I don’t have reoccurring dreams as much as reoccurring themes in my dreams. I can never really remember my dreams other than these. The first one is Labyrinths. No matter what I’m dreaming about, where I am or if it’s a good or bad dream the world I’m in is always some kind of labyrinth. The second is water. Most of the time I am swimming or I’m under water. I have had many dreams where I am swimming up but I can’t break the surface of the water. I don’t feel panicked or like I’m drowning though. Sometimes I remember walking through rooms or fields of some kind with pools of glowing water. The third is black animals (shadows?) of some kind. Whether it’s a dog, cat, monkey, camel, you name it. There is always a black, shadowy animal following behind me. It never feels threatening or menacing in any way. It’s just there. So would anyone have any ideas as to what this could mean if it does mean anything?
A dream of being in a labyrinth could have to do with you having to make a choice and not being sure of what to choose. It could have to do with a decision about a particular thing or about where you want to go in life. I think that your always finding yourself in a labyrinth could be your unconscious' way of saying that you have to make your own decisions and that you are responsible for your own future. Is that how you feel in waking life? Water in dreams usually has to do with the emotions or the unconscious. Not being able to break through the water might have to do with not being able to "break through" a wall that is preventing you from dealing with certain thoughts or emotions. Walking through rooms or fields with pools of glowing water could have to do with getting in touch with your emotions or unconscious thoughts. More on dreams about water here. The black animals sound like they represent parts of your personalities. I think the type of animal would have something to do with the part of your personality it represents. They could be parts of your personality that you are unaware of and havent' developed, or that you are repressing. The part of your personality that is represented by the animal in a particular dream could be a part of your personality that you need to develop and use in order to deal with a particular situation you are in, or a part of your personality that is causing you problems in a particular situation you are in. It would be interesting if you could control your dreams enough to try to turn around and face the animal and find out more about it.
Thank you, you have given me much to think about. What you say eerily follows with how things are or I feel when I'm awake. I would like to be able to, but I have never been able to control my dreams. It's more like running on a treadmill that I have no control of. Would you have any suggestions that might help with that?
Some people can and some people can't. There are allegedly ways that you can train yourself to do this. I am just a natural lucid dreamer and can control things in dreams a little bit, but I don't have experience in teaching myself how to do it. When I find time, I will write an article about it. In the meantime, you might be interested in reading some of the articles in our lucid dreaming section.