I've had the same dream over and over. It's about a house I used to live in. In my dream, I'm very happy to go back there but someone else has been living there. Now that I'm back, I don't want anyone to know in case the authorities catch me and tell me to leave. Sometimes the house is warm and inviting but other times the house is dark, the windows are broken and the curtains are blowing through the broken windows. What does this mean? Thank you for any help you can give me on this.
Paula
Astrea:
When houses themselves seem to be central or significant in dreams, they often represent us. The house in your dream is YOU: it symbolizes your conscious and subconscious feelings at the times you're having those dreams. (Remember that the things that appear in our dreams are generally SYMBOLS of actual people, places or things.)
If you keep a dream journal, you'll discover that certain things in your waking life are causing these recurring dreams of your old home. When it welcomes you with that warm, inviting feeling, you have probably had a waking experience that was good and pleasant, so your subconscious returns you to a time when you felt happy and free while living in this old home.
When you dream of the house being broken down, perhaps you've been angry or hurt by something in your waking life, and this is represented in your dream by the sorry state of the house. The authorities you're avoiding in your dream are authorities you're struggling with in your waking life: your husband, friends, parents, or anyone you let boss you around at times.
As these real life events may come days, weeks or months before you have a house dream, you may want to start journaling. By keeping a journal of when that dream occurs for six months, a pattern will emerge that will tell you what stimulates your subconscious to send you these messages.
The more you work with the symbols in the dream by relating them to the choices you're making and the actions you're taking in your waking life, the clearer this will all become for you.
I want to point one thing out, however. You say the windows are broken when the house is in disrepair in your dream, and this could mean that it's time to get your eyes tested in waking life.
I don't feel this is true here, however - I think it means there is something obvious you need to see while you're awake that you've not noticed yet. Most likely, this concerns a parent or a sibling and a problem that you're ignoring or avoiding.
After you solve that problem, when you dream of your former home, it will be warm and inviting every time.
*****
Susyn:
Often when people dream about a house repeatedly, the house represents the person themselves and the state their life at that moment. Because this was a house you once lived in, it may represent the state of mind you were in back then.
I dream of a house regularly too. Though I've never lived in it, it always appears to be located near where I was born. Each time I have this dream, I can see correlations between the changes in the house and my current state of affairs.
For example, I dreamed of the house being inhabited by strangers, and discovered that to be a symbol of my inability to be true to myself when others are around.
To dream of returning to a house you feel someone else has been living in could imply that you've been letting other people make your decisions or influence your life in undesirable ways. For example, if you are involved in a relationship that tends to color your choices, the house may symbolize the fact that someone else has taken charge.
The fact that you feel you don't belong in the house and fear that the authorities may find out you are there suggests you might be hiding something or feeling guilty about something going on in your life. This dream could be sending you messages that some behavior or choice you've made is making you feel uneasy.
These choices may seem warm and inviting at times, while at other times they could leave you feeling empty or uneasy. Broken windows with the curtains blowing through them suggest a void or the sense that you are feeling unsafe, unprotected or exposed.
Because you don't mention any specific events currently going on in your life, you'll have to figure out if the dream refers to a personal relationship, job situation, or some health or financial difficulties you are walking through.
In any case, taking action on whatever aspect of your life may be in turmoil should produce happier dreams about this house in the future.
This dream will continue to return to you, and each time it does, it will provide a wonderful way to evaluate the current state of your life and what changes you may need to make.
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.