.

Dream 2:
I am in Hawaii, and I can't get to the beach. There is something blocking my access, or I'm with people who don't want to leave the hotel room. And sometimes, its the last day of the trip, and the plane leaves soon, and I just cant get there. Very similar to the school dream.

Very interesting! I love how you handled the Hawaii dream; great thought process!

I just typed out this big long reply and my internet went down ARGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Oh no! Please re-type and share! I'm dying to read your reply!

I usually remember at least 1 dream a night but I forget a lot of details by 10am. I know I dream in color though. I remember bright reds and yellows. Even dark gray stormy dreams have at least one splash of color in my shirt or the car color.

It's funny you bring this up, because I remember once a man being shocked that my dreams were in color. We were talking about his dreams, and he said something like: "It would be so much better to dream in color." He had only ever dreamt in black and white. I almost always dream in color; it's rare for me to have a black and white dream.

I had a very disturbing dream the other week that was new for me. Again I just remember generalities. I was in the dream with unknown people and all of a sudden people were dying because bullets were spontaneously going through their bodies. No one was shooting at us per se however spontaneously bullets were killing everyone around us. Very scary and thank goodness I woke up. Not a relaxing dream either. In fact that is a theme through most of the dreams I can remember. They are anything but soothing.

Does anyone do lucid dreaming? Sometimes (and only sometimes) I am aware I am dreaming and I can change the direction of my dream. Those are some pleasant dreams and I wish I could do that more.

Missy, that is definitely a highly disturbing dream. Yikes. I surely hope that one doesn't recur.

I do lucid dreaming often, but I haven't ever been able to change the direction of my dream. I'm only aware that I'm dreaming and aware of my mind trying to make sense of the dream. It's so strange to be aware but also powerless. I'm also not good at forcing myself to wake up from a dream, despite feeling like I'm trying to do so.

I also have "dream recall" every night at bedtime. I can wake up in the morning and remember my dream, and usually the dreams are just strange and float out of my head. But, every single night, once I get into bed and lay my head on the pillow, the dreams from the previous night come rushing back into my brain.

Sometimes I feel like I need to do a sleep study for dreams!

 

[Niel]

i remember 2 vividly

first one, i think i was 5

I had this dream i was in a desert, one with rocks and formations, not like a flat plain. Im just standing there, then i see a dinosaur turn around from one of the formations. Its a t-rex. It chases me, i run, into a cavern. The t-rex sticks its head in snapping at me. So to defend myself i hit him with a VHS disney case. You know. those white ones, open like a book, kind of poofy? Hit him right in the face.

I dont know why, but thats the most vivid dream ive ever had.


this one was when i was maybe 15?

I was in our basement moving boxes and i found this fish i had that died. It died a few years back. But i found it and it was alive! had been alive for 3 years somehow. I felt terrible, i was letting it starve to death for that long! I got it upstairs and it looked sickly. After a moment it split in half and died, two gross pieces of dead fish in a bowl. But, it split in half because it was giving birth! out popped one baby fish. The end.

 

[cflutist]

A recurring dream I used to have is one where my mother was chasing me with a hatchet through the streets of San Francisco trying to kill me. I would wake up in a cold sweat. It is a long story but let's just say that I come from a very dysfunctional family.

Have not had these dreams since she passed away in 2010.

 

[Tekate]

When I was 19 I had this dream where I was walking to my parents house from downstreet (small town USA!) and I heard breathing and I looked around and there was this grey-haired man with a crew cut and white shirt, about 50 years old about 200 feet behind me, I started walking faster and kept turning around - he kept gaining and finally I turned around and he smiled and had in his left hand a big, huge KNIFE that he bore down on me and I grabbed it with my hand, it sliced my hand and went into my chest, I woke up!!! it was horrible, I was in college and home for a weekend at my parents house, I can still see that dream in technicolor and I see the man, tall about 6'4" tall in a white, short sleeved shirt, like a back in the day work shirt, with black pants, he was very tan.. it scared the hell out of me. Still does and I'm 63.

edit: added also he was smoking a cigarette(s?) as he was walking behind me. . I have to say, this dream has haunted me, I've always been afraid to have it again. Great topic. scary a bit.

 

[Amber St. Clare]

I've only had the beheading dream once, but it made a lasting impression.

I have frequent dreams about breaking my teeth. I have no fear of dentists and have had a bit of work done, but I haven't been able to figure out the meaning.

 

[NOYFB]

My dreams are way too effed up to talk about here. I take Ambien. But I will say that most of the time my (deceased) grandmother is present, usually off in the distance, and even though she doesn't speak I hear her wisdom.

 

[ckrickett]

I keep getting reoccurring instances of Sleep Paralysis, and my (2) dreams that are vivid and stick with me relate to 2 different occurrences

One, was when I was staying in a hotel. My dream was that I had just exited the bathroom and was headed to the bed where my boyfriend at the time was sleeping, as I was getting closer I immediately started to fall, but rather then fall I started floating to the ceiling, then everything went black and I heard a super deep voice. I woke up and couldn't move but I thought there was someone in the hotel room and it took forever to be able to move. It was weird and bad

the other involved being at the beach and watching planes drop bombs in the distance, and having a gut reaction to run but know I wouldn't be able to outrun any radiation, and I just remember looking at my family running with me and being so scared for us. Woke up and just laid there before I could move for what felt like an hour.