Q: I have the same dream again and again. What can you tell me about recurring dreams? Why do we have them and is there a way to get the dream to stop repeating itself?
Signed,
Stuck on Replay
A: Dear Stuck,
Stop me if I’ve told you this one before …
I have a good friend, let’s call her Ann. Some years back, she was beginning to drive me up the wall. Every time we spoke she’d tell me the same story again and again.
It got to the point where I dreaded seeing her number turn up on my caller ID. If I didn’t love her so much, I might have just stopped picking up the phone. But because I truly care about her I stoically answered her calls, and then I griped to another friend (again and again, I might add) about how tired I was of Ann repeating herself.
This pattern wasn’t helping anyone, except maybe the folks at ATT&T who were pocketing the money we three spent as we racked up minutes on our phone bills.
This, Dear Replay, is exactly what’s going on with you and your dreams. Dreaming, is in essence, a conversation. Depending on your belief system, it’s a conversation between parts of yourself; between you and God; or between you and universal consciousness. Whatever the case, it’s an important relationship worthy of at least as much attention as my relationship with my pal Ann. So, like me, you have a couple of choices:
1) You can prop the phone against your ear and let Ann go on and on like a broken record, while you troll the Internet for the best deal on those cowgirl boots you’ve been coveting.
2) Or, you can step away from the laptop and enter into a meaningful conversation with her about what she is saying and why she feels the need to repeat herself.
The fact that you’re writing to me implies that you really do care, so Option 1 really isn’t an option at all. I care about Ann, too, so here’s what I did:
The next time she launched into her spiel I said, “Ann, I feel like maybe I haven’t been a good listener because I notice that each time we talk you tell me the same story. Is there something you’re not getting from me that you need on this subject?”
Ann paused, then told me she just really needed me to hear her and to validate what she was feeling. So, I asked her to tell me the story one more time. This time I really listened. I asked her questions and took a genuine interest. And guess what? After that we were able to move onto new subject matter.
And that’s what you need to do with your recurring dream. Show the dream you’re really paying attention. Write the dream down. Consider each part of it with a curious, open attitude. Talk the dreams over with a loved one or therapist, or bring it to a dream group. Ask yourself: What has this dream come to tell me?
Chances are, if you give the dream your full attention, one of two things will happen: Either, it will go away, or it will change.
If it goes away and fresh dreams arrive in its stead, good for you. This is a sign that you got the message and addressed the issue the dream was raising for you.
If the dream changes; good for you, too. This is a signal that you are making progress. Keep working with the dream, paying close attention to any alterations in the repeating pattern. You may even start to welcome the reappearance of this dream theme, because the ways it changes will give you clues as to where your daytime attitudes and actions need tweaking.
Give it a try and let me know how it turns out. And I promise to listen closely, so you won’t have to repeat yourself.
Dreamily yours,
Tz…
…zzZZZZzzzzzzz
PS: My dreams repeat themselves almost as much as I do! Read more about recurring dreams here.
…zzZZZZzzzzzzz
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All the Snooze That's Fit to Print 
This is such a great response to the question about recurring dreams–Thanks for your insightful and entertaining post!
One other thought occurs to me on this subject: When I worked as a pastoral counselor with people who had dementia, I would often hear the same story again and again, and even the conversation about why this story kept repeating would keep repeating! I began to practice listening each time as if it were a brand new story–as it was for the person telling it. Sometimes this was difficult, but I learned that each new listening revealed something different, some unique quality I’d missed in the previous tellings. I think some repeating dreams, like these repeating stories, keep coming back not just to get our attention but also because they represent significant life themes. Each time they come, they invite us to see this theme in a new way–so for me, it’s important to pay attention not only to the story as a whole, but also to the subtle differences between one telling (or one dream) and the next. And also to notice the differences in my receptivity as I listen. Those tiny differences suggest development within the theme, and my ability to perceive them helps me to grow as a listener on all levels.
Thanks again for your dream-wisdom!
Kirsten
Thank you for that reflection Kirsten. It strikes home, as I have a mom with Alzheimer’s disease. And of course your words also add new depth to the conversation about dreams. Thank you.