The Dream Thread - share and discuss

Lunatrek:
In answer to your question, yes I do take over my dreams from time to time. Mostly fighting.

I've loved medieval type things since I could crawl. Dad got really into the whole asian thing and brother learned sword and throwing technics. Me, none. I was a girl and frankly too busy trying to figured out who to take apart the car.

Instead in my dreams I battle. The staff is usually my weapon of choice but in some dreams yes I take over with a sword. Taking over my dreams was one of the things I learned early in childhood.

As Yaboo says.. dreams often reflection real life emotions or actions. Memories, feelings or events. I had a very harsh childhood. My real mother can frankly be slowly baked over a fire and still never satisfy my need for justice. The many things she put me through were reflected in my dreams. My brother would call over to me via our intercom system to try to wake me up (my mother used to lock me in my room). During the day we’d discuss my dreams. He helped me imagine defenses and actions to fight off evil. I don’t know if I would have survived my childhood without him. On many levels he was my savior.

I wrote out one particularly strange dream for a class (speech) assignment I recently had. Let me see if I can find it.

For a while now I have been having dreams of my deceased great grandmother. She passed away 4 1/2 years ago

In my dream its always at the house we lived in. It was 2 family. She was downstairs and my parents and I were upstairs. she is talking to me, wearing an outfit I very well remember, and then she is gone.

One dream I was in my kitchen looking out the window and dreamt that I saw her in the yard looking over the vegetable garden. I called to her, was waving, and she looked up and smiled at me. I ran to the yard and she was gone. I started to search the house, then back to the yard and gone. I woke up hysterically crying.

I agree that family influences have a lot to do with your dream state. My own mother is a blessing, but my real father not only left my mother when I was 3 months old, but also mysteriously died when I was 8 years old (his death certificate says 'cardial asphyxiation'.. total foul play.) My father also used to practice what I believe was Santeria. And he was also half Native American... Soo... the fact that my sister and I are the only ones (ok, I can count you now!) who have the type of dreams that we do (intense, violent, bloody, murder, suicide, etc.) tells me that there's some connection to our heritage.

One of the more bloody dreams I've had (and for those of you who are squeamish you can stop reading now) was a dream of me walking along the beach at night, and further inland was very woodsy. I went from the shore into the woods and came across this huge metal structure that looked like a big chain-link fence. There were things hanging from it and scraps of metal on the ground. I picked up one of the scraps of metal and it had 6 inch long groups of thin spikes on them, like long metal pencils. Well I took one of them and SLAMMED it into my face. I could feel the spikes go right through me. I took another one and SLAMMED it into the back of my head... I could feel the blood pouring out of me, and then I woke up. Sick.

I've had other dreams that actually inspired me to write them into short stories (I used to write a lot as a kid... wanted to be a writer). I still have one in progress but don' t think I have the talent to finish it. Maybe someday...

Gosh, I could go on about my dreams for HOURS! Days, even!!

Thanks for starting this, Veronica!

Jill

The Lake
I find myself walking down a road that seems to get darker as I go.

I think this is my neighborhood. It seems ‘Dark’ somehow, and getting darker as I walk on. A young boy runs up to me and asks me to help find his brother. Being helpful, I say ‘sure’. He grabs my hand and pulls me along.

We approach a lake, a very large lake that I somehow seem to know. But the lake is ‘bloated’ somehow and ‘Dark’ in same weird way the street was. The boy has gotten to the end of a pier and is yelling out across the water “Oh, Brian! Oh, Brian!” Why would a kid come to a lake looking for this brother? The boy turns to me and says, “They said he was sick, but I know he can’t be.”

I look over to my left and see a woman’s face looking back at me from the just below the surface of the water. I can’t move. Then I see a hand drift over this woman’s face. The Lake. It’s full of bodies. Why? I tell the boy we’ll come back later to look for this brother, although I have no intentions of doing so. As I look over to him, he’s yanking an arm from the lake. He tosses it back and goes for another. I run down the pier and grab the kid. I pick him up and run back toward shore. The boy seems like a rag toy in my arms.

We run back towards a house. I’m not sure why this house, but it seems to be important. I know we can’t get in. There’s a police car parked out front so I grab the kid and we crawl into the back. It’s very dark out and my soul is screaming that it’s unsafe outside. Nothing attacks us, nothing has to. Fear itself is more than enough to keep us awake. Finally I drop off and go to sleep. When I wake up I’m standing on the front steps of the house with the police car behind me.

What happened to the kid? Oh well, whatever. As I enter and I notice the rug is worn and it looks like this house has been used harshly. Seems almost like an abandoned crack house. It’s Strange. I look to the floor and see a small stuffed rabbit with shock blue eyes. As I pick it up, I seem to remember.

My son, Jake. I see him there on the floor curled up and clutching this rabbit. His beautiful blue eyes staring at nothing. In the next room my wife and two other boys lie draped across a bed - dead. That damned plague!

In my mind’s eye I see the way they died. My wife screaming as the smallest son won’t stop coughing up blood. Then she loses it. She grabs the boy and suffocates him. The other two boys come in and seem to know. They drag her to the other room and grab a pair of scissors. She wild with the disease and they both have already begun to feel it’s effects. Finally as her convulsions are so painful that her eyes beg for mercy they give it to her. Then each boy helps the other cut open their wrists while they wait to bleed out before losing their minds to the Plague.

Plague? Oh yes, I found the clue to the cause at least. All I have to do is report in to the office and maybe just maybe we can stop this thing quickly. As it is, the town has started to throw bodies into the Lake out of ignorance. They think it will stop the spread of the disease.

But, who cares now? My wife and children are dead. God, Jake. I walk out the back porch and again I feel sort of an out of body of experience. I see our porch swing and that kid. He’s sitting on it, swinging back and forth rubbing a metal thing in his palm. Looks like a nametag. “O’Brian”. Wait, that’s me. I’m O’Brian, Christopher O’Brian.

The point of view expands and I see what’s left of a man sitting on the porch with an obvious gunshot would to the head. Not a whole lot left. The shoes are gone, the tie and the belt, but the uniform is still visiable. As I look closer the skull with worn skin drops forward. Suicide.

This isn’t a dream. This isn’t a nightmare. This is Hell. In my pocket I have what may help cure the plague. Instead of a hero I am nothing. Now I spend eternity here without my wife and children, without Jake. With the Lake to always remind me of my one selfish mistake. Just as I start to scream, I find myself walking down a road that seems to get darker as I go.

Sorry that was long.

Dissect it as you like. That dream REALLY creeped me out.

Christopher is the name my parents nearly called me if I were a boy. The dream kept looping. Nothing changing.

I have yet to dream of deceased family members. Instead I have dreamt my little brother dies. He was only 2 and I had dreams he walks in front of a car. Or that I ran over him. That always unnerved me.

Im BOUND to be the most overprotection mother ever!

V - do you think your dreams are insight into a past life? I've often felt that way.

This dream you had has characters.... do you really have a son named Jake? What does the name Christopher O'Brien mean to you? Is there any connection between that name and the fact that the little boy in the beginning was called for his brother who was named Brian? (And is it OK that I'm creeped out by the fact that my husband's name is Brian, too?!)

Plague...out of control. Destruction.

Water... emotions.... death: changes. Vast deep dark emotional changes....

I think I've found my dream sister

Here's my last one and I'll let others share.

Shortly after 9/11 I dreamt many terrible dreams all completely alright with me. I'd wake up panting and scared but ended up cussing out the bastards who flew the plans and then go back to sleep.

One however got me thinking.

I dreamt I was in my house I looked outside and saw a satilite in the sky. All of a sudden it started moving. It was a plane about to crash (lots of plane crashes after 9/11) and right into my house. I remember seeing my dish rack and my brand new dishes I had with my new life with my FH (haha I wasnt even engaged then HAHA).

I remember hearing that sound again (only those who were standing under that plane like I was know that sound) and I knew it had hit and was sliding toward me. I saw my pretty dishes crash.

The last thing I said was 'I love you Dad, I love you God, I love you Oscar' Oscar is my brother. And then ... it was over.. I was gone. I woke up crying.

Starting me thinking. Odd how in a moment of complete fear and certain death I prioritized my father over God.

Christopher was supposed to be me. My parents were into 5 letter names.

Hilda, Mando, Oscar.. so if I were a boy I'd be Chris.. but im a girl so im Ronie haha

Jake.. I have NO idea where Jake came from probably a Movie. The boy looked like the little kid in Pet Cemetary. You know at the end where he says 'no fair'

O'Brian. I always related Firefighters and Police officers with Irish! LOL!

The boy who wanted his brother was a little black boy. I think he was just there to torment me. Now I have a God son who looks an awful lot like him. Odd aint it?

This dream was when I was 16-18 years old. It's stil crystal clear to me. Life was good then. I told my Dad about it later that day. We always share stuff. He said it creeped him out too and I should write it down. I never did. Then lately I was asked to give a 5min speech. The exercise was to tell a scary story. This seemed short and appropriate.
I got top scores. Freaked out my fellow classmates hehe.

not sure if this really serves as a dream, but its very spooky.

my grandfather passed away 7 years ago. Early the day he died my dad became incredably ill. He started to run a fever. No one knows what caused it. My mom rushed him to the hospital that night. In the hospital he was given a lot of heavy medications. My mom went to go talk to a nurse and left my dad alone for a few moments.

When she came back he was fine. He was smiling, laughing and said to my mom 'hey did you see my father' my mom thinking it was the medications because my grandfather lived in FL and was in the hospital. My mom said no why was he here. My dad smiled and said yea he was, he was standing right there talking to me (which spooked my mom because my grandfather had one leg from the knee down amputated) he said to me 'Its not your time. I've come to take your pain' and was gone.

When he was gone, my dad felt like he was on top of the world. The fever was gone and he looked great.

When my parents got home from the hospital their was a message from my uncle saying to please call him immediatly. My grandfather passed away during the night. His time of death was the time my father was in the hospital heavily medicated.

WOW !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


I DO dreamed of the deceased.

For at least 5 years after my friend died I dreamt of her.
In the dreams I would KNOW she was dead, but she'd come from teh dead to talk to me, etc. .
Have great conversations, spend the day together.
Then she would announce that she was staying alive and we could always be together.

Of course when I woke up, I'd believe this was real and that she miraculously came back to life.
When reality hit, I often went into depression for the rest of the week.
After about 2 years of back and forth with this, I learned to embrace the dream as her visiting me and never leaving me alone, but that she would not be there when I woke up.

Now it's my Mom's turn....
It took me a while after her death to start dreaming of her, but I do often.
I hven't made the same mistake of thinking she's alive again in real life, but sometimes the dreams are disturbing. She's in the hospital, and we're not visiting. This one went on for a LONG time.
Now they are better.

She was in my dream last night - sending things and goodies to my 'judgement waiting room' and such. She was the best part of the nightmare.

My recurring dream is the one where I am being chased - faceless people - I believe a man or group of men- trying to kill me.

To escape, I always RUN very fast, and I also many times actually FLY away. I fly, hide in trees and rooftops.
When I fly, I am soaring and know I am invincible.

The chasers are p!ssed that I can fly and try to fly also, but they can't. They fall flat on their face, I laugh and keep flying.

Sometimes I lose control and have to do a running motion real fast to get back up high, but I've never fallen.

It is at times, difficult to land b/c I'm flying so fast.

Any other flyers?

If you can ever confront the person in your dream that is chasing you, they will stop. I've done it. Some madwoman was chasing me with a knife and then I was able to control the dream, and I turned around and said 'What are you chasing me for, I didn't do anything to you!' And she dropped the knife, said she was sorry, and POOF! She was gone.

That was when I was REALLY little, but it still works!!

How do I will myself to confront the person?
Any tips on how to 'make' myself do something in a dream?

PS. I ALWAYS know as I'm having the chasing dream that it is a dream b/c I've had this one since I was litte. It comes often.
I would like to try to confront them next time.

Im a floater and flyer you could say.

I like to walk around in my dreams tho. When danger approaches I usually float and watch from a distance.

I hate myself when I so frighten I 'think' the bad things in my dreams and they happen. I instantly know I made them happen and I get frustrated and angry in my dreams.

When my grandmother died I knew. I just 'knew'. Don't know why. She went in for a tummy ache. Dad said she was fine. 'dont go visit her, she's fine'. So I stayed home. I was online (dial up) and my phone was tied up. Actually i had the computer on but I was in the living room reading a book. A calmness took over and I was happy for a split mini second and sad in the same second. My brother knocked on my door and I opened it. I said 'She's dead isn't she?' My sister in law still freaks out about that. But she's silly.

Same for my grandfather. My FH's grandma handed me a peach. It was moon day Chinese thing. It was so sweet and juicy. Yummy. As I finished it off and sucked on the pit, I looked up at my FH and said “oh god no”. I immediately called my father. When he answered I said “When? When did he die?” He said it was earlier that day. FH asked how I knew. A) My grandfather was sick and in the hospital and had refused Dialysis. Mostly tho, it was the peach. My grandfather used to take the pits of peaches and carve out animals. He did this up to the day he died. He carved me little monkeys, one I have in my car. Peaches in August? Seemed weird to me. As I thoroughly enjoyed that peach and was happy nothing could touch my joy. Seems awfully stupid for a peach. When I was done, I knew. I don’t know. Im just weird.

Wow - we have some really vivid dreamers on here!

My recurring nightmare = tornados.

I can't even tell you how many tornado dreams I've had. Sometimes there's one tornado, sometimes there are many, sometimes I actually see them form right before my eyes, sometimes I watch them twisting in the distance. I'm always trying to to seek shelter and escape them in my dreams - luckily, I have always been okay. I tend to have these dreams when I'm very stressed. They are so frightening.

When I was little, I would nearly make myself sick with worry when there was a tornado warning on the news. They don't freak me out as bad now - but I still wish that my house has a basement.

I'm convinced that I must have been killed by a tornado in a past life or something...

WithThisRing - your story gave me goosebumps! Wow.

You know only ONCE have I ever seen my image in a mirror inside my dream. I know that sounds stupid and silly but it seemed odd to me. I remember walking in a hall and suddenly looking over and seeing myself look back. I woke up instantly. I don’t think I’m scary looking.

*shrug*

As far as confrontations in your dream. If they reoccur. It’s easier. I think about what my dream was and how I’d confront that person. I try to think of why that person is after me. What would I do if that person didn’t like the confrontation. I prepare. Sounds silly I know, but it works. Especially on reoccurring ones. Takes practice. Mostly cause you forget what you think when you sleep. Sometimes tho, since dreams are really just flashes of your mind, that set thought of confrontation will make it through.

Heck sometimes confronting it in your wakeful mind may be enough to hold it off for a while. Resolution is why your mind is seeking. It’s an incomplete sequence. Confrontation is inevitable. But common sense and fear makes you avoid it. So your mind knows its nothing, but your fear takes over. So your logical side keeps trying to push the point (confrontation). That’s my opinion anyway.

Veronica that's not dreaming, you are psychic! I've had those feelings too, but again so much of it has worn off since I got older... WHY does that happen?! I want it back!

Sassy... I don't know how to tell you how to have lucid dreams. You could try reading up on the subject, some offer exercises to quiet your mind before you go to sleep, but honestly it has just happened naturally for me. There are ways to enchance this, I really should read up about it too.

Oh, Veronica, I had the same thing too.. I floated up into a tree of fire (I actually summoned the form of a tree... the branches were all flames) when I was fighting someone in a dream. I won.

jvs77... I have recurring dreams about tornados too! CONSTANTLY!! Exactly like you described.

I could never figure out what they mean!!

Well I will concentrate and think about my confrontation and hope that with practice I can do this.
I feel I am brave - in real life anyway, I am always prepared for attack - when I leave the house, the car, etc. .

My sisters laugh at me, b/c I give them self defense tips I made up from something as simple as using your keys as a weapon to poke your attackers eye to carrying a pair of scissors in your car (which I do)

I also always tell them if they think someone is following them, turn around and stare meanly dead in their face, attackers only attack if they can get pleasure from your fear. Staring them dead on eliminates that possiblity.

So I will try to take my tips and apply them to my reoccuring dream instead of flying away.

Now I'm actually looking forward to the next time it rolls around.

WIth the dream of my deceased friend, I eventually got myself to the point where in the dream I tell myself - remember this is JUST a dream, so I know it is definitely possible to have some sort of thought process during my dreams.

X - your death feelings are definitely something I've heard of before. When you're close to someone and they pass, I believe yes, you can just 'feel' it and sometimes, it takes something to kind of 'jog' the thought into your head - ex - the peach.

I have a reoccuring dream that Im driving and going over a bridge (its usually the verrazano. The bridge is very steep and I can feel myself tensing as start to approach the very top. I always feel like my car is going to fall away from the bridge because of the steepness.

Its horrible, I usually wake up them.

The other weird dream I have is sometimes I wake up screaming my name out loud over and over and over again.