I only remember the dreams one has just before waking up and I sure hope they don't have any significance because they are usually awful. I used to have a recurring dream that I was running towards or away from something always in high heels. I haven't worn high heels since my early 30's. Another recurring dream I have is searching for a bathroom. That one does mean something.

I remember them sometimes. The other night I dreamed I was at some sort of function and when it was over I told whoever it was I was with that I was happy that I finally got to meet a president. Which president it was I don't remember but I do remember him speaking and then getting to talk with him later.

I think I've watched too many debates and MSNBC!

I think there's a lot we don't know about dreams. For one thing, how do we make some of this stuff up? Not everyone has the imagination of a novelist, but most of us see things in our dreams that we've never actually experienced.

I've had many dream visits from my daughter Gillian and others who have passed on. They rank high in significance for me--and I think dreams can be significant in other ways, too.

I seldom remember my dreams, the only recurring one I recall is one I had as a child when I was ill, I was prone to high temperatures and when I had one I had this dream. I was teeny, tiny and carrying one of the big bolsters from the back of grandma's couch. I don't know what the significance of that was.

Alisande, I so hope and pray that I will be blessed with a dream visit from my mom. Maybe that will be a Christmas gift this year.

Some dreams I remember and others I don't. Some of my dreams come true, remember "Giggles"? She is now 9 months old. I also dreamed Roy Rogers was going to pass away as Trigger came down from heaven and he hopped on his back and they flew up and away. That one was more like a cartoon, but turned out to be true in a very short time.

Sue

I used to have recurring dreams, but not anymore (that I can remember).

Most of my dreams seem to be about things I either think too much about or I wasn't able to think through or finish a converstaion/thought about (and my subconscious dream world finishes it for me).

Every now and then I have a bad dream... like when I was a kid I dreamt my mom killed my brother. And years back I dreamt my husband was cheating on me... I wake up mad at those people. I was scared of my mom for weeks. Even though I know the stuff really didn't happen, I can't shake the feeling I have towards people who do me wrong in my dreams. Generally though, I don't remember my dreams. I did remember a couple the first few days after day light savings time changed.. My sleep/wake clock must have been off.

I do think dreams mean a lot more than we realize - and not necessarily in the analyzing of them but more in the aspect of health, brain function, etc... It's just hard tapping into them to study.

Speaking of recurring dreams, when I was 4 or 5 we moved from the farm to town. Our new house had an attic door (almost like a crawlspace) on the side wall. I saw that door opened once and it was just a dark icky place.

I used to dream that my parents and sisters and I went in there (suddenly we were able to stand up in there) and we saw a stairway going down. Daddy went first with a torch (what??) and then we heard a scream. We ran down the steps and there was a witch about to throw daddy in a big vat of boiling water. That's when I'd wake up crying. Somebody read me either too many fairy tales or Shakesphere!!

I dreamed that dream over and over. And still remember it.

Sometimes I remember bits and pieces, or maybe the person the dream was about. I know I dream a lot; just wish I could remember them when I wake up.

I do have a recurring dream. My DH and I are driving up a mountain road. He is always driving. The location is more or less the same in every dream, We are always going up, never down.

It seems to be an area where we lived many years ago, but we didn't have a car when we lived there, so we would never have driven there.

My DH passed on in 1982, and I still have this dream over and over.

I have done a little reading on dreams, but nothing seems definitive.

Sue

What a great topic! I always remember my dreams and for many years afterwards. In my dreams I can see color, smell and feel, etc. I've had a reaccuring dream of me in high school for the past 30 years, walking the halls and getting lost, can't find my classes. Just last year I had a dream that I had my certificate (I actually did graduate 30 years ago) and I haven't had that reccuring dream since. I guess I finally graduated, LOL! 16 years ago when my Mom died I had a very startling dream of her. I woke up right after it and wrote it all down (the conversations we were having) and drew picture of the object she was holding. There is a meaning to this dream, I just haven't figured it out yet.

I have vivid dreams and usually remember some semblance of the events for at least a day. The ones I like the best are going on a trip or visiting different places - these occur mostly when I am planning a trip...
I do believe that our dreams relate strongly to what is happening in our lives.

I had recurring dreams through my teen years that I still remember, but I don't remember dreams these days. Sometimes, I'll wake up and remember that I solved some problem while I was sleeping, but I can never remember the solution.

I don't remember my dreams, and I don't want to either. There is no sense in over-thinking these things IMHO. I know others (like my dear sister) really are interested in dream interpretation and study.

During a troubling time in my life, I had reoccuring dream themes about chickens. Yes, chickens.

I would be on our little homestead, and SUDDENLY remember I had chickens and run down to the pen and there they would be, most starved to death, and the ones that were still alive, just barely. I'd see a couple that I'd forgotten to lock up the last time they were out, and they would be all fat and plump and happy as could be. I felt HORRID. Just horrid at forgetting to take care of these poor chickens. How could I do that? They depended on ME.

It wasn't until after about a month or so of variations of these dreams that I realized ...the chickens were ME. I wasn't taking care of myself, and I was starving emotionally. That is when I took matters in hand and changed my life. I never want my inner chicken to starve again! (said tongue in cheek)

For about 2 - 3 weeks I have had extremely vivid dreams. Profoundly so. I had a brain aneurysm 3.5 yrs. ago and have had a trach since then. My doctors have talked sporadically about removing it and told me that I had to meet several goals before doing so. I have not done so for whatever reasons, one being that it has been my source of breathing for so long and it's scary to think about losing it! Well, back to the dream relevance......I was in bed one night dreaming that something was wrapped around my arm and I was determined to get my arm free. I yanked at it and suddenly realized that I had pulled my trach out! I put my hand over my throat and called out (unsuccessfully)for my caregiver so I realized that I could talk. It was about 2:30 a.m. and I lay there until 4:00 when she came out to go to the bathroom. By that time I realized that I had no trouble breathing, talking, and later eating, drinking, etc. So, to have made a long story longer, yes, I do remember dreams and that was the one that I will never forget!

I rarely remember my dreams on a daily basis. I have recurring dreams about various large houses that I'm not familiar with, and those dreams are disturbing but I don't know why.

I used to own a store years ago, and several times I've dreamed that the store was still there, covered in dust, and I had abandoned it and/or someone else had been keeping it running for me. Then I have to scramble around and get invoices and merchandise in order. Hate that dream. LOL.

But most of my dreams are about large unfamiliar houses.

Oh my Gosh, Jae!!! How long ago was that??

I remember when Mom had her trach, in July. The nurse came in and told her they were going to turn it off. Mom's eyes got so big and scared. We were there, and the nurse was staying as well to keep an eye on her. She was breathing on her own. They did it for short periods of time, then unhooked the machine and left the trach in, in case she needed the machine again. They did take it out.

I remember them briefly when I first wake up but they usually disappear as the day goes on, unless it's truly memorable.

I have a few reoccurring dreams: A nightmare where I'm in school and homework or a big project is due and I completely forgot to do it and it's the worst feeling, another one where something is chasing me and I have to get in a door and i'm fumbling with the keys, I hate that one...and I often see my mom who passed away a few years ago, but in the dreams, it's just our daily life before she was sick. In the dreams, I don't know she's dead, she's just there like she always was. It's nice but sometimes I wish she would visit me and tell me she's okay.

I can also wake myself up in dreams sometimes. I know I'm dreaming and if I focus in the dream, I wake up. I remember one dream when I was a kid...a friend and I were swimming in a pool and Godzilla was coming, we could see him in the distance and I said to my friend, "okay this is just a dream so let's wake up before he gets here" and I closed my eyes and focused really hard and then I woke up. :)

I personally think dreams are more than just our imaginations/subconscious/whatever. I think it's a connection into another realm on some level. I know I am way more creative in dreams! I come up with things I never would typically.

jasdip - it was just before Thanksgiving. I have to have a small surgery to get it to close up. That will be in early January then I'm done ! I can totally relate to your Mom's experience.

So Jae, you had a portable oxygen tank constantly? You haven't been able to eat in all that time?

Some of my dreams seem so real, I feel like whatever happened. really happened. One night a person who was special to me came to me in a dream to say goodbye. I found out a few months later he had died.
Then in a reoccurring dream, I'm still at the motel we used to own, and doing rooms and laundry. That dream comes quite often and we sold the motel in 1999.

no, no! no machine and I have eaten all along. All I had was the thing in my esophagus that I breathed through. It required cleaning and was a source of infection. I needed it for the only source of staying alive after brain surgery and they couldn't remove it for so long. Then my lungs were so weakened that it was necessary. It then became an issue for me to be able to swallow normally, cough productively and remove phlegm, and get adequate oxygen. I guess it's a working but not by the plan they had, lol.

Fran1523, I also have the 'searching for a bathroom' dream. Thankfully , I never find it until I wake up! LOL

I have vivid dreams. I absolutely believe dreams they are significant. At least mine are.

I have had dreams that have been in great detail showing me the setting,the people I am in, with people (I may or may not know) and what is being discussed.
Even a decade later I found myself in the same scene, with the people in my dream with the same topic and even some exact words being used.

After a somewhat traumatic experience in my late teens I had a recurring "nightmare" for years and years. In it I was running away from something in an alley. I would then see the ally's end blocked by a car. I would turn and run the other way. There would be a loud explosion in my head. I would reach behind me and the back of my head would be a bloody mess. I would come awake terrified (actually "feeling" the blood and gore on my hand)and then would always become confused as to why the back of my head was gone if I had been shot from the back.

Almost years later I had to go back in time and deal in the environment related to the original traumatic events. I needed assistance regarding unrelated matter. I was given the assistance and ended up being helped more than I expected.

That week I had the same dream come back. Only this time when I saw the car at the end of that alley I realized it was a sanctuary to run to, not away from. I had always been shot from the front in my previous dreams. I was just running towards the danger when I turned away from the car. After that final dream that clarified everything I have never had it again.

I remember quite a few of my dreams, especially when I first wake. I too dream in color and most of my dreams are very vivid. I have people in my dreams from my childhood mixed in with people from my adult life. I always thought it was just my brain compressing all the information together while I slept, like a pc.

One recurrent dream I have is I am back in high school and I have forgotten the combination to my locker and the bell is ringing. Or I've forgotten where my classroom is.

I dream a lot and rarely remember unless I think of the last dream as i wake and try not to let it disappear. I had a dream of an old boyfriend's father, and the next day found out he died about that time. I actually didn't even know the man, and this was my BF in 6th grade... decades ago. I occasionally have a dream about my parents and don't for a moment wonder why they're there in the dream since both are dead. My scariest dream as a child was ..the people who were standing in the bath room near my bedroom looked exactly like my parents but they were imposters and evil.

I have one recurring dream related to when I lost my job. It is such a stressful dream, but I think it is just my mind trying to deal with it.

Last night I had a dream that my neighbor had a party and all her guests parked in my driveway. My driveway was filled with huge black SUVs. I think the reason I had this dream is that another neighbor moved in across the street and her babysitter has been parking directly across from my driveway making it difficult for me to back out. I am going to have to ask her to please not park there, although she legally can do it, and I am dreading that conversation.

The brain is a crazy thing, in more ways than one!

I don't remember many of my deams a few minutes after awaking. As I get older, I have fewer dreams. I do remember a few if it is particularily vivid or really silly. However, there is important dream that I had many years ago and still remember it because it put to rest a personal problem I was dealing with. I awoke with a start and felt that a great burden had been swept away. It was a scary dream. I was not in danger, but my child was. The dream proved we were a family unit.

Sometimes I remember. A recent one: I am in bed and awakened by a scrawny old man. He is taping me on the shoulder and saying, "move over, I am so cold. I want to get in and cover up". I am not shocked by this and think to myself that he somehow fell into the room through a high up window. I tell him that his clothes are too dirty for him to get into my bed, he must take them off. He replies that he has no pajamas and would not get into my bed with me without them. I tell him that I will find some pjs for him. I go about the house looking in every drawer, but can't find any. So I go next door (in the dream it is the house we lived in 13 years ago and 400 miles away) and begin searching. The dream ended as I am realizing that maybe the people that now live in the house might shoot me for looking through their drawers. I sure hope there is no meaning to this dream. (DH swares it wasn't him)

Many years ago I dreamed that I murdered my Dad. I did it with an axe, cutting him up in many pieces and put them under my bed. I awoke crying uncontrollably. Dad had died about 20 years before that dream. We had a great father daughter relationship. I missed him so much and felt so sad that he did not get to know my kids, and they him. Maybe this dream was an expression of my anger torwards him for leaving me at 17. I still replay that dream vividly over and over in my mind.

In my dreams that I remember the next day, I am being visited by friends and family members who are departed. I like those dreams.

I often rememeber a dream when I wake. If I will take a few minutes to look at it, I can almost always see how it relates to something I'm thinking about.

I sometimes have a dream in which I'm driving a car, but discover I'm trying to do so from the rear seat. My hands are on the wheel, but I'm unable to brake. It usually means I'm trying to control something that I can't control in life.

I'm usually able to 'direct' my dreams -- change what's happening.

The 'can't find it', 'I'm late', and 'I'm unprepared' dreams are commonly a remembrance of school day anxieties.