Neurology

Recurrent Dream Realization

Recurring Dreams
Publish 5 April 2022

Do you have recurring lucid dreams? If so, are they indicative of something that happened in the past or do they portend future events?

Dream Girl

icon

How much of an effect can dreams have on your life? Nick has always been an avid dreamer. At age 17, he would enumerate his lifelong aspirations to friends in lucid detail. Earlier, when he was 14 years old, a recurring nighttime scene perplexed him.

During crepuscular dreams, he caught a glimpse of an alluring young woman sauntering a distance from himself in his late 50s. Nick’s awareness of a specific era in his lifetime was curious enough. But his focus was on the mystery woman.

Ruminating on cumulative details, the teenager would slip into slumberland to resume the same pursuit. His obsession was to gather more details about this mysterious female. Questions keep building up. Why is she never within reach? Who is she and what is the nature of their prospective relationship? Is the strong attraction mutual?

Nick scrutinized the dark straight hair hanging to her middle back. He memorized her distinctive stride. With lips waxed shut, he tried to call out an unknown name.

In one encounter, the enchanting woman slowly turned enough for Nick to make out a faint profile. From her complexion, he ascertained that she was of mixed race. She was not fearful of his pursuit, yet moving beyond his grasp. Appearing to be in her late 20s or early 30s, she was young enough to be his daughter at this future time.

Wandering female back

He asked himself repeatedly, “Who is she?” without an answer. Facial features were not distinct enough to identify the woman. Eventually, he awakened with a sobering conclusion. The missing clues were the result of viewing someone who had not yet been born.

Nick wondered if this emotional attachment could be a portent of a future child or prospective young wife. Would this be someone close that he loses? He pondered, “Will I wait until my 50s to meet this woman or will my life course without anticipation of her lead to our inevitable encounter?”

These are deep questions for a 14-year-old boy to ponder. But they are ones Nick revisited throughout much of his life. Nick’s heart raced each time he had the intriguing dream. The essence of the relationship with the subconscious woman remained a mystery.

Measured Distance

He viewed each woman he met through the lens of his childhood vision. None of Nick’s romantic relation­ships fit the description of the subliminal female. He married, fulfilled most of his life goals, and put the validity of the dream aside.

In his 40s, Nick met an 18-year-old girl named Krista. Her presence conjured up the intangible familiarity a parent might have upon being reunited with a child who had been separated at birth.

His curiosity about Krista wasn’t clear, but he began mentoring her. Always in public places, she hung on his every word as a platonic relationship blossomed. She became like a daughter to Nick.

Manifesting Destiny

By the time Nick was in his late 50s, Krista was nearly 30 years old. One day, he noticed the familiar stride of this mixed-race female with long hair hanging down her back as she walked away from him.

An alarm clock went off as the elusive connection became apparent. It startled Nick to relive the dream in a conscious state. When he was 14 years old, she was in her 20s. Though she is that age now, Nick is in his 50s. With a rapid heartbeat, his familiar childhood emotions returned. The peculiar relationship, destined to never be, had crept into his real world.

A woman, older than Nick, time-traveled 40 years into the future to become one younger than him in the present. He could now place a face and name with the figure. Krista, a woman he had been chasing much of his life, was at last physically within reach. But his marriage and the age difference forged a chasm he dared not transcend.

As during a dream, his lips were numb to vocalize such a bizarre revelation. Is this the symbolism behind her always being out of reach or his inability to call out to her in his adolescent dreams?

“The peculiar relationship destined to never be.”

Perceiving how the close friendship might escalate, Nick relocated to put distance between him and Krista. They were both saddened by the separation for which Nick could not offer a sane explanation. Again, she was out of physical reach—their infatuation or something more remains unrequited.

Now an aged reflection of his youth with the only literal distance between his materialized phantasmal muse, Nick ponders past encounters. Sometimes he wonders if what he believes to be reality is a perpetuation of the original dream. Perhaps he will awaken at 14 years young with perfect clarity. This time, would he wait for Krista? If so, will he reveal his lifelong journey to meet her?

Boy awakening

Dream Psychology

In most cases, our brains put together recent memories to form a surreal story. [1] We may or may not remember our dreams that seem to retain important information and discard superfluous details. Psychology describes dreams as a succession of involuntary sensations, emotions, ideas, and images that occur during certain stages of sleep. [2]

In the 1900s, Sigmund Freud nurtured the theory of interpretive dreams. Going back thousands of years before this, different cultures ascribed meaning to dreams. Today, some individuals still believe dreams have meaning, while many people consider them meaningless. What about you?

What’s the difference between recurring and reoccurring dreams? Reoccurring dreams describe a common theme with different circum­stances. Recurring dreams have identical events.

Recurrent dreams occur in 60–75% of adults. Most of such dreams are negative, perhaps based on past traumas. Common themes include: being attacked or chased, falling, being stuck, being late, missing or failing a class exam, and losing control of an auto­mobile. [3] Some dreams are self-fulfilling: we don’t study for an exam, then dream of humiliation from failure.

We may fly (freedom), find hidden rooms in our home (opportunity), try to escape authorities (guilt), or have sexually explicit dreams (unfulfillment). We forget most of what we dream. Some therapists theorize that recurrent dreams reveal the presence of unresolved conflicts or stressors in our lives. [1,4]

Nick’s dreams may represent an emotional conflict with negative consequences. It is not feasible to pursue a relation­ship he curiously should, but logically should not. Experts believe that resolving past issues will abate negative recurring dreams. If this is so, Nick must examine traumas before 14 years of age. Then figure out how and why this recurring dream came to life over four decades later.

Could it be like musical chairs? The time for fulfillment arrived, the music stopped, and Krista was the only one sitting that fit the description. Perhaps it is a subconscious self-fulfilling event. Either way, it was the allegorical dream of a lifetime. What are your dreams for the future?

To support the writing of useful articles about neurology, ClinicalPosters sells human anatomy charts, scientific posters, and other products online. You may sponsor specific articles or remit a small donation.

ClinicalPosters sells human anatomy charts, scientific posters, and other products online to offset expense of the writing useful articles about neurology. Slide extra posters into DeuPair Frames without removing from the wall.

Show your support by donating, shopping for ClinicalPins, or leaving an encourag­ing comment to keep the research going.

To support the writing of useful articles about neurology, ClinicalPosters sells human anatomy charts, scientific posters, and other products online. You may sponsor specific articles or remit a small donation.

ClinicalPosters sells human anatomy charts, scientific posters, and other products online to offset expense of the writing useful articles about neurology. Slide extra posters into DeuPair Frames without removing from the wall.

ClinicalPosters sells human anatomy charts, scientific posters, and other products online. You may remit a small donation.

You can support the writing of useful articles about neurology by sponsoring specific articles or remitting a small donation. Visible content is optimized for device size.

Read next article

'Female shoulder bandage'
'Seated pensive man'