Do dream patterns change with age?

[SupertrampDreamer]

Hi! I’m new here and I’ve been dreaming my whole life. I remember dreams from early age. I have experienced repetitive patterns in dreams…they have felt like challenges that needed to be overcome or warnings to be interpreted. However, I feel like perhaps something has changed lately as I’ve gotten older. It’s weird to say it but it’s like a feeling about the change.

I am referring to the difference between repetitive dreams (which I had in my younger age and can still have) vs what feels like a tired brain that is running out of “creativity”? I would compare it to a theatre stage where the money has run a bit dry and the producers are forced to use some of the same backdrop for diverse theatre presentations only the story and the props change. It’s mostly the “location” that repeats. For example…I keep dreaming of the same place being my home, perhaps some small modifications…I notice the setup is always the same (or the things I specifically notice about the setup is always familiar) then just the story changes. I don’t think I’ve ever had that? Even when I had repetitive dreams it was the theme that was the same but the location and surroundings were either always different or there was no attachment or familiarity to the “stage.”

Does anyone relate to this?

 

[Mike in Destin]

I think some things (like your childhood house) are such a big part of your life they're impossible to get rid of in your mind. I continue to have such dreams, and being at my grandparents' house too sometimes. What's really strange is my uncle and his daughter (my cousin) also have dreams about that house. My cousin was just a little girl at the time, which makes it really interesting that she would dream about that house too. Maybe we're all connected in some way.

 

[SupertrampDreamer]

It’s actually not my childhood house and it looks nothing like a house I have ever owned but in my dreams it feels like it is my house…the setup that keeps repeating is mostly the backyard layout. I am constantly drawn to the backyard layout…then the details about the inside of the house and the story can vary from trivial to special to scary.

 

[Mike in Destin]

I've had dreams like that too, where the place or building is familiar, but in the dream only. I think it's possible that a past life experience can come through into this life. I keep having dreams about animals. I'm convinced in a past life I worked with them or cared for them. In the dreams it's like they're somehow thanking me for whatever I did for them. Often while awake I've had dogs come up to me and want me to pet them. In one dream a dog literally hugged me! Something similar happened in my neighborhood. A lady walking two dogs was walking by, when one stood up on his hind legs and put his paws on my chest. Their owner said they never do that!

 

[PaulKH]

Just my speculation on this, but I think dreams are limited by what we can translate, meaning whether an external-to-us force or internal only (as in, originating entirely within the brain), it can only do so much based on our ability to receive and recall the dreams. So, as our focus changes and we grow, change attitudes (character settings) about certain topics, and fixate on different things, the *context* (or environment) that dreams have to work with also changes. Some would see this as our *need* changing and the dreams adapting accordingly. I don't think it's specifically tied to age/brain energy (except in your ability to recall the entirety of them, perhaps), but tied to the things we associate with aging, if that makes sense. I get why you would wonder, given the slightly changing details of a "ready space" so consistently viewed. Yet in my experience of 50+ years, I've not seen any age-caused link to my dreams changing; only my necessity, especially as I studied for writing the dream-related novel--that work specifically prompted deeper dreams that I feel like were always there and waiting for me to be ready for them. But again, just speculation. (And of course, sleep patterns affect both the need and ability to recall dreams, which also changes dramatically for most people as they reach certain ages/health levels.)

What I recommend is to keep this as a running thread, and as soon as you have more data for speculation (an experience to share), please add it here. The more we delve and find out about ourselves, the more interesting we can become. Thanks for bringing up the topic.

 

[SupertrampDreamer]

Thank you Paul. Your writing is very insightful. I have memory of many dreams. Feeling stands out mostly but details do as well…there is a clear evolution from my childhood dreams to my adult dreams. A lot of spiritual and some psychological influence (as a child I remember a recurrent dream of a snake following me as I was crawling inside of a large pipe)…weird one but I allot it spiritual meaning now as an adult. Then there were the flying dreams, many of them and the feeling of exhilaration that went with them. I don’t get those as often anymore but dreams where I levitate do happen often and feel very realistic and in my dreams I usually check if others can see it to (others in my dreams) and then think to myself (in my dream) “oh this is really happening. A clearly psychological dream was a disappointment I had regarding my father. As a teen I tried to get close to him by my father was unfortunately not emotionally available, it a bad father, just not emotionally available. Several dreams dealt with this wound for me. I would dream that someone would come and tell me that my father was dead…I would feel extremely sad and cry. The dream repeated over and over changing settings and people but not the theme (father dead, sense of loss)…until the last dream I was delivered the news as usual and I no longer felt deep loss but acceptance. I don’t want to go on and on with many details of many recurrent dreams with their patterns and details but I will def in purely try to pay more attention to my current dreams so I can better explain what I mean by a very clear feeling that something seems a little off for a while now regarding the “background” of the dreams…as I wrote before, the “stage backdrop” so to say…some details specifically the backdrop/landscape seems like I said…running out of resources…like the theatre running out of money and having to use some same things…I have had repetitive dreams and never felt this but this time I do. I am at a very different point in my life, I’m much older, much more tired and at times strained. Will try to pin point better. I will ask re-read your message to see how I can integrate your proposal into my understanding. Thanks.

 

[PaulKH]

I don't have much time to help you delve into your evolving experience in an attempt to gain the most from it, but I will share some general insights (foundations) from which you can study-and-apply to your personal growth with as much wisdom as you can.

As a primer, what seems to help people in this time of confusion over important concepts is precise definitions; so understand that *wisdom* can readily be defined as the "benevolent application of an ever-broadening perspective" -- the more you understand and apply it beneficially, the *wiser* your understandings-leading-to-actions will become (as proven by results in a merit-based way, and this most definitely applies to dream-learning).

Some dreams seem to be *foundational* learning/growing tools, but only when applied with wisdom, since they will never force someone to "get better", only show and offer that encouragement to them. Great students like Jung and all other perceptive dreamers have *felt* this to some degree or another. So this can act like a baseline for understanding that you now apply to your unique experiences while always delving for more (this increasingly broad perspective which you can then apply to your life).

I wish you the best, and I'm always interested/fascinated to hear other's learning experiences, whether similar or completely different to my own. I think most regulars on this site share at least that in common. Cheers. *warm smile*

 

[DreamInsights]

NEWS-STORY feels that dream patterns can change with age:

NEWS-STORY: 'Dreaming Across Generations'

 

[Helia]

Nothing has changed with my dreams and i am 70+
I still recall around 3 dreams per night..except when travelling..🎏