Running Dreams

[schadeaux]

I used to be into dream interpretaion and how dreams might be a form of preconscience. I came across the topic of "falling dreams" quite a bit, the ones where you find yourself falling from a building, a cliff, or just from nowhere. Your heart is pounding, breath is short and fast. That stuff.

I have those dreams occasionally, and they are cool once I wake up. But what I have trouble dealing with is "running dreams." Now, by this I don't mean your typical Olympic Sprinter running. It's like I am chasing or following (or less often running from) something/one, I don't know who/what. I sometimes start off running upright, like normal, but I always end up running on all fours, like an animal. This is especially noticable if I encounter stairs. But running like that just makes me feel faster, more "natural." And no, I don't recall ever catching or being caught by whatever, just that I had to run.

Any thoughts or ideas, your own experiances?

[Halo_Jones]

I have a dream where I'm at a nightclub having a great time, then when I go to the dance floor for a boogie, one of my legs is shorter than the other making it impossible to dance properly. I just get more and more frustrated as the DJ keeps playing all my fav music and I can hardly walk!!!

[Kismit]

Aww Halo that's awfull . I bet you don't get out as much as you would like . Must be frustrating .

Shadeaux I have the being chased dreams . My interpretation of those is that because I am often chased by a phsycotic axe murderer . Well the interpretation is that I am running away from my own personal bad habbits . They stopped when I accepted the fact that I am arogant at times . I hope that helps.

[Tommy]

I used to have the being chased one quite a lot.

In my dream I would be petrified of what I was running away from, not exactly knowing what it was. But to make the experience all the worse, I could only run in slow-motion. I would get down as low as possible to really try and push my way forward. Although I was never caught, it still felt pretty dreadful.

[Bizarro]

i think ive said this before but 90% of my dreams are about sex. constant random sex with many, many women. maybe not actual sex constantly, but lots of lusting, seduction, kissing, etc. sometimes, they are so vivid that i wake up 'in love' with the woman i met in my dream. i will even think about them for days afterwards. ive had these dreams since childhood. i remember being 5 years old and dreaming about meeting a naked woman in a tunnel under my street- this dream recurred for years with me meeting the same woman in the tunnel. now a lot of these dreams are with my wife, but not all of them

i am being totally serious. i rarely have nightmares (maybe 1 a year), have never had a dream where i ran/fell/flew, and also have never dreamed about awkward situations. i have an ability to control my dreams- almost like i can turn off a dream that i don't like. i sometimes wake up while having a dream, maybe a really spicey one, and i will immediately go back to sleep and just pick up where i left off. i love sleeping in on weekends because i dream much more vividly when i sleep for over 8 hours.

the other 10% of my dreams are achievement oriented. i would say i am working on something in them. they are like nonsense dreams though, i will try to wake myself and find something better to dream of.

[SpaceyKC]

I sometimes start off running upright, like normal, but I always end up running on all fours, like an animal. This is especially noticable if I encounter stairs.  But running like that just makes me feel faster, more "natural."  

That sounds like a Native American story about 'shape shifters'

(not sure if that's the term) but like an episode from TXF, where

the man is running and as he runs, he slowly changes into

a wolf.

Don't know if that helps at all, schadeaux. Maybe it symbolizes

your desire to be free of society's restrictions ~ or wanting to let

your spirit free.

[schadeaux]

Thanks, KC. I'm only part Indian, and I haven't payed much attention to the old lore and traditions. Maybe I'll look some of it up again.

[Kismit]

In my running dreams I was running away from an aspect of my self I wasn't comfortable with . For you Shadeaux you are chasing something , perhaps looking for some part of your self you want to know more about . It could be as simple as working on your out going nature or looking into your Native heritage.

What feelings do you experience when you have the dream shadeaux?

[Sageghost]

I sometimes have dreams about running away from someone/something, but for me it's like I can't run fast enough to get away. It's like I want to run fast but for some reason my legs just aren't working properly. Sometimes it's accompanied by a strange sinking feeling in my gut that something's about to get me.

Two things occur that prevent me from analysing this further: 1.) I never actually get 'caught' so I don't know exactly what I'm trying to escape from; and 2.) I have a bad habit of forgetting my dreams almost as soon as I wake up.

[SpaceyKC]

Sageghost, I have the same luck with forgetting what I dreamt

about. I read somewhere that if you keep pen and paper by

your bedside, you should write down everything you can remember

as soon as you open your eyes. I actually did that once after a very

bizarre dream, and it read like a sci-fi movie.

[TheOracle]

Good point KC . It is a good idea to keep a dream diary. If the dream or nightmare wakes you you should write it down imediately or do it as soon as you wake in the morning. It will help you to be able to analyse them later and eventually you will pick up more and more details of your dream.

It will also help you start to learn to be able to control your dreams to a certain degree.

I find that when I have dreams in the early morning, around 4 - 5 am'ish I am able to achieve this a lot better.

[Bizarro]

maybe you guys/gals need to try this... when you are having a dream when things are chasing you or you feel apprehensive just stop yourself and say out loud in your dream, "this is a dream, i can stop this, this is just a dream". ive tried to teach my wife how to do this as she has lots of bizarre sessions where i have to wake her because she starts breathing heavily and moving around a lot. she sometimes cries out in her sleep waking me.

i rarely if ever have those type of nightmares. for example, when i have a nightmare, i often stop the evil from hurting myself or others. i don't run from things, but rather i turn and face them, secure in the knowledge that i will win. my nightmares usually center around things that i cannot control, such as the death of a loved one. they arent scary but i sometimes wake with a feeling of unease.

oh yeah, and i just remembered a common type of nightmare i have. they are very grand in scope- like being awash on a giant raging ocean- but also very confusing and complex. i will try to control them but there are too many other people/things to try and help/control at once. like, i will see many people drowning or in need of my help and my desire to help will confuse my ability to control my dream. sometimes, i have also dreamed of large caves or gigantic lands full of people that cry out. i remember one dream i had a rope tied around me and i was dragging people from a cave but i awoke feeling sickened that i couldn't do more to help. those are the dreams that bother me.

[schadeaux]

You all make very good points, thanks.

I have thought of the dream diary thing, though I have never tried it. When I wake up I remember the dream quite clearly and think I will always remember it. But it is mostly gone later by the time I remember I want to remember it.

And the "just a dream" thing, DS, I have tried that with no luck during bad dreams. But these running dreams I don't think of as bad. I'm not afraid or anything in them, more exilerated. I always want the dream to continue, but I just wake up before it ends. And I don't think I ever pick up where I left off, start over, or ever really reach a conclusion.

I think the strongest thing about the dream is that I am doing something I have to do, and doing it the way it needs to be done (as an animal?).

[Bloated Corpse]

I have one dream that constantly reoccurs other than the nightmare that pops up occasionally about my accident. Anyways, this dream I am in an area where everything is all white the people, the cars, the buildings and the sky. I find myself running away from this guy in a white suit, white top hat, white walking cane and vivid green eyes. I'm not really afraid of him but I know I have to get away from him I'm not sure if it's a life threatening event or not. While I am running I keep looking back and he is always there but he's not running. I always end in the same building each time I have the dream.

[Althalus]

This is an entry in one dream book that I have:

running a fortunate dreamn of advantageous journeys and elevation in rank unless the dreeamer falls over while doing so, in which case misfortune is denoted. (gypsy folklore)

[Bizarro]

the running on all fours thing is fascinating, Schadeaux. i think the others are right about it having something to do with being like an animal. i think it might be different from what Althalus posted, for you at least. the other's running dreams seem to be that type.

BC, your dreams always freak me out. ive noticed in the past that youve posted about them and thought you have some very bizarre stuff going on. that dreams scares me because its just so unusual. the main thing i notice is that you dream without color. all my dreams are in color. the green of his eyes may represent money. are you in financial difficulties? the fact that you see only one color must represent something, although i am really clueless as to what.

here is a link to an online version of a book i have called 10, 000 dreams interpreted. if you scroll down you will eventually find an alphabetical listing of dreams:

1st half of book:

http://encyclopediaindex.com/b/drmnt10.htm

2nd half of book:

http://www.selfknowledge.com/drmnt1b.htm

[cerberus]

I have re-occuring dreams.

I have 2 dreams i vividly remember. I acn smell, taste, hear etc.

When i have these dreams, i actually know i'm having them as i always seem to think before the dream.. 'it's that dream again' and 'i havent had that for ages', but i remember every detail.

One is where i board a Red Dwarf like spacecraft, and land on a forest plant. Everything is cool, until a huge tidal wave wipes us out.

We left earth because of a huge global disaster, that wiped out mankind.

It was like a huge fireball / flood / war / disease. Total anarchy. Hell, if you like.

I am 6 at the time, and not my age. Always 6 yrs old.

The 2nd dream is i'm just nowhere. i cant explain it, but its an abyss.

There is a flimsy looking piece of string above me, which i'm holding in my hand. The string is extremely strong, and floats upright in the air. On top of the string is a huge rock, that weighs possibly 300 tons+.

This image scares the crap out of me, and i wake up and very scared.

It's very disturbing. I fear that the rock will fall on me, but the string cannot possibly hold up 300 tons. That is ultra confusing, and paranoia sets in, in the dream. If i move, i die, if i dont, i could do.

It's not alien related, but very strange.

What do you all make of these?

Is it just a typical warning dream?

[schadeaux]

Thanks for the links, DS. They do have some interesting descriptions. However, none of them seem quite right.

Running alone, indicates that you will outstrip your friends in the race

for wealth, and you will occupy a higher place in social life.

That's cool, but it does not address how I'm running.

If you run from danger, you will be threatened with losses,

and you will despair of adjusting matters agreeably.

As I said before, only occasionally do I feel like I'm running FROM something, though there is no real sense of danger or fear.

To see stock running, warns you to be careful in making new trades

or undertaking new tasks.

What if I AM the stock???

I looked at references to specific animals (dogs, cats, etc), no help there.

I am so confused.

[SpaceyKC]

schadeaux, I found a website that tells what animals symbolize

in dreams. That might help if you know what kind of animal you

are in your dreams (maybe a wolf?)

http://www.dreamdoghouse.com/animaltop10.asp

[Bizarro]

ya, that book was written ages ago. the guy who wrote it is long gone, that's why its on the internet. i sometimes cannot find contemporary items that i dream about in there, but its still very interesting.

Cerberus, your dream seems like the type of dreams i had when i was around 18 years old. they may just be a symptom of the intense changes in your life? do you have intense changes? that's what my Dad told me when i explained my strange dreams to him at the time, and it seems possible in your case as well.

[Kismit]

I do most of my dream interpretation based on the feelings the person feels in a dream . It's not so much the things we dream of but the feelings they conjure up that make a dream important .

I have a younger brother (I'm goin somewhere with this , trust me) he is 5 years younger than me . When he was about 3 years old I had constant night mares that somebody would take him away . My mother tried to help by telling me to think of nice things like sweets and butterflies .

Any way that night I dreamt a giant Ice-cream kidnapped him and it frightened the living day lights out of me .

Shadeaux I don't know you well enough to tell you what it is you are after but I can tell you that there is something you feel you deserve but can't quite get it . The animalistic part of the dream has probably got more to do with it being something you see as a basic need .

Take some time out and asses your needs. Perhaps it is that the days you are doing more for others are the day's that you have this dream .

Cerebrus what on earth happened to you when you where 6 ? Your dreams are trully bizzare .

Oh and Shadeaux the only other thing I can possibly put your dream down to is that you are a Werewolf , noticed any extra hair on the pillowcase afterwards ?

[schadeaux]

AAAAA! And I thought I was going bald!

No, Kismit, no extra hair on the pillow. Althogh the chicken feathers and sheep blood has me a bit concerned... And, yes, I do think I deserve a raise at work, but that is a long story.

And thanks for the link, KC. I weeded out all the ones with no legs (flying fish? ) and I think I recognise a little bit of what's left. If I had to pick just one, I would probably be a mouse. Mouses are cool.

[Kismit]

Lol Shadeaux silly you , chicken feathers and sheep blood are normal . Happens all the time ...right guy's

[SpaceyKC]

 If I had to pick just one, I would probably be a mouse.  Mouses are cool.

So, would you be MICKEY or MIGHTY?

[schadeaux]

Micky, as he was in Fantasia.