Tales From The Couch: Part 10–Recurring Dreams

Greetings and salutations!!!

Lately I’ve been having these recurring dreams. They all involve me trying to get into some kind of car, or the driver not being able to take me to where I need to go.

So, after the THIRD dream where this theme occured, I decided to talk to her about it. It was interesting–I don’t really believe in the Freudian concept where items represent the same thing for EVERYONE. To me, that doesn’t make sense. I think that what we dream about are tailored to our own lives and what goes on inside them.

That is the Jungian way of dream analysis. Now, it has to be said that I’m not a professional so take all the stuff I say about dreams, etc, with a big grain of salt. Getting back to the Jungian analysis–it does stand that I would keep on having these dreams until my conscious figured out what my subconscious was trying to say. That what happens when I have recurring dreams.

Commonalities to the dreams–in two of the dreams, something prevented me from getting into the car. The first dream’s obstacle was a snowbank (it was in the middle of winter). In the third dream, the car was way too small for someone of my size to fit into it. The second dream? Well, the cabbie didn’t have any clue as to the directions he needed to follow.

The atmosphere–in each dream, the atmosphere sucked. The first dream was winter, the second and third dreams were dark, cloudy, and dreary days and evenings. They weren’t pleasant at all.

So, I was told to tell the dream in the present tense, and then continue with it. We primarily focused on the third dream. It was dark and rainy, in Toronto, but the topography was all wrong. I tend to lucid dream, so I realized in my dream that there was the possibility that I was dreaming. I order an Uber and a cab…and the uber gets there first. It’s a cool sports car, blue and silver, but it’s too small for me to get into. So my therapist asked me..”What would it take to get into the car?” I replied, “Well, I’d have to kick the driver out, and take over.” So, I “did” just that in my retelling. And then the kicker…she (my therapist) asked me where I would drive to once I had control. And I said..”Away”. I got choked up at this actually, as it represented a breakthrough of sorts.

My dreams about the cars were NOT focused on the destination per se, but focused on getting away from something or someone. THAT’S what I needed to do, or need to do in my life. So, my therapist explained that this kind of dream analysis is based on Gestalt theories.

There is some kind of anxiety or strong desire to leave something or someone or some place. For whatever reason, I’m not moving or leaving fast enough, and it’s causing me some grief which is represented by me not being able to use the car as transportation to get away from my current situation.

Oh, I did want to mention- I experience lucid dreams, namely, there’s a very good chance that I’m going to be aware that I’m dreaming while I’m in the dream state. It’s freaking weird and cool to experience!!! It’s like watching a TV movie inside your head with you as the star.