Jerry,

I'm very grateful that you've taken the time to reply to me. I found what you said very informative, especially about our minds making up for lost dream time, I now have a better understanding of what's happening so thank you.

As for the dream about my granddad, it was quite a short one. My mum, my best friend and I were at his house discussing the money that my grandmother had left behind after her passing away 8 months ago. My granddad was finding the subject very frustrating and unfortunately my attempt to console him only made him furious. Suddenly, he forcefully grabbed my arm and when I saw the anger in his eyes I knew I needed to escape him. I made myself run to sanctuary in my bedroom and pushed all my furniture against the door before waking myself up.

The dream about the cigarette was even quicker, it took place in my town centre with a few friends. We were having casual conversation when I felt the burn on my hand. I spun around quickly to see a stranger removing their cigarette from where they'd burnt me and take a drag from it before disappearing.

My most common dream is that I'm being chased. I have this one very often. They always have the same start and end but I'm always able to regain control in the middle. My mum and I are being held hostage in our own home but I manage to escape by myself to try and bring back help. One of the 'bad guys' see me escape and chase me down the street. This is where I'm able to 'take the wheel' and change what happens next. I can choose different routes to run down, different people to involve etc. based on what worked out best in my past dreams. I know it sounds odd being able to recall previous dreams and using that logic to help me in this one. It's just something I've always used to my advantage during these nightmares. Although, no matter how hard I try it always ends with me discovering that my mum was actually the evil one all along and that she's been the one trying to kill me the whole time. I never bother waking myself up during these nightmares because I'm kind of determined to bring help back one night.

Thank you again for your time :)

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 16 female England

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Maddie,
First let me say that this dream illustrates the importance of age when analyzing a dream because someone your age would more likely have images that are closer to literal experiences {although they would also have symbolic/metaphorical references} than an older person/adult. This is because your psyche is still developing and maturing and there is not a lot of emotional 'baggage' to deal with. The mind is not encumbered by emotional issues that an adult has acquired from experiences in life so the brain is still in a mold where literal life experiences are more likely to be associated with the dream images/actions. This would be highlighted by your actual experience with your grandfather. But the emotional response to that experience would be the primary focus. It left a 'mark' on you psychologically {and literally physically}. This is why i ask for age when analyzing dreams, to alert me to the likelihood the dream could be pointing to such literal experiences as one aspect of the dream. Of course as I stated previously it is the symbolic value that is more important, how it affects you emotionally. The 'shortness' of the dream about your grandfather may be due to the literal experience being a part of the dream but the significant aspect being the emotional. The dream about the cigarette would be the same. The literal experience was not the important reason it was a part of the dream, the symbolic aspects would be {what about that event was so emotional it left a 'mark' in your mind?}.

Of course the real issue is 'what is chasing you emotionally in your life'? You take control in the middle which could be a statement about an actual ability to take control despite the emotional issues that are chasing you {an ability if true that will likely disappear as you grow older and lose the innocence an adolescent possesses}. But it may also point to the problem of lucid dreaming and taking too much control of the dream. Instead of letting it play out and communicate its intended message you take control and do not allow it to do so. This could not only be a result of the lucid dreaming but may be due also to the censoring of negative experiences that cause painful emotions. I suggest you let future dreams play out without taking control, be the bystander and see what happens. This will allow the dream to do its intended function of communicating an emotional issue so your conscious mind is aware there is one and what it may be {dreams seldom state the actual problem, at least in a way that is clear and precise}. Do this in future dreams and see what occurs. This may allow whatever emotional issues/conflicts that are chasing you to come through {which will match your waking life}. Let me know the results and post the uncontrolled dream and see what it has to say.

Jerry

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 65 Cocoa, Fl

Have You Posted Before? Date of Last Post {Use Search and Your Post Name to Help Find Last Post} Yes

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