Recurring Dreams

“I have a recurring dream about bears trying to break into my house. Last night I dreamt I was in a house that I lived in from the time I was 10 'til 15 years old. It was a huge old 2-story house that had a front door, a back door, two sliding glass doors, and even a door that led down a staircase to the outside from the top story. Bears were trying to get in through all 5 doors in my dream last night! I woke up shaking... not good :(

The summer of 1999 I worked in Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks. One day my roommate Brandy left the window to our cabin open. A bear came in and dined for a while on the pistachios, raisin bran, and teriyaki sauce he found in our cupboards. When she came home she scared him out and cleaned up the mess. That night and every night for days afterwards the bear would come back and try to get into our cabin.

It wasn't a very big bear, a juvenile less than 100 pounds, and at the time I wasn't scared. When we woke up and started screaming at it folks from the cabins nearby would come out and help chase it away so we weren't in any serious danger.

But then I started having this dream and just when I think maybe I won't have it again I will.

Do you have any recurring dreams? What do you think they mean?”

“We should have this thread pop up at the same time every night!”

“I have a recurring dream that I'm fooling around on my wife. I have no idea why I have this dream, and I'm always so relieved when I wake up and it's not real.”

“and your still in one piece...”

“Fortunately yes, although I think if I keep telling my wife, "I was about to bang this hot broad in my dreams last night, then I remembered we were married, " she's gonna kill me anyway.”

“You better hope your wife's name is not Lorena.”

“In the bedroom, the mighty bedroom, John bobbit sleeps tonight.
In the kitchen, the mighty kitchen, Lorana grabs a knife.
A weenie whack, a weenie whack, a weenie whack, a weenie whack,a weenie whack, a weenie whack....

Owooooooooooo-oooooooooo-oh she threw it in the grass...
Owwooooooooooooo-oooooooo the cops busted her a$$!”

“LMAO@SS”

“I'm locking up all the knives and scissors when I get home tonight.”

“LOL! go Stovey go!”

“(In a slured Elvis voice) Thank you...thank you very much. ;-)

I can't take credit, I heard it on John Boy and Billy radio.”

“BC - The bears represent men trying to get into your personal "space".

Why do you fear this?”

“Uh, sure...”

“Take a look at Dreamlover.inc at the dream dictionary.

If you're serious about figuring out what your recurring dream means.. and getting it to stop..

check into the symbols you can remember from it on their site.

www.dreamlover.inc is where to find it incase this link doesn't work.... online dream dictionary.

Bears as a Symbol”

“"Bears

A bear in a dream is a very rich and complicated dream symbol. In order to understand it, objective association need to be made. Bears are solitary animals and the females are solitary mothers. They hibernate in a cave and they are generally not predatory animals. A bear is only aggressive when provoked, and as such times he is dangerous and deadly. Bears in dreams may represent a period of introspection and depression. However, this may be a part of a healing cycle, where the dreamer has retreated into himself in order to regenerate and in order to create something new and valuable in his life. Bears are highly regarded symbols in a variety of cultures and traditions, including the Native American tradition. Carl Jung said that all wild animals represent latent affects (feelings and emotions). The interpretation of the bear in a dream may be influenced by your perception of it and by the events in the dream. The bear may represent qualities in your character or specific aspects of your personality. Bears are usually associated with danger and aggression, but this is a very narrow view of this powerful dream symbol."

I'm definitely going through a healing cycle of sorts, so that makes a lot of sense actually!”

“Sorry. dream interpretation is generally crap.

BC had a real experience involving bears that was none to pleasant. While in the subconcious state, and if feeling anxious or troubled, the mind looks to place those feelings with a past experience. Hence the bear dream.

The mind may find a thought that may also compare to the emotion being felt without the person ever actually physically experiencing the thought.

This brings on the nekkid in public dream.

Another example is that most people experience their first anxiety while taking a test, hence the reaccurance of test nightmares”

“so if you have a dream about being naked in public, and you think it coincides w/feeling anxious while waking, that doesn't involve some interpretation? there's nothing literal about the dream in the sense that you aren't really naked in public.”

“What about problem solving in your sleep????”

“I have a dream occasionally that I'm playing basketball. Sometimes in a game on a team, other times just with friends or whatever. But I'm awesome! Slam dunkin', flyin' over people, hittin' 3's - woo hoo, man, it's fun! I love that dream!

I don't really like basketball that much; I'm neither terrible nor really good. Never had any traumatic basketball experiences. Not sure where that comes from, but, as noted above, it's fun!”

“What about dreams where you are flying? Anybody ever have those?”

“I can't fly....but I can glide.....I dream about alligators...they are after me( they are crawling on the floor) and I have to walk on the furniture to keep away from them........”

“I use to have a few different recurring dreams when I was younger.

They were so terrifying and so real, thank God I don't have them anymore.”

“Well, no bear dreams last night, thank goodness!”

“I vonder if your TTname has anything to do with your dreams?

I vonder?”

“I've had an awful lot of bear encounters, Buddur, and I'm fascinated by them. And, yes, I even have dreams about them.”

“Now that I have had some sleep and have time and energy to respond to you......

kiss my grits!

Bearmagnet writes:


"Sorry. dream interpretation is generally crap.

BC had a real experience involving bears that was none to pleasant. While in the subconcious state, and if feeling anxious or troubled, the mind looks to place those feelings with a past experience. Hence the bear dream.

The mind may find a thought that may also compare to the emotion being felt without the person ever actually physically experiencing the thought.

This brings on the nekkid in public dream.

Another example is that most people experience their first anxiety while taking a test, hence the reaccurance of test nightmares"


I don't totally disagree with all you say. Life is different for different people. You're entitled to your opinion and even to knock the opinions of others.
If you took time to really READ what dream dictionary says and its disclaimer.... perhaps you'd understand better. I've studied dream symbols and archetypes for a long time. You're right in that sometimes a dream is just a dream. It stems from real life events and upsets and there is no deeper hidden meaning. Sometimes a bear is just a bear. And you're right.....sometimes the brain/mind struggles to fill in the blanks to make sense of things, but that is generally not the case in dreams that recurr.

I can speak from personal study and experience. One thing the holds true in >90% of cases is that upon understanding the nature of dreams and dream symbols.... it robs them of the upsetting power they had over the dreamer.
I had a couple recurring nightmares and upon learning what they meant... the dreams stopped at once. Like pulling the plug on 'em. Worked for me.

Bearcrossing, I hope life treats you kindly in whatever you do.”

“Two dreams that I have a lot:

One is similar to BearCrossing's dream, but it doesn't involve bears. It's bad guys trying to get into my house. I keep running around trying to secure various doors and windows, but I feel like I just can't quite keep up with it. I hate that dream. I wake up from it scared to death.

The other recurring dream is much more enjoyable. I am horseback riding (which is something I love to do in real life but rarely do anymore). The horse I'm riding is the most awesome horse ever and we communicate so well. It's like we can read each other's mind.”

“Can I get a picture of your grits first, danababy?

I didn't mean to knock anyone's opinion about serious dream interpretation. I am biased, partially through ignorance perhaps, and maybe quick to judge.

You cited a web site and I assumed the dream interpretation their would be like so much of popular dream interpretation, more like astrology than science. I apologize for my rash assumption.

Now, if you could point me to primary literature, than I would be more than happy to open my mind in this area.

However, I might remain a skeptic because so little is known about how the brain works.

As lewis Thomas pointed out, the human can be cured of warts through hypnosis. The question is: What is in control there? An inner manipulator more able to command than the concious self?”

“And yes it is an interpretation, Lyra. But it's literal, it ties in what your emotional state in the dream is to why you dreamed it.”

“Bearcrossing-I have had the same dreams (as you)for years. In my case I felt it was a matter of not being in control of "things" that were not controlable. Like my daughter almost being an adult and making her own decisions, starting a new job that challenges me to the limit or the biggie...matters of love. You could do like I did and go to the most likly place you'll meet the biggest, baddest bear and see what your made of. Alaska! I've had no dreams so far, since my trip. Haven't we all learned that backpacking is the answer for what ever is bugging you.”

“Am I the only one that dreams in puns. I have two recurring dreams.

1) I am in various situations (train, bus, plane, airport, supermarket)and someone yells listen!!! Hear that ticking? It's a bomb!!! and as panic erupts, I yell loudly to calm everyone: Hey, It's not a bomb, its just my pillow ticking!"

2) I am rock climbing and place a carrabiner and hook my safety line into it. As it takes my weight I see it unbend, open and the rope slips out of it. As I fall, I look back up at it and sing (to the tune of "Cara Mia"), Carrabiner why? must we say goodbye"
Now what the hefck do those two dreams mean? I sure don't know. But I always wake up laughing at the bad puns.”

“I used to have a lot of weird reoccurring dreams and premonitions when I was young. I still have the premonitions but not as often as I did as a preteen. I used to get freaked out by it like it meant something bad was going to happen. Now it’s just a creepy feeling and I let it go. Around my early teen years I had a lot of dreams where my teeth were falling out all at one time.

I have also had dreams where sounds get incorporated into my dreams. I was dreaming once that this black panther was on the loose and it cornered me in a dark alley. It was roaring at me with this gawd awful sound. Turned out the roaring was ME…snoring.

The earliest dream I can ever remember having, as a wee lad was one where I am an adult and a soldier in a field of beautiful green grass talking to other adults. There are children playing near by and a cute little blond girl dressed up in one of those cute little girl dresses like Jane wore in the Dick and Jane books comes up to me and she wants to show me something. She leads me to this hole in the ground where there is a bomb of some sort. I shew the children away and attempt to defuse the bomb and every time it blows up in my face and I wake up. I had this one for years even as a young, young boy (maybe as early as 6 or 7?). What’s it mean? Who knows? I do believe in soul transmigration but I’m not going to say that’s what it is.”

“Divinity - I just had a leadership class where dream "analysis" was a big part. We were taught that symbols in dreams can really help you understand what's going on in your life - almost exactly how you described it. Its interesting to see that someone else out there (besides the company that did the training) uses dream interpretation.

I had a recurring dream when I was a kid. A Godzilla-like monster came to destroy our house, and my sister always saved us. She'd use a bulldozer to either kill the monster or at least get him away from the house.

(Follow me for a second....) My boyfriend's best friend's wife has been having dreams that my boyfriend and I are engaged. What's up with that???”

“Begin with "Women Who Run With the Wolves" by Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes. When you're done with that.... let me know. You can then move on to the Dream Analysis Coursebook. Its quite fascinating.
Both are helpful and intriguing.”

“I had a weird dream this morning right before I woke up. In the dream, I was on a plane, but I was a member of some kind of counter-terrorism group. At one point, we all got up and started searching the plane. We found a pile of stuff in a place where it didn't belong, and in it were things that looked like bombs. I picked the first one up, nope, not a bomb, just looks like one. Picked up another one, nope, not a bomb. The funny thing is that in the first two, the parts that were supposed to looked like explosives were made out of some sort of candy. The third bomb-like thing I found was actually a bomb. I was still trying to figure out how to defuse it when I woke up.”

“it IS NOT literal, bearmagnet! ;-) are you really naked in public? no. you're basically saying you think that "naked in public" is a picture your mind makes while you sleep that represents "anxiety" you feel while you're awake, right? in other words, you see "naked in public" as an appropriate, obvious symbol of "anxiety," while you don't see "a bear" as an appropriate, obvious symbol of "introspection and depression." that doesn't mean it's literal, though! and it doesn't mean that just because a symbol isn't obvious to you personally, that it isn't accurate or useful for someone else.

HEY, guess what!! on Friday night (after i'd been thinking about the subject on Friday), i had a dream that i was swimming in a very calm, clear (at least near the shore) ocean, and me and some other swimmers were diving down to find "treasures" that had been left there by our ancestors. there was a woman "in charge" of the whole thing, who said we weren't allowed to go beyond a certain depth to get the treasures. but i knew the treasures were there, so i kept going further & further out, anyway.

i thought that was SO FUNNY!! whatever is in charge of my dreams sure has a sense of humor. ;-) the interpretation being, as i see it: the ocean is the unconscious (mine personally, as well as the collective). the woman in charge would be a symbol of common sense, which would say that it is okay to have access to "treasures" or contents that i personally have experienced (those near the shore), but to be able to have access to things like memories and experiences of my distant ancestors ("distant" symbolized by deeper ocean water) is not something that seems very reasonable. but that's the basic theory of dream interpretation (which i'd been thinking about): that things like bears can be symbols of things i personally might not think of because it's not in my experience, but which might be totally obvious to different cultures or someone of a different time period. or in other words, that there is a collective mind that we all have access to, that dream metaphors come from.”

“Often, water in dreams is representative of sex or sexual relations.

Maybe you were just dreaming about an orgy, lyra...”

“oh, OKAY, Freud! ;-)”

“(since he was the one fixated on sex, hardy-har-har)”

“I had a dream about naked bear swimming in water, but could never get to the shore. What do you think it means?”

“lyra, let's not go into the "wanting to go deeper" thing there, okay?”

“eewwwwww.

ski, maybe it meant you couldn't bring the cause or ending of a period of introspection/anxiety to your conscious?”

“Does habitually waking up in the morning stuck to the bed count for reoccurring dreams? I didn't count those because it's more a reoccurring THEME than an actual dream.”

“oops, i meant "introspection/depression," as in the bear entry of the dream dictionary.”

“So has anyone ever dreamt about anyone else on TT?”

“I dreamt ve vere on a train. It vas a very big train. Ze train vent into a dark tunnel, zen ve fell and fell... And zen ve had a cigarette.”

“One of my dreams is about tornados........but I am always the calm one who gathers everyone up & gets them to safety and I am never scared......

and then of course there is the dream where I am going to the toilet and there are no dividers or curtains and people are standing around talking to me so I can't get up......

and I am going somewhere and I am going thru my closet and nothing fits or matches......

I haven't had any of them since my divorce......

But I still dream of walking thru huge wonderful buildings.....

Once I was doing some sewing for my ex......and I didn't like the way the shoulders looked....and I was trying to figure out what to do ...and the answer came to me in a dream...I woke up knowing how to fix it...and it worked!!!!”

“Supposedly, Elias Howe figured out that the hole in the needle for his new invention, the sewing machine, needed to be in the tip, from a dream that he had.”

“Hey...maybe he came to me in a dream and helped me out!!!”

“Maybe, did your dream have anything to do with spear-wielding natives?”