Recurring Dreams

When I was younger I had a recurring dream that always included the exact same details. I was running through a mattress factory; all the mattresses were lined up against the walls. And as I ran, they fell, behind me, like dominoes. They barely missed falling on me. The factory was dark, and I was running for what felt like my life. Suddenly I emerged from the factory, onto a city street lined with tenements, and flowers were growing from the sidewalk.

That’s it.

I never thought too much about it until I was having dinner with some business associates in Manhattan. The conversation turned to recurring dreams, and I told mine I think for the first time. One friend was delighted with my dream, and laughed at my puzzled look. “Well, it’s so incredible,” she laughed. “It clearly means that you work hard to overcome life’s obstacles, and that you can see beauty and good even in the ugly.” I had never really thought about it, but felt excited that my subconscious was telling me something so positive!

Lately my recurring dreams revolve around travel. But it is always the getting to or the going home, never the trip itself. I have dreamed about packing in haste, never sure I have what I need; getting to the airport in what feels like a rush; and cleaning up a vacation house and finding too many things left behind to fit in my bags.  Aunty Flo’s Dreams from A-Z says, “If you packed things in a hurry, and too quickly then you have too much in your life and you are not spending enough time on relaxing activities, you are starting to feel that you are taking on too much – which indicates a time for rest.”  Well, duh, Aunty Flo!

Have you ever had recurring dreams? Were they the exact same dream, or variations on a theme?