For the past couple of weeks, I've been having the same recurring dream every night. It has even popped up the couple of times I've gotten the chance at a daytime nap. I've never really been someone who spent much time analyzing my dreams, preferring instead to enjoy them in whatever manner they present themselves. On the few occasions I've had recurring dreams in the past, they would come once or twice and then retreat into memories. Most of them I cannot even remember now. This time, however, the dream is visiting me night after night, and I awaken with it fresh in my mind every morning.
Nearly 3 weeks into this repetitive dream cycle now, the dream remains so much in the forefront of my mind that I relive it even in my waking dreams (daydreams) in snippets throughout the day.
Although I typically don't read deep meanings into my dreams, I do believe that they are one of the tools our minds use to heal themselves. In your dreaming world, you can do things that you can not—or would not—do in your real life. You can have new experiences, attempt difficult tasks, and get closure for past relationships.
In my dream, I'm in a hospital waiting room. I do not know why I'm there, or if I'm a patient or visitor. So far, that seems to be irrelevant in my dream. I'm usually sad, but not overwhelmingly. As I sit in this room, people keep coming to meet up with me, to sit with me for a while. So far, each of these people has been someone from my past with whom I do not still have a positive relationship (or, in some cases, any relationship at all). In each case, the visitor and I talk about our happy memories and our past hurts. Each of these conversations ends with us in tears, ready to let go of the pain of the past and part on good terms.
So far, I have been visited in my dreams by dozens of people including ex-boyfriends, my ex-husband and several of his relatives, former co-workers, some of my own relatives (some living, some deceased), former friends and classmates, and the two women responsible for the accidents that totaled two of my cars. Through these dreams, I have finally been able to forgive people who have hurt me in my past. I have also been able to finally forgive myself for some of the regrettable choices I have made.
It's been a remarkably healing experience, which is perhaps why my mind keeps setting this up in a hospital. At times I have heard music playing in the background, usually a song that is tied to a specific incident in the history I share with the person visiting me. Some of these dreams have felt as though they were over in a flash, and others have felt days or weeks long. Science says that dreams last anywhere from a few seconds to 20 minutes of real sleep time, but anecdotal evidence suggests that dreams can feel as though they have spanned hours, weeks, or even years.
The human brain is, in many ways, one of the greatest mysteries science has yet to explain. Our minds are capable of such extraordinary things. I, for one, and certainly thankful for what appears to be my own mind's capability for self-healing. I look forward to seeing what this dream cycle may yet have in store for me.
I have no way of knowing how many more of these experiences I will have in my sleep.
Nearly 3 weeks into this repetitive dream cycle now, the dream remains so much in the forefront of my mind that I relive it even in my waking dreams (daydreams) in snippets throughout the day.
Although I typically don't read deep meanings into my dreams, I do believe that they are one of the tools our minds use to heal themselves. In your dreaming world, you can do things that you can not—or would not—do in your real life. You can have new experiences, attempt difficult tasks, and get closure for past relationships.
In my dream, I'm in a hospital waiting room. I do not know why I'm there, or if I'm a patient or visitor. So far, that seems to be irrelevant in my dream. I'm usually sad, but not overwhelmingly. As I sit in this room, people keep coming to meet up with me, to sit with me for a while. So far, each of these people has been someone from my past with whom I do not still have a positive relationship (or, in some cases, any relationship at all). In each case, the visitor and I talk about our happy memories and our past hurts. Each of these conversations ends with us in tears, ready to let go of the pain of the past and part on good terms.
So far, I have been visited in my dreams by dozens of people including ex-boyfriends, my ex-husband and several of his relatives, former co-workers, some of my own relatives (some living, some deceased), former friends and classmates, and the two women responsible for the accidents that totaled two of my cars. Through these dreams, I have finally been able to forgive people who have hurt me in my past. I have also been able to finally forgive myself for some of the regrettable choices I have made.
It's been a remarkably healing experience, which is perhaps why my mind keeps setting this up in a hospital. At times I have heard music playing in the background, usually a song that is tied to a specific incident in the history I share with the person visiting me. Some of these dreams have felt as though they were over in a flash, and others have felt days or weeks long. Science says that dreams last anywhere from a few seconds to 20 minutes of real sleep time, but anecdotal evidence suggests that dreams can feel as though they have spanned hours, weeks, or even years.
The human brain is, in many ways, one of the greatest mysteries science has yet to explain. Our minds are capable of such extraordinary things. I, for one, and certainly thankful for what appears to be my own mind's capability for self-healing. I look forward to seeing what this dream cycle may yet have in store for me.
I have no way of knowing how many more of these experiences I will have in my sleep.
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