Nicola,

Trying to get back to the road/home/family could be repressed memories/experiences that are keeping you from that appropriate place in life you should be in. Jung tell us nature intended for humans to be whole, living a balanced psychological life. When that is not achieved {few people do achieve this place in life} then our dreams attempt to communicate what is out of balance and needs attention so there can be a healing that brings us to this harmonious life. For you there are repressed experiences/memories that the conscious ego has built barriers {fences, walls, barriers} so not to have to relive/confront painful emotional experiences. Your psyche is out of balance but the ego has not yet let you understand what the reason is for it. You are being kept from the road to proper personal growth, being in your true self {home}, being whole {family}. You have locked away these memories/experiences because of the emotional pain they can cause if consciously acknowledged. The ego is a filter for these type conflicts {Freud's discovery}. What we are attempting to do in analyzing your dreams is to unlock these unconscious contents, retracing the steps backwards to those experiences so there can be the healing process needed to be whole. The number 4 is a significant number since in Jungian psyche it represents wholeness, both the number and intended wholeness being a natural aspect of the psyche.

From the dreams you have posted there is a man. He is either a real person or a symbolic representation of your masculine qualities. It could be both since dreams always have at least two meanings/applications. If it is a real person then the locked experiences would involve him. His showing you the opposite direction could point to the ego wanting you to not go in the right direction that would reveal who this person is. If he is symbolic of your animus then it would be your unconscious telling you to go in the opposite direction of repressing any memories/experiences from your past. It could be one or the other or both. The woman would be you, your true self, which would be telling you the true path to take in order to reach these unconscious contents {another bus back}. The bus represents the many aspects that make up who you are and going back is your unconscious. You are attempting to 'go back' but because of the ego filter you are locked in the bus station. Your attempt to unlock these memories cause the ego to provide one obstacle after another. This may suggest something very emotionally disturbing if you should ever remember what the experiences are that is locked away. Water chutes would involve the unconscious {water}. This may signify progress since the chutes will allow you to reach the unconscious contents faster {chutes produce speed}.


There is no doubt you do need to delve deeper into our unconscious because you have pushed these memories/experiences into the depths of darkness. Our dreams are direct links to the unconscious but when there are deep emotional wounds the conscious ego can push them so deep it takes a lot of courage and effort {masculine traits-the man in your dreams perhaps} to bring them up.

What else to do? Because you do believe consciously there are repressed memories/experiences {did you come to that conclusion before attempting to have your dreams interpreted?}, and your dreams are confirming this as a fact, then you do need to continue to unravel what is within your unconscious. My advice, along with posting your dreams for analysis, is to consciously retrace your childhood, examine every aspect of it and see what that does. Because the dream you have tonight reflects your true self when you have the dream, an investigation of your whole life may slowly remove the many barriers that have prevented you from remembering past experiences.

A note about dreams and myths. When you find the courage to examine your life, go into the depths of the abyss of the unconscious, you are actively engaged in what Jung called the Individuation Process which is a natural remedy to emotional conflicts {it is the path I took to find wholeness in my life}. You are utilizing self psychology to unravel the mysteries of your life. The active engagement in this process is what we find in the different stories in mythology {the collective stories of emotional patterns of all mankind}. In myths it takes a hero/heroine to save the day. In your life you become the heroine because you do not back away from the true self that lies within you {the unconscious}. Thus could be the man in your dreams {on one level}. The psyche is using the dream to lead you out of the abyss and to help you discover what it is that prevents you from being whole. But he could be both positive {in this aspect as a masculine quality} as well as negative {any real person}. The dream language of opposite directions could be making a statement to this affect. By continuing to work with your dreams, as well as consciously examining your whole life, you will eventually unlock what ever it is that needs to be brought up. Not to do so will eventually cause what ever is locked away to cause even greater emotional conflict later life {it only gets worse if left alone}. You are on the right road, you merely need to stay the course {use the inner man to help lead you there}.

One last comment. There is such a thing as false memories. These are usually induced by someone else who is working with a person who has emotional trauma. They are planted, they are not real experiences. It is the ego being influenced by someone else {or in some cases by the person themselves}. What makes dreams different is dreams do not have the ego bias. They tell only the truth. But because their language is of symbol and metaphor there has to be a deciphering of the coded language. What is in the dream will eventually match what is true in the conscious life.

Your dreams are pointing to something to some aspect where you are not in control of your life. You are carrying a heavy load {truck} where you are not driving {a man is driving}. There is a dark figure {not named} which could be your shadow {in dreams the shadow is most always the same gender as the dreamer}. It is this dark figure that the wise old man gestures to. The dark figure is getting close by not there yet. Something is preventing progress in revealing this darkness within.
This all points to dark inner issues that you have yet to realize, understand, acknowledge and/or bring to life so you know what it is the dark figure represents {emotionally}. I don't see any chance of false memories, your dreams point to something very real.

Take time and do the self investigation I suggested. Talk to parents, siblings, life long friends and get their perspective on your life and what you may not remember. This could energize your dreams to unlock whatever it is that is hidden. It is a lot of work but the results could make a difference for the rest of your life. It did in mine, changed me and allowed me to be something I was meant to be all along {from couch potato/sports freak, ego centered person to my intuitive true self who analyzes dreams and designs websites as my creative outlet}.

Jerry

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