My dreams are often quite complex and perplexing, and I do dream a lot. I sometimes feel I wake more tired than when I went to sleep because I've dreamed so much. I was born and raised in one town, and I moved when I was 24 to where I live now. (I'm now 27.) I find that a lot of my dreams take place where I was born, even if the people in them are from where I am now living. Why do we often return to the same old setting time and again in dreams? Could it be that I just feel safer where I grew up? Is this a common experience for most people? Thanks! - Lisa
Dreamchaser:
You hit the nail on the head and answered your own question, Lisa. There are many people who dream of their childhood home and/or the people who were around while they were growing up.
Sometimes these dreams are positive and warm like yours. You had a wonderful childhood and you long to go back to a time when you felt safe and protected. Others have nightmarish dreams of the past, for not everyone had idyllic early years. Regardless of the quality of their childhood experiences, many people dream of the homes they grew up in.
Children spend much of their time wishing to be grown up. They daydream of being able to drive, get a house, get married, and go out to exciting places at night looking just fabulous. When they do grow up and the realities of adulthood sink in, they then often wish they could go back to being a child.
Your dreams simply reflect your deep longing to go back to a time when you had few worries or fears. You were fed three meals a day without question. You were bandaged up when you were hurt or taken to the doctor when you were sick. You were provided with clothing for every situation. Every one of your needs was fulfilled, and as for your desires, all you had to do was ask.
Life is no longer that way. In fact, you're finding it quite a struggle at times, so your mind goes back to when you could just relax and rest your soul.
I'm here to tell you that you CAN have all you need now, just by asking - you just have to ask a different source. Instead of asking your parents, you should ask the Universe. When you are limited in any way, it is because you are limiting yourself.
The experience you had when you were a child is not lost forever - it can be yours now. You just have to have faith that you can be provided for in the same way in order to manifest that experience.
For the next 30 days, every time you look in a mirror, gaze into your own eyes and say, "You CAN feel just as nurtured and protected as you did long ago." You will start to see this manifest in your experience once you convince yourself that you can have it.
Now I want to address the flip side of this for those of you who wake up in a cold sweat after dreams of your childhood. You can also create the future you want by looking in a mirror and saying, "You are safe and protected. You have nothing to fear. The world is your oyster and your needs are always fulfilled."
I wish you healthy integration of the past, present and future.
*****
Astrea:
Yes, Lisa, we often dream of our happy pasts to comfort ourselves. I have heard from hundreds of people who tell me that they dream about happier times, even though the people who are in their lives now are all mixed up with the past.
Our subconscious will try to take care of us any way it can, and dreaming about places and things that we loved as children is one way. Happy dreams prepare us for the daily grind we face in our waking lives. You are lucky that you can take yourself to a nicer, safer place in your dreams.
Many people have anxious dreams about the past. I often dream that I am back in high school, which was a particularly challenging time for me, and that I haven't finished one class, and until I do, I can't have my diploma!
Some people dream of being naked in a room filled with old friends. Last week, I even had one person tell me that she dreamed she was naked at her upcoming wedding. She's looking forward to this event more than anything she's ever done in her life. Her subconscious did a number on her because it's so important to her and she is thus very nervous about it.
By dreaming of a time when you were happy, safe and content, your subconscious helps you to relax and get re-centered. When you dream about everything being like it was when you were a little kid, you prepare yourself for all the grown-up things you'll have to do the next day.
At the same time, reoccurring dreams often carry messages. It might be fun for you to keep a little notebook or calendar beside your bed and mark down every time you have dreams of your childhood. That way, you can see if they come to you at a particular time of the month, if they come on Sunday nights before you have to be back at work on Monday, or even if they don't have any pattern at all. I believe you'll find that they happen right before or right after you've faced a big adult challenge.
Also, certain people in your life may trigger these dreams. If you keep that calendar going, you may see that the dreams come to you after you've spoken to friends or relatives from that time in your life.
They might also be a REMINDER to call home, talk to your mother, or take care of something that you've been ignoring, such as a dental or health issue. By keeping a record of when they happen to you, you'll discover more about what those dreams mean to you in particular.
I'm glad that your dreams of where you grew up aren't NIGHTMARES, for lots of us have those too!
Astrea:
Many times in life we hear, "You will always have what you NEED, but not necessarily what you WANT." Your spirit must have needed to experience the feeling of leaving your human body, and the suggestion in the next chapter of Sylvia Brown's book was all it took to get you there.
Even though you hadn't read it yet, your SOUL recognized the title of that chapter as something it had been seeking, and your soul, knowing that you had that reference to read after your experience, got with it and out you went!
While I don't usually recommend her books, Sylvia Brown has a wide reaching and powerful effect on lots of people. A Gemini like you would be able to relate easily to her writing and put it to good use. Synchronicity - you gotta love it!
I like your description of "getting caught." That's exactly what it feels like, isn't it? One minute you're free and hovering above the room, and the next minute, ZAP! back down into your corporeal form you go!
As a little kid, I loved that "feeling of return." With practice, most of the time we can control that event, but sometimes, when our physical ears hear a distracting noise or something else occurs to knock us back into reality, back we go. With practice you will be able to control your return better.
I find it interesting that you were visiting your mother-in-law and not someone in your own genetic family. Evidently, you and your husband got married for reasons that are even deeper than love. His family's interest in "psychic stuff" will nurture your children in such matters and help them to grow into their own abilities.
You'll never have to be concerned that when your daughter visits them, she'll be discouraged from exploring her own psychic life and power. My parents encouraged me to develop my psychic senses in a time when it wasn't nice to even discuss such things in public. Heck, it's STILL not considered a great topic at the dinner table in some families!
Your kids will get to talk about it ALL and ask questions and read and study. This is going to give them such an edge in life! Talk with your husband about how you want to present this to your kiddos, so that you are united in your approach and ready to tell them their experiences are all natural and okay.
A word or two of warning: Geminis often have difficulty staying grounded in REAL LIFE. Don't get so strung out on your ASTRAL life that you neglect what you're doing here on Earth.
You are at the beginning of a long journey to learn where your power really lies. Try to be patient with this process and take your time.