Seeking an outside perspective on a series of dreams...

I've lurked here a while but have decided to post because I feel as though this is a little bit out of the depth of my circle of friends.

I've been having some uncharacteristically vivid dreams, and am curious as to the community's perspective on them...

My saga begins two years ago.

Some background:

Jessica is my girlfriend of several years, though now ex-girlfriend (even though we remained very close and functioned as a relationship in all but name until very recently) because of...
Sarah, a love interest I met before Jessica left for Spain, whom I pursued to no avail when Jessica broke up with me while abroad.
Joe is my best friend, who I met at the same time as Sarah (Sept 2013) and at the same time Jessica and I started to go down the tubes (for different reasons than Sarah).

Jessica goes to Spain January 2013; she breaks up with me, I eventually flirt with Sarah. Jessica comes back because of an issue with her visa, she apologizes and professes her love to me, I let Sarah and I peter out as nothing was happening between us, and we don't talk again the whole summer.

Fall Semester 2013 arrives; Sarah is, to my surprise, in my class. She is very happy to see me, but is typically sheepish about it. She was hot and cold with me the previous semester, but is now more aggressive in her flirting; where I once pursued, I was being pursued.

Eyes locking, general flirting, etc. culminates with her inviting me over her apartment to do work together. Her intentions were pretty obvious in hindsight (getting close to my face, having an empty apartment, sitting on the floor, popping birth control in front of me), but I was not expecting her to be so forward and was caught off guard.

Nothing happened, but that incident lead to the demise of my relationship with Jessica the following semester (Winter 2014).

Between that fateful night in the apartment and the next semester, Sarah snubbed me for a while and later got a boyfriend (her once good friend, who told her how he felt in the summer but she denied him and ignored him).

Jessica and I broke up when she discovered my dishonesty with her about Sarah and various other reasons, and in damage control mode, I resolved to tell Sarah how I felt about her (bearing in mind I hadn't seen her in nearly 3 months). I surprised her after class; she jumped on me, giving me a big hug and an even bigger smile. She was receptive to what I told her insofar as she almost seemed pleased to hear it, but she told me in a sentence I did not allow her to finish, that she was with her boyfriend and that she wished...

Some time after this I stopped speaking to Sarah as per Jessica's request.

I developed severe panic disorder later in the semester over a number of things; failing school and loss of both my best friend and girlfriend in a matter of what seemed like mere moments. I was prescribed Xanax come summertime.

Begin vivid dreams.

By this time, my ex and I were on very good terms; we spoke daily, we clearly were still in love, we took dancing classes together, we slept together. I was finally getting her back. I was not thinking about Sarah; she hadn't crossed my mind in months, but I suddenly dreamt about her.

I dreamt I was lying down on a stone table we have in our backyard, basking in a warm sun. Sarah approached me and layed down on top of my, weeping quietly. She whispered to me and kissed me, still crying. We quietly embraced each other and relaxed for the remainder of the dream.

It was very emotional for me; it felt so real. I had this general dream twice, probably a month and a half or so apart from each other.

This past October, my best friend (brotherly levels of best friend) was arrested on charges of possession of a controlled and dangerous substance. The next day, I spoke with him and we had a very heartfelt conversation. He was very upset. That night, I dreamt of him. He was not in my dream physically, but I felt his presence. I felt him hurting.

I'd never felt that before.

A week or two ago, I had yet another dream. Jessica and I had an argument that night, in which she brought up things she clearly still holds against me.

In the dream, I was seated in the dining hall at a roundtable with my friends. I felt protected. Joe was there; I looked at him and I felt a strong sensation of family. Three or four chairs were empty to my left; a girl was seated next to me.

I saw Jessica and Sarah, and I invited them to sit with us. The girl next to me was uncomfortable, as were Jessica and Sarah, but they sat anyway. Sarah sat between the girl and I on my right, Jessica several seats away on my left. I suggested she move closer. She begrudgingly moved over a seat. I tried to pull her closer, but she got up and walked away into the distance, very angry.

When she got up, a boy at the table behind us tried to take her seat and sit with us; I resisted and offered to find him another seat elsewhere in the dining hall (as I was sure Jessica was coming back, but she never did), to which he was hardly amenable, but he accepted. Sarah jumped up and offered to come with me. I brought him around and found him another table across the seemingly labyrinthine dining hall, and seated him at a table with some other girls.

On the way back, Sarah and I happened upon a verdant scene, very stimulating to the senses; there was a stone church, a large boulder, a beautiful tree, and a small gated fence connecting to the church and cornering in the boulder and tree.

As we crossed the threshold, she took my hand. We walked a few more steps, and she looked deep into my eyes with a sad expression on her face: "Here's to marrying the wrong people..." and she gave me a kiss.

We continued to walk back to the table. We walked through a beautiful field, holding hands. We laughed and we were happy, but we were constantly on guard, watching out to not get caught by her boyfriend or Jessica (both of whom we knew we roaming about).

I went ahead of her and climbed down the outside of a clear elevator shaft to find my friends, only to find them already coming to meet me. At this point, their faces were very unclear and Sarah was no longer visible. I climbed back up to the top, feeling every tug on my muscles on the way up as on the way down, and when I got to the top, I woke up.

I woke up late that day.



I've had vivid dreams wherein the people I was with were clearly people I knew only in my dreams, or instances in which people I knew were clearly just dreams; these people felt real, like they were really present.

Is this my soul traveling? Am I truly meeting these people in my sleep? Is it all just me? Do you guys have any unique perspective on dreams that you can offer me? What relevance do these dreams have in reality?

Somewhat related... is there a bilocation of the soul? Being nonphysical, I don't see how it couldn't conceivably exist in multiple simultaneous instances.

I'm just curious as to what the community thinks.

a reply to: sfbread

Welcome to ATS, I see this is your first thread. I am going to skip on down to the part about dreaming…

I've had vivid dreams wherein the people I was with were clearly people I knew only in my dreams, or instances in which people I knew were clearly just dreams; these people felt real, like they were really present.

Is this my soul traveling? Am I truly meeting these people in my sleep? Is it all just me? Do you guys have any unique perspective on dreams that you can offer me? What relevance do these dreams have in reality?

Just my opinion,

Some people think these are guides, my own take is they could be ancestors or family members passed on. Sometimes people report feeling they are "friends" that can't be identified? They may take us places or direct our attention to symbolic places that represent some aspect of our lives.

The more real these encounters seem to us the more compelling the message. Try and focus on the events more than the messenger, these kinds of dreams are trying to teach us something.

Thanks for the welcoming.

My main issue is that I know who these people are, actually. They look, feel, sound, and have the same idiosyncratic behaviors like the real people do.

My biggest question is if, in this dream realm, do I actually encounter these real people? Is it constantly a "new adventure" or a new journey or message, or is this spirit, this soul, existing parallel to my body in another existence?

a reply to: sfbread

The first thing to remember about your dreams is that they are entirely within your head, and they contain only knowledge and feelings you possess. Sometimes the unconscious mind tries to push the conscious to accept something it is unwilling to, for various reasons.

You already know what your dreams mean, because they are simply a reflection of your situation, but with symbolism.

The table, being round, represents life. The people seated around you are those meaningful to you, and you feel safe with them. There is an emptiness to the table, and you are trying to fill it.

Jessica being reluctant to sit with you, and then leaving you. In reality Jessica was a bit distant and then she actually moved overseas. Sarah willingly sits beside you, and in between another girl (representing that Sarah is separating you from a girl, go figure).

Sarah helps you out in a difficult time. In the dream, she helped you coerce a guy away from Jessica's seat. In reality she helped you away from Jessica's void.

You and Sarah together discover a safe haven (a hopeful church, a solid rock, a healthy tree, a secure fence), the two of you find safety together, but are worried about the past catching up to you.

You struggle to reach your true haven of life, and when you get there your security (friends) are all uncertain. What could that possibly represent?

Hope this helps.