Listening to Your Unconscious
Recurrent dreams may be the most important dreams that you can experience because the unconscious is
trying to convey something that is obviously very important to you on a deep level. It is consistently prodding
you to understand the meaning of the dream with the purpose of ultimate resolution.
For some people the outcome of the dream will change over the course of only a few months and once the issue no
longer is present, the dream will cease.
Actor's Nightmare Dream
One client was having a recurrence of the "actor's nightmare". This is the dream that one is on stage,
in front of a live audience, having never rehearsed the play. They don't know the lines or how to move about on
the stage. They bumble around trying not to look ridiculous, but of course they end up terribly embarrassed and
wake up in a panic.
This client was not an actor, but the actor's nightmare does not discriminate in regard to profession. This person
was in the process of changing his job. He was anxious about the ability to translate his skills to accommodate
the new position. This insecurity was the basis of his nightmare. Once he had been in the new position
for a few months and felt secure in his knowledge of what was required, the nightmare stopped.
Evolution of the Recurring Dream
Some recurrent dreams stay with a person for many years or perhaps a lifetime. They evolve very slowly, changing
only a little at a time. Then one may have a small breakthrough and stay on a plateau for a period of time before
the next breakthrough.
A classic example of this is a woman that I will call Susan, who started having nightmares when she was less than
five years old. She would dream that she could fly up but couldn't fly down. She wanted very much to fly so she
would start going up but as she got higher and higher she would be terrified to stop because she knew that the
only way to get back to earth was to simply stop moving her arms, where upon she would plummet to the earth and
probably die from the fall. Eventually she would take a deep breath and stop… fall to the ground and wake up from
the impact.
As these dreams progressed throughout her childhood she became more and more aware at the beginning of each dream,
that she shouldn't start flight in the first place. She knew what was coming, but she couldn't resist the temptation
of the ecstasy she felt soaring up toward the sky. When she was in her twenties she started dreaming that she could
actually make very short flights, not high off the ground and not very far, but she suddenly had some small control.
As she grew older, into her thirties and forties she flew higher and further. Now in her sixties, there are no
limits to the flights she takes and the extraordinarily beautiful places she sees. She also, no longer uses her
arms to fly, but propels herself by will from her solar plexus. These long time recurring dreams parallel her journey
to maturity as she became more confident in her ability to take chances and succeed, her sense of control over
her life and the fulfillment of her life long desire for freedom.
It is possible to actually make practical progress in your life condition while you are asleep and working in
your dreams… especially in your recurring dreams.
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