Not sure if this can be interpreted but here goes. Cant find it anywhere in any dream books and have asked people to no avail. I have been having a reoccurring dream for about 8 yrs. I am always living or staying in a mansion with 4 to 5 floors. Basement, 1st floor, 2nd, 3rd and sometimes a widows peak(very small live in floor. (Like a studio apartment)
The houses have always been very old, mostly colonial or dated back to 1600/1700's. The houses are usually furnished with very old style furniture and sometimes old dresses hanging up. The houses have 'many' rooms, almost too many and sometimes there are cubby holes, 'many' hallways to different small rooms....its a maze to get through them all. Ok so here's the weird part. Ive never been in the basements of these houses but know they are there. Ive stayed in the 1st floors which seem safe to me. The 2nd and 3rd floors are haunted, very haunted. The windows peak is safe as well and sometimes a very nice old lady lives up there, that has nice gardens of herbs on her small deck and lots of light and beautiful plants. Sometimes I am either living there or visiting the 2nd and 3rd floor. These 2 floors are very disturbing, scary and extremely haunted! The ghosts do not like me or try to haunt me. Paranormal hauntings like moving things....So my question is what do these mansions in this era with many floors and rooms signify and what do the ghosts/hauntings have to do with me? Thank you for any input.

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 38

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

How Did You Find the Dream Forum? No

First let me direct you to my page A Simple Guide to Dreams so you will know the basics of Jungian dream psychology. You probably have not found a good explanation for your dreams because you have not read Jungian concepts on dreams. His theories are science based and are become accepted as well as time tested. From my 20 plus years of experience {this dream forum has been online since 2005} I know his concepts {symbol and metaphor} are the best route available to understanding dreams. You may want to xplore my The Power of Dreams website for a deeper understanding of how dreams function. Or my Myths-Dreams-Symbols website which has more than 500 pages of Jungian content {on line since 1998}.

To answer your question about ghosts haunting you, yes but not the kind of ghosts you may think. They are personal emotional 'ghosts', unresolved emotional conflicts that 'haunt' you because they need resolution. As long as they remain unresolved they will continue to be a part of your dreams.

A mansion may be associated with personal growth potential, if and when you are able to find wholeness by resolving the emotional conflicts that hold you back {that is a function of dreams-they attempt to communicate the emotional conflicts in the dreamer's life so they can be resolved}. It could represent higher expectations but because of emotional restraints you are not able to achieve those higher ambitions. An ordinary house is you, a larger mansion would represent greater things.

The house{s} are you and the rooms are aspects of your psyche/psychology. Being old would likely refer to past experiences. The 1600/1700's may relate to experiences when you were 16 or 17 years old. Or earlier years in life leading up to those ages {when the emotional experiences/influences may have changed}. The colonial reference may relate to a 'colony' of emotional patterns, behavior characteristics you possess. They may represent emotional complexes {a colony of emotional behavior}.

The different floors often symbolize levels of consciousness or the unconscious. The upstairs usually represents the head and mind {conscious thinking controlled by unconscious stimulus from early life experiences/influences}. The middle floors may represent subconscious aspects, those things that are ready to be made conscious either by design or by outside stimulus {something that jogs your memory}. The main floor would be your basic foundations in life, those aspects that make up who basically have evolved into as a person, dictated by experiences/influences in life {genetics also play a role}. The basement is the unconscious and the deeper you go the deeper you reach into the depths of your being. This is where you keep stored emotional aspects that you may not remember or are repressed because of the trauma and pain they can cause when the ego self is confronted by the experience that caused them. Not being able to go into the basement may suggest there are repressed aspects of emotional conflicts in your life. You feel safe on the first floor {the life you have consciously built from those excepted experiences in life}.

The second and third floors that are haunted may point to conscious experiences to do with matters of the heart and/or romance. It could also reference actual parts of a house where, emotional experiences occurred. You unconsciously visit these 'floors/aspects' when you dream and perhaps occasionally think about the experiences {if the experiences are not repressed}.

Windows are conscious openings to viewing what is hidden away within the unconscious. The old lady may have real life associations but more likely is symbolic of your wisdom self. The wise self, a function that nature provides to help in resolution of life conflicts, is capable of growing gardens which would be a growth potential within you. But you have to be able to open doors to this room/aspect by realizing the emotions conflicts {and actively working to resolve them} that stand in your way. Because this is a small room it likely isn't something you put much time into {perhaps again suggestion it has repressed qualities}. Or it could represent a small window of opportunity to view the emotional contents {this is where the dream plays a role}.

My sense is there are deep emotional issues that you have either pushed back into your unconscious so not to have to think about them {because of the emotional pain they cause} or issues that are repressed {experiences so painful you have stored them completely out of your conscious mind}. The haunting usually suggest repressed emotions, they unconsciously haunt you. You may want to look back at the 1600/1700s as years of age where experiences may have occurred, or where there were changes in your life that took you away from a painful environment. There are definitely emotional issues that need to be resolved or you will not only be haunted in your dreams by the experiences, you will likely be unconsciously influenced/motivated by them {and probably have been already}. These foundations {floors} are building blocks to who you become in later life. They have the ability to influence not only your actions but your total personality. More the reason to discover what they are since they are likely unwanted patterns of behavior that can cause havoc in your life.

Let me know your thoughts and perhaps we can discover more to what these hauntings are about.

Jerry

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 63 Space Coast, Fla.

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

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Jerry, you have nailed it. I completely understand and yes the dates all pertain to certain things that have happened in my life. I have been told I suppressed memories and to be honest I dont want to go there. So I guess this is why I have been having this dream for so long and probably will continue until the day I die. Which is ok with me, now knowing what this dream means, I can go about my day not wondering anymore. You are truly amazing and I have shared your site to many friends! Thank you for 'closure' I guess ;-)
Another recurring dream always has to do with Bears. What do bears signify?

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 38

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

It really has a lot to do how the image of a bear appears in a dream to what it might symbolize. Here are some possibilities. if you can post a dream I may be better able to pinpoint the possibilities.

From the Myths-Dreams-Symbols/The Power of Dreams Dictionary

Bear - May symbolize the feminine side of a man's psyche. May represent your mother, or the wisdom that is available to you in your unconscious. May represent aggressive attitudes or threatening situations. Perhaps you need to bare your soul and let everything out into the open.

From The HyperDream Dictionary

Dreaming that you are being pursued or attacked by a bear indicates aggression, overwhelming obstacles and competition. You may find yourself in a threatening situation. Alternatively, bears symbolize the cycle of life and death and renewal. It may signal of period of introspection and thinking. The dream may also be a pun on "bare". Perhaps you need to bare your soul and let everything out into the open. Dreaming of a polar bear means a reawakening.


Jerry

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 63 Space Coast, Fla.

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

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