Do houses/buildings really represent ourselves?

[Leichen]

Before posting this I looked for similar topics but could only find this one: http://www.dreamviews.com/dream-inte...ld-houses.html I didn't post there not only because it is a 2007 thread, but because my dreams differ a bit from it. The element of the big house with a hidden basement is present, of course, and some of the interpretations given matches others I've read in some sites, about houses and buildings in general representing the dreamer, their emotions, thoughts, fears... So, the thing is I've been dreaming with houses since my early teens, but it has become a kinda recurring dreams in this last two years, if not more. All these houses are huge, sometimes with four or six floors, others it just have a really large one. In these dreams my family and I recently moved into the house, and are unpacking, cleaning, checking every corner, picking rooms and so on. The building in question generally looks like a weird and random combination between houses I've lived in, and houses my family (grandparents, mainly) owned or still owns. To make it short, the detail that creeps me the fuck out is that, despite its size, we only use the 10% of it's capacity, the rest remains uninhabited, empty, cold, dirty and dark. It often has a really big basement (which I've never walked in) or/and a huge, empty attic. The corridors are endless, the lights don't work (or do it partially) and they often carry to a cave entrance I've never dared to go in. There is always a room or wing of the house I don't like at all and wouldn't even think to enter by will. Sometimes is the cave, others it is a bedroom with something evil inside that shows up when I'm home alone or inside the room (but only appears inside that room, it/she/he can't come out). It has never attacked me, though, just throw some stuff at me when I was standing by the door. It is not always an unpleasant dream, depending on the variation it presents, but it has started to annoy me. And before you ask, no, I haven't been able to get lucid in any of them (rather weird), but will try in the near future. Thanks.

[juroara]

I cant explain these dreams either. I havent had one in a while, but I used to dream of a house like the one you described. It reminded me of my childhood home mixed with something else. It was always at least twice to four times bigger than any house ive been in. There were always a labyrinth of rooms in the back. Sometimes it was dark and creepy. Sometimes in one of the closets I'll find all sorts of things I've forgotten about. But mostly exploring left me running back to safety - because the places I explored were so creepy and out of place - not to mention of void of life. It literally felt like ghosts lived there. It was always an old house too. Usually in those dreams I just end up playing outside because it was the only space that made sense. And for years I had a series of nightmares where the lights would never work, leaving me in darkness alone with something demonic. Damn electronic lights! I was able to fix up these dreams real quick by lighting candles instead.

[JoannaB]

In your dream, you say that you use only 10% of the house. I would suggest you read the following article: Do People Only Use 10 Percent Of Their Brains?: Scientific American It is about the common myth that we use only 10% of our brain, and how neuroscientists say that this is ridiculously false, however it is true that when at rest and just thinking, we may at times use only 10% of our brain at those moments. So we use much more of our brain in general, but at times we do not.

[shadowofwind]

I think that for me dreams of houses are mostly about my mind. But 'mind' is a mysterious thing, and also extends into a bit more than just my thoughts about my personal experiences in life.

[Leichen]

In your dream, you say that you use only 10% of the house. I said 10% as I could have said 15% or 8% instead, just throwing out some random percentage like I usually do (it's a bad habit I have, sorry for that). But yeah, your interpretation is perfectly valid, the message the dream is trying to send is very likely to be about that, the mind and how little effort I put into things, thus ending up frustrated, among other stuff. Yet what I really wanted to know is whether there is some general knowledge about these dreams, if there exists a pattern that repeats in the dreamers, why so many people have them and if they share something in common. Because if it honestly portrays our fears, for instance, I honestly don't find its message useful at all, I already know what I need to fix in my life, these dreams just contributes to fucking my brain up. In short, the purpose of the thread was/is to prove whether they really represent our minds, but I guess it is already answered. Recognizing and exploring the most unclear parts of it (maze of rooms, the evil presence...) and to find what they stand for is a personal task each of us have to do by themselves. I suppose. Fear of our own minds and/or capacities? Loneliness? The unsatisfied need of "adventure"/more action as a whole? I can't merely accept the absence of studies on it.

[JoannaB]

The subconscious may well be repeating things you already know consciously as well. Just because you know you have certain problems consciously does not mean your subconscious will stop focusing on them. Actually it is more likely to focus on them I think. The more you think of an issue consciously, the more your subconscious will also integrate it into your dreams, but it will likely approach the issue differently than your conscious mind does, and if you are lucky either your conscious or your conscious problem solving, one or the other or both, will come up with new ideas for the problem. Good luck!

[101Volts]

What does a house do?

[shennema]

I often dream of houses, mostly about the one my grandfather died in. It had four stories including the basement which was finished and the attic. I always dream I am buying the house and moving in but things have changed and there is always a hidden room upstairs that I don't remember. Last night I dreamed I purchased a different large home with three stories and after I moved in I discovered a lot of haunted activity. The house came alive at night and so I moved to the second floor in the corner with my baby but I do not have a baby. After the dream progressed, I began fixing the place up and discovered the house was rigged to appear haunted and was a place that attracted tourist at one time. Anyway, I cannot stop thinking about this house. I can vision everything in detail like the rooms upstairs and the old cabinets painted green in the kitchen. I have dreamed of large houses since I can remember and I am drawn to stair cases.