Friday, March 28, 2014

A QUESTION FOR YOU

Other people's dreams are one of the least interesting things to most people. Jack Kerouac wrote an entire book describing his and it is the only book of his I never dip into nor would ever dip into again.

So I'm not going to bore anyone with my dreams. But I have a question that's been in the back of my mind all my life. Or ever since I left home in my late teens in 1960. Because since then, ninety-nine percent of my dreams that I remember when I wake up are set in or around my childhood home.

Sometimes Manhattan is across the street from it, or China out back (I remember that happening a lot in the late 1960s when Mao and China loomed large in leftist arguments), sometimes the house is empty or one or more of my late siblings and late parents are there, either as they were when I was young or as they were in their later years.

Often the interior of the house varies, rooms are larger, ceilings higher, but just as often it's exactly as it was when I was a boy. But with rare exceptions I am almost assuming occur, because I can't remember even one at the moment, (wait, I remember one that took place inside the Catholic church I went to Mass at every Sunday morning until I left home, Our Lady of Sorrows—which it occurs to me explains the kind of woman I was often attracted to), my dreams involve my childhood home.

So my question is: anyone out there share this experience in their dream life?

3 comments:

Rick Parker said...

I would imagine that the "house" in your dreams might represent your sense of security. My recurring dreams often involve being on a train in some frustrating experience. I suspect the train may represent my actual "experience" of living from one day to the next. "Can't quite get where I want to go--nor control when or how I get there."

JenW said...

I guess my answer is no because mine are all over the place but here are a few I return to in the dream world. One is at a beach house built too close to the water so waves are constantly pouring in when it's stormy. Another is at this fantastic apartment in the village where looking out the back you have the rolling lawn of Central Park to slip out to (who knew?) & I'm wondering how I'm going to pay the rent. And often I'm at the home I grew up in with my youngest sister- she's always very young in it and we're with our mother happy to see her. When I wake up from that one, I stretch & shout "I wish I could talk to her again."

Lally said...

Interesting Rick and Jen. I love trains and have traveled on theme extensively here and all around the world but can't remember ever being on one in my dreams Rick. And Jen, I always wake up with that feeling of wish I could see them again etc. after one of the dreams that includes one of my family now gone....I always figured dreams were doing whatever they needed to be doing and were there for me to enjoy or not but ultimately beyond my "figuring out"...though I did once go to a therapist that had me write them down for her to analyze which turned out to be pretty receptive and boring I found...