[StarkRavingMad]

I no longer have this dream. I haven't had it in a couple of decades, but I used to have it regularly as a child. I can't tell you how often. I don't know if it was a few times a week, once a week or every other week, but I can tell you I had it A LOT. It's exactly the same every time.

I am walking down the street on the sidewalk on my way to school. The block looks exactly like it does in real life. Same houses, same front yards. As I'm passing the front yards I get to one house in particular. It's the same house and front yard every time. When I get to this front yard I notice a bomb. (This is where it's kind of funny. At the age I was having this dream, about 5-10, the only bombs I had ever seen were the ones in looney tunes and the mad magazine spy vs spy comics) So, the bomb looks like a bowling ball with a fuse. The fuse is lit and burning getting closer and closer to the bomb. At this point I become completely terrified and stop, start screaming and crying and pointing at the bomb, because I know it's about to explode and kill me.

Even though, it is about to explode, I am too frightened to move. I know since it is about to explode that even if I ran it would still hit and kill me, anyway. But that's not why I don't run, I am too scared to move. I always woke up before the bomb went off, but when I woke up I would be terrified screaming, crying, and inconsolable. A few minutes would pass and I would realize it was just a dream and not real life, but I am still so disturbed and terrified that I would continue sobbing for quite awhile. This dream "did something" to me so even after I was awake and fully aware it was a dream, I was still hysterical.

The dream stopped happening around 10 years old and I have never had it since, but I will never forget it since I had it a million times and the profound effect and sheer terror it had over me even after I awoke.

Any thoughts?

[deelooted]

Something about losing the comfort of familiarity... the neighborhood being the terrain you are used to, and the bomb symbolizing the destruction of that. Maybe tied into your self-esteem, as well.

I, too, had terrifying recurring dreams from that same age! I am still disturbed by them when I recollect.

Thank you for sharing, hope you find some comfort here

[StarkRavingMad]

I don't remember ever having self esteem, deelooted. I had moved from a stable home in another state to a very unstable home in a new state the year before these dreams started. Do you think that could have had something to do with it? I never felt like it had anything to do with my move, but maybe it did. BUT it still WAS a familiar territory for me at that point as I had been walking that route to school in real life for quite a while. I guess it was new territory at 5 but by 6 and after it was quite familiar.

[deelooted]

Originally Posted by StarkRavingMad

I don't remember ever having self esteem, deelooted. I had moved from a stable home in another state to a very unstable home in a new state the year before these dreams started. Do you think that could have had something to do with it? I never felt like it had anything to do with my move, but maybe it did. BUT it still WAS a familiar territory for me at that point as I had been walking that route to school in real life for quite a while. I guess it was new territory at 5 but by 6 and after it was quite familiar.

Could very well be connected to the move...and you say you never had self-esteem... I feel that is what the bomb signified most- an unstable self-view. I also had/have this problem, and it manifested in my recurring dreams, too!

[StarkRavingMad]

I have always wondered about this dream. I suppose at 5 I was semi familiar with the block. I knew what it looked like and everything, but it wasn't as familiar as it was at 6 years and up. Thank you for your insight! It's got me thinking.

[deelooted]

Originally Posted by StarkRavingMad

I have always wondered about this dream. I suppose at 5 I was semi familiar with the block. I knew what it looked like and everything, but it wasn't as familiar as it was at 6 years and up. Thank you for your insight! It's got me thinking.

You are welcome And remember, you are the one that will know your dreams best, but glad I could help point to a place to begin the journey inward Blessings to you, hope you have a wonderful day, and an even better sleep!

[StarkRavingMad]

I have never had any clue what to think about that dream. I just thought I would correct myself cause I said I wasn't really familiar with the place at 5, but as I think about it, I was. After walking that way to school every morning at 5 years old I had to be familiar with it after a couple of weeks. Plus, if I wasn't familiar with it, how would I dream about that spot? It was not a premonition dream so I think you are correct with it being a familiarity to me, even at 5.

I also used to sleepwalk after we moved. Is this a pretty normal thing for kids to do or do you think it was a sign of some sort? My mom used to find me trying to get out of the house in the middle of the night. I never got out because I couldn't reach the top lock. But I was always trying to get out of the house. Unlocking the bottom locks and turning the doorknob trying to open the door. I never remembered any of it the next day. I don't sleepwalk anymore either.

[deelooted]

Originally Posted by StarkRavingMad

I have never had any clue what to think about that dream. I just thought I would correct myself cause I said I wasn't really familiar with the place at 5, but as I think about it, I was. After walking that way to school every morning at 5 years old I had to be familiar with it after a couple of weeks. Plus, if I wasn't familiar with it, how would I dream about that spot? It was not a premonition dream so I think you are correct with it being a familiarity to me, even at 5.

I also used to sleepwalk after we moved. Is this a pretty normal thing for kids to do or do you think it was a sign of some sort? My mom used to find me trying to get out of the house in the middle of the night. I never got out because I couldn't reach the top lock. But I was always trying to get out of the house. Unlocking the bottom locks and turning the doorknob trying to open the door. I never remembered any of it the next day. I don't sleepwalk anymore either.

I have heard of sleepwalkers, although I never did, some of my friends did. Not sure what it means, but I feel there is meaning there.

I love the quote by Zhuangzi- I dreamed I was a butterfly, flitting around in the sky; then I awoke. Now I wonder: Am I a man who dreamt of being a butterfly, or am I a butterfly dreaming that I am a man?