This beach is so familiar and yet I think it mustn't exist because the waves often crash over the roof of the livesaving club. Surely that wouldn't be allowed to happen if it were real? The lifesavers sit on towers that come up a short distance from the rooftop, people move everywhere round the seawall, the beach is briefly visible, then the waves come, sizzling and frothing over the wavy steel roof.

It's so familiar though, and I remember being here regularly - going for icecream, visiting and admiring this city because it has this beach, being satisfied and exhilarated here. The beach is tightly curved, held this way by seawalls. The waves build invisibly in this funnel til they're over the roof again with a celebratory splash.

There's often a lifesaving or surfing competition on. In both cases, it doesn't feel unusual at the time. Only when waking does it seem unrealistic to be in water that can't settle on sand, that slams and fizzes against stone and concrete.

The mood is light, the emotions are high, there's nominal safety, no one is concerned. A funnelling structure has allowed an emotional intensity to build that no one minds, that is celebrated.

Competitiveness and heightened emotions, movement and relaxation, it's a beach holiday in a bubble, condensed milk, a Vietnamese coffee version of an experience.
Stronger, sweeter, richer, more intense, and wrapped as a gift.

We're laying back in pure relaxation, on the legs of someone we love, with an icecream, as the waves crash over the lifesaving club again, and people cheer the surfers on. Bliss!

When I google ‘recurring dreams’ there are many articles talking about mental health, traumas, fixations, imbalances. But mostly I don’t believe that recurring dreams are a signal of something going wrong in that vein. Recurring dreams can also be a choice-opportunity, a gift to us to show us where we make the same choices, run in the same wheels, and at which point a different choice could open up life in a way we want.

They often, if you take time to map out each part of the storyline, show a progression that moves forward each time you “do, decide or think” something. If you can think of a recurring dream you’ve had, try writing it out in dot points, or like a basic screenplay. Step by step, including what the main character (you) thinks, decides, or does.

Keep the events in order and see: before anything dramatic, what happened just before? What did you do/think/say/decide? What does that mean? Is that a pattern in your life?

Recurring dreams give us the situation where we can replay something - learn from mistakes or habits - and in real time see the dream evolve, and life too. It’s nothing short of creating real life change while asleep.

And if you want to know more about that, about what Jung and other dreamworkers have said of recurring dreams, how we might work with them, and what our own specific ones mean for us, you are warmly invited to the next Dream Cafe & Class on Recurring Dreams (& Nightmares) on August 21st.

Hoping you’ve had a wonderful Lion’s Gate weekend, and sweet dreams til next time,

Lara

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