Thread: im new, and need some insight please

hi all, very glad to have found this forum, im not sure why i didnt look for it sooner. i've been trying a bit to get some insight via other forums to no avail.

tonight i saw a thread on another forum that made me decide to finally ask about my dreams. i am interested in some insight on a particular "type" or "style" of dream(s) that i have been having for many years. these types of dreams happen often and have become much more frequent over the last year or so. this will be long, my apologies in advance.

for the record, i am female, 32 years old and have been happily married for the last 5 years.

i won't get into much detail on any of these dreams, but there have been dozens and dozens that have been so vivid i can still remember many of them which are years past. the emotion from these dreams remain with me for days, sometimes a week, afterward, whatever the emotion may be. i can easily wake myself up during these dreams, and easily fall back into them,(which i can do with most of my dreams) with the intention to do something within the dream, however i try not to significantly alter the dreams too much as i admit i enjoy interfacing with them as they are.

these particular type of dreams most often involve areas or places that are familiar to me, for example the neighborhood where i grew up, yet are always at least slightly different than what i consciously know them to be, and in some cases very different. some familiar areas often have significantly different structures or buildings, or street layouts, etc, and sometimes they only give an unfamiliar "feeling". also areas that are less familiar, like a neighborhood in another area of the city i grew up in, where i am not consciously familiar with as far as the details go, but very familiar with the area and the details of that area in the dreams. and of course, a smaller portion of the places or areas i am unfamiliar with alltogether.

what is probably the most interesting about all of this, to me, is the fact that in a large number of these dreams involve people i have known in my life, usually those who were in my past. often a main character might be my "first love" (which was when i was 16 years old, quite awhile ago), although the circumstances within the dream vary. also other people who i havent thought consciously about for many many years, from old elementary school friends to most often people who were only aquantances of mine, such as people who i only saw riding the bus to and from school, that i never associated with or even spoke to in any way. many times it takes me weeks to even remember the first names of these people, yet my dreams are littered with them. it should also be noted that my relationships with these people in the dreams, are always extremely different that whatever relationship i had (or didnt have) with them when i was a just a young school girl.

lastly, i believe that in these dreams i am definitely myself, though i do feel differently about myself in most ways within the dream than i do in waking. sometimes physically, sometimes emotionally. an interesting example would be, say, if i hadn't (sorry if this is too much information) shaved my legs in a few days, in my dreams there may be a situation where i was wearing a bathing suit,or shorts, or sometimes nothing ( ), and i'll remember that i hadn't shaved in a few days and become conscious of that fact in my dream, then look for a way to cover myself up or to see if anyone present in the dream has noticed, only to find my legs are smooth like i just had them waxed and of course, no one has noticed. this often gives me the feeling, within the dream, that i am not in my normal body, and sometimes i also notice i've lost some weight, or whatever else. my self awareness is definitely different in multiple ways in these dreams, but im fairly certain i am me in these dreams.

i have spent some time recordingmy dreams, or doing dream drawings, but alot of these particular dreams i feel might weird my hubby out, or at least make me feel slightly uncomfortable, considering they often include an ex. he is extremely understanding and i don't fear he would be exactly upset or anything, i just dont want him (or myself) to feel uncomfortable, especially because of those dreams involving an ex where i have any kind of love or sexual type relationship with. but also, most of the dreams i really dont even have to document, as i really remember a large amount of detail from them. this also goes for about 98% of all of my dreams, including ones different than the type ive explained in this post, but maybe i'll move onto other types of dreams at another time. this post is already overwhelmingly long and boring enough.

anyway, thank you for reading and im looking forward to any insight. i must admit there is much i still need to go over on the front page of this website, as i am very interested in dreams and lucid dreaming and the like. i dream most nights, remember most of the dreams, i'm usually aware that i am dreaming and embrace that within my dreams, and also like i said above i am able to leave and re-enter dreams at will, and thus all of this fascinates me and i wonder why i am able to dream like i do and interact with my dreams like i do. thanks!

sitara