Maybe someone else out there has experienced this. I dream very actively. I am always either chasing someone or being chased. I never know who it is, and we never catch up with each other. Almost EVERY night, I have this same dream scenario: While in the middle of a chase, I board an elevator. The elevator is always different; from one-person size to able to fit 12 cars; from very elegant and layered in precious metals to the old-style, rusted gate that you have to close first. Well, I get on, press the floor button, and the elevator starts to drop – plummet, really. It always feels like the elevator is free-falling, that the cable snapped. I’m floating in mid air, desperately hanging on to anything I can. But, the elevator always stops on the floor it’s supposed to, with no problems. Then, I run off the elevator and continue the chase. Does anyone know what this could represent? I think it may be that I feel that I’m not fully in control of my life. Thank for any replies.
Hmmmmmm.......... First, you the chaser or you the one being chased never meets up with the other. Are you always chasing after something that seems unattainable? Are you running away from something such as a responsibility or committment? What do elevators mean to you as a symbol? You could try describing an elevator as if you are describing one to someone that's never seen one or heard of one. Some of the words you use to describe an elevator could give you a clue as to what they mean to you in the dream. Also, they could be a metaphor for going deeper into the subconscious. You are always "freefalling" in them. You say the elevators stop where they are supposed to. Do they stop where you want to stop? Or do you feel comfortable with where they stop?
Thank you, sweet slumber, for your insightful reply. I'm not sure if I am always chasing after something that seems unattainable. I don't think so, but I can't rule that out. I could be running away from something such as a responsibility or committment - that wouldn't surprise me if it were true. In fact, I think that you may be completely right on that count. As a symbol, elevators don't mean much to me at all, except that I now have a slight fear of them due to my dreams. In my dreams, they seem to be merely a necessity as I am often in a tall building. As far as I know in the dream, the elevators stop on the floor that the button was pressed for. However, I have no idea if that's the case, but in the dream it always seems like it stops exactly where I was expecting it to. So, I'm not sure if they stop where I want to stop or if I just feel comfortable with where they stop. But it's never a surprise for me where they stop. Do you think that it could be an issue of control - that I may have none?
I wonder if the freefalling elevator image might be telling you that sometimes things are beyond your control but, although the idea of this may seem like plummeting into chaos, you will most likely end up where you need to be anyway. This 'place' where you need to be may be inside you because, as Sweet Slumber suggested with the idea of going deeper into your subconscious, buildings often represent aspects of yourself - with the different floors being layers of your consciousness. I think elevators are common motifs that reflect this feeling in dreams; and also in movies where ascending or descending to different levels has some significance to a plot - because of this, they have become part of the contemporary Western collective unconscious in this respect.