I dont know if this is kosher, but when when I saw this month’s Blog Battle with the word “dream,” I remembered a post I wrote back in August of 2017 about recurring dreams.
So, I thought I’d repost it here. If I’m breaking the rules, so be it. I guess I’ll be disqualified from winning any prizes.
Recurring Dreams
Recurring dreams are those that we experience repeatedly over a long period. According to Google, most people have recurring dreams. Do you?
I do. I’ve experienced three different recurring dreams throughout my life. That said, they’re far less frequent now that I’m an old fart than they were when I was younger fart.
Recurring Dream #1 – The Final Exam
It takes place when I was in college, which I’ve been out of for decades. But even today I occasionally have a dream about being ill-prepared for a final exam. It generally goes like this.
Today is the day of a final exam for one of my courses. I had cut most of the classes for this course and hadn’t done any of the required reading. It had been so long since I last attended class that I couldn’t remember the location of the classroom.
I finally arrive at the room where the class was scheduled to meet, but no one is there. I find out that the exam has moved to a different location, but I don’t know where.
I am in a state of panic because I need a passing grade in this particular course in order to graduate, but not only am I totally unprepared to take the final exam, I don’t even know where it is being given.
I wake up from the dream never having found the exam room or taken the exam, but knowing that the outcome was an epic failure. I am drenched in sweat because of the dream, but as consciousness slowly sets in, I feel an enormous sense of relief that it was just a dream.
Recurring Dream #2 – The Naked Truth
This next recurring dream starts out when I leave my house in the morning heading to the office. I’m stark naked. At first it seems completely natural and I’m not at all self-conscious about having nothing on.
But at some point in the dream, as I interact with others, I become painfully aware that I am naked. It’s an “oh shit, what the hell was I thinking?” moment. I spend the rest of the dream completely mortified, trying to figure out how to cover up my nakedness or to flee the scene entirely with some shred of dignity intact.
As with the dream about the final exam, when I wake up, I am so relieved to find out that I was only dreaming.
Recurring Dream #3 –I’m flying
In this recurring dream, I can fly. I start walking, lift my arms toward the sky, and suddenly I’m heading up, floating above the ground, rising above the trees, looking down at the landscape below. It’s exhilarating to be free from the tethers that bind me to the earth below.
I have no idea how I gained this incredible ability to fly, and while I’m up there savoring the experience, I am occasionally troubled by what might happen if this amazing gift of flight were to leave as suddenly and mysteriously as it appeared. But it never does, and, when I wake up, I am saddened that it was but a dream.
Okay. I’ve shared with you my three types of recurring dreams. Now it’s your turn.
Tell Dr. Fandango all about your recurring dreams.
This, That, and the Other 
I wish I could fly 🙁
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My recurring dreams are losing something, my car, people, getting lost in the city. All seem so very real
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Sounds like you have insecurity issues. 🤨
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Good luck 🍀
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I don’t have a lot of recurring dreams, but the ones I do have are nightmares, and I am always troubled by them!
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Dear Dr F. I wish I could fly too. What is the secret?
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Defying gravity.
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I will have a go. Thankyou …….
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I don’t have particular recurring dreams, but I have a recurring theme when I have nightmarish aspects to dreams. It’s not being able to get my voice out or speak or speak loudly enough; something else in common with Neo.
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That happens to me, too. I try to scream or call out for help, but can’t seem to make a sound.
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Interesting! When I was younger (but far into adulthood), there was a theme of not being able to move — like from the middle of a street. I’ve heard of other people having that sense in their dreams. It’s gone away, for me. I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone confirm they have this other theme. Im hoping that, by being aware of it, I can make a change.
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What has made me more aware of it is that I’ve begun — this is subconsciously while dreaming, not a conscious effort to change something — to try harder to be heard in the dream. This means that I make a noise that can be heard by someone near me and that I tend to wake myself from the sleep.
I had a recurring dream, once, for about a week as a kid. I don’t remember if the story line was noticeably resolved within the dream, or if it was something that changed in regular life that led to the dream changing. The dream did change (I don’t remember why) the last time, and then I stopped having it.
The whole thing might’ve been metaphor. It wasn’t scary. But my dad postulated I’d resolved a problem in real life. For a few nights, I floated — just me, no vehicle — up above a village and over countryside; no particular place like a known city or town. On the last night, I floated down to the ground.
The dream could’ve just been an adventure. Perhaps I’d recently heard the question as to what animal one would want to be, and then my imagination had taken “flight” in an “environment” with no limitations. I didn’t have my hands to the sides in the dream the way kids pretend to fly, though.
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Oh, the old final exam for a class I’ve never been to dream. Only for me, it’s high school!
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Thought you might dig this:
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I think the “prize” is in taking part rather than anything else. No harm in reposting something either…unless it’s the same post over and over 😂
Recurring dreams I sometimes have but many leave shadows once fully awake. Being late for something often lingers though but not sufficient to define why…which is annoying as it might be foreshadowing an event that the brains subconscious is saying don’t be late for. 🤔
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A blog battle, huh? An interesting idea, I might have to look into it. Great dreams by the way. The only reoccurring one I have is being back at my first job working at a restaurant and not being able to keep up with the orders… just had that dream again last night.
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Very relatable – I’ve had all these dreams, and it’s quite thought provoking how common these themes must be to manifest almost universally in humanity. The flying dreams are so fun that on the rare occasion I shift into lucid dreaming, I decide to start flying since I realize I can do anything I want! Enjoyable read!
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I’m glad you enjoyed it. And yes, such dreams are fairly universal.
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Retired nearly ten years now. My recurring dream is being in an office, first day with something important to do and no one is telling me how to do it, or why I have to do it, no matter how many folk I ask.
All too close to the reality of my working life.
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I retired six years ago and I have quite a few dreams about my working days, with a variety of situations and scenarios, some good and some not so good.
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It’s the ‘not so goods’ that seem to hang around.
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