Wasn't sure how to word the title to this thread.  If anyone feels they have a better title, maybe they could arrange for it to be altered

Basically, I'm wondering if you go to a specific place when you dream, or have you visited the same dream location more than once?

I know it happens because I've read in other online fora that quite a few people claim to have a 'certain place' they visit sometimes while they're asleep/dreaming.  It was great to know it happens to others too.  And when I've posted that I feel homesickness for the place I go to, several people knew what I meant and said they feel it too

There's nothing remarkable about my dream-place.  It looks 'normal', same as here on Earth.  The people look 'normal' too.  And the things I do there aren't that unusual either

When I go there, I don't have any realisation within the dream that I'm dreaming or 'back in this place'.  It's just like real-life.  In the dream-place, I know some of the lay-out, the streets, etc.  The only unusual aspect registers after I wake up from one of those dreams, knowing, remembering, that I've 'been there again'.  And then the homesickness kicks in and if it were possible to put money in a slot in order to return (or go back into the dream) I'd do it in a flash

Not that it's all lovely and Heavenly there. Not at all.  No fluffy clouds or fields of flowers.  It has dirt tracks, forests, playgrounds seen in darkness at night, crowded railway station, buildings under construction, etc.

It's the atmosphere there, for want of a better word.  The 'feeling'.  But as I say, when I'm there, it feels ordinary.  It's only afterwards that I appreciate the 'feeling' of being there and I miss it when I awaken from the dream and for days afterwards.  Puzzling, really

The people there aren't particularly friendly.  Sometimes they're a bit cruel, in fact.  They know more than I do, so they seem to find me amusing in a mocking sort of way.  The best way to describe it is to liken it to a bunch of teenagers with a much younger kid tagging along.  In the dreams, I feel like that younger kid.  I can't do things as well as they and make mistakes.  They go on ahead and I try to catch up to them.  They don't really help me, either.  I usually have a bit of a lonely or 'outsider' feeling in the dreams.  Put that way, it's a wonder I get homesick for the place afterwards, but I do, and others have said the same

When the topic's been raised in other online fora, it's not uncommon for people to say they feel as if they're being taught in the dream-place they go to.  When they wake up, they can't remember what they learned there, though.  I know what they mean

Anyone else have a place they return to in dreams?

PZ547 wrote on Oct 9^th, 2014 at 1:33am:

Freedumb wrote on Oct 9^th, 2014 at 10:40pm:

Jasin wrote on Oct 10^th, 2014 at 1:43pm:


Yes, it does. Because during that 3 days of depression you dreamt a lot. 

Perhaps the whole ordeal was symbolic of "drowning in depression". I've experienced stages of depression where I found it hard to get out of bed... the bed was the only place I wanted to be. I would lay in there all morning, afternoon, get up just to do what I needed to do (toilet, eat, drink, etc) then go back.

It's a horrible feeling, and in some cases, anti-depressants don't actually help, rather they just numb you, make you careless -- which is what you can feel just by being depressed anyway.

But yes, the flood in the riverina may have contributed to your dreams, or it could simply be a "synchronicity" for "drowning in depression", as well as the symbology of your dreams -- scuba-diving, exploring the abyss 

I'm glad you've overcome it.

Re Jasin's post, Reply #5

I've heard it said (it might have been in this forum) that the mind compensates

for example

in floatation tanks, sensory deprivation

in solitary confinement

etc.

Guess being in a darkened place surrounded by ceaseless rain, although not identical, could produce a similar effect.  And dreams of water, water everywhere, would influence the dreams, seeing we often incorporate external factors within our dreams

Understandable, too, that utter depression with life would cause someone to seek a more cheer in dreams.  Many depressed people seek escape in sleep and possibly, it has considerable therapeutic value, e.g. 'sleep therapy'

There are thousands of people right now discussing their dream lives online.  The 'teaching type' dreams arise every now and then, as do the 'going to the same place' type dreams.  Not everyone's familiar with them, but those who are strike a chord with each other.  I was happy to find people who'd experienced the same sort of thing.  Internet's a boon in that respect - being able to discuss things you'd hesitate to mention to people in real-life

The vast majority of my own dreams are typical dreams and forgotten by the time I've emerged from the shower. Others though are indelible and remain as 'memories' for decades, just like real events.  The 'same place' type dreams fall in that category, along with the precognitive dreams.  They have an 'atmosphere' of their own

When I was younger, I went through stages of deep depression and suicidal thoughts.  There's no mystery as to why.  The most concentrated phase lasted around nine, ten years and was pretty unrelenting. On the surface though, most of the time, I concealed it.  To deal with my demons, I used to walk.  Walked for miles then walked back again, regardless of the time.  Walked to exhaust myself, to escape myself and problems, to try to sort things out -- just walked and walked.  If I'd had a car and known how to drive, I may possibly have driven around.  For me, dawn was the worst time for depression, for some reason.  But as I shared accommodation through a lot of those years, escaping in sleep wasn't really an option - not considerate, and I didn't want others talking about me, didn't want to seem 'odd' or be a problem for others.  Working and walking and fighting it is how I dealt with it - sleep came through exhaustion and life has always thrown more at me than I've thought I could cope with - but never boring.  It's probably true of most people

The theory is that we remember our dreams if we awaken during them.  Some even set alarm clocks to awaken themselves periodically during their sleeping hours in order they can jot down their dreams.  Then back to sleep until the next alarm awakens them.  It's said most people experience precognitive dreams and if they took the trouble to maintain a dream diary, they'd discover they were regularly dreaming of their future

Not sure what the 'going to the same place' dreams are about.  In fact, I don't know if 'real life' is the dream and our dream lives are the reality - or if 'reality' is something entirely different