I keep dreaming about 'abandoned' houses

For the last six weeks or so, almost every dream has involved me being in a house or a building. Some of these dreams range from fantastical contructs (an old wooden hotel built into a giant mountain - with hundreds of floors, balconies and rooms) others are more realistic - small houses and realistic looking rooms filled with everday items.

I know Jung mentions something about houses representing the body and the mind, but it's all I seem to dream about lately. Almost all of the houses and buildings are seemingly abandoned, or in a state of clutter (although not destroyed or ruined, more like recently abandoned or as though the 'owners' are away).

In some of the dreams, I feel guilty, as though I'm invading someone elses private space, like I shouldn't be there. Sometimes I return to the same dream house, sometimes it's somewhere different. The houses are very detailed, last night I wandered through a house, but the dimensions were wrong, hard to explain, but the rooms were smaller or bigger than they should have been. Other times, I feel comfort or nostalgia, or familiarity.

Some of the dreams contain rooms from my personal real life experiences, whilst others are no doubt created from my mind.

The strange thing is... Most dreams I have are very abstract, with surreal nonsensical imagery, yet recently these house dreams are very realistic (besides the occasional odd dimensions). Most of the time I'm alone, seemingly searching for things in rooms, cupboards etc.

I've googled this and everything seems to point towards me having to find something inside myself? But this doesn't fit with me really, it doesn't seem right. These dreams and houses feel like I'm in someone elses property and that I'm a visitor or intruder, which is very out of character for me, since I respect people's privacy.

This morning, I again dreamt about a house (probably the fifth time in 2 weeks), and the detail was amazing, I could see objects, some of which were strewn across the floor, like hairbrushes and tubes of shavng foam (very mundane I know), and in other rooms were beds, carpets, and objects like chairs, shoes, coats etc...

I know this may sound strange, I'm writing this as a comfort to myself, but can anyone help me figure out what the hidden message might be inside my dreams. I'll happily elaborate (to the best of my memory) if you ask me questions....

When I say abandoned houses, I don't mean ruined, just.... forgotten and recently empty, as though people have not long moved away or left the house..... strange, as the dreams are lingering with me, most dreams I forget instantly...

Cheers

Yes I'm into dream analysis, and dreaming of homes or houses, usually means dreaming about your overall personality.

The above post indicates that you're going through transition, lots of older stuff being left behind, and new things are entering your life.

Look at specific symbolism within the homes, are there tips to new or old things that show your personality type? Are you going through changes?

Good post

reply to post by Im a Marty


Yep gong through a very stressful, confusing point of time at the moment - but these dreams have been occuring prior to my current state.

As I say, some of them are comforting and relaxing, others are nostalgic, haunting and vaguely familiar, whilst other buildings are ... unfamiliar, like I'm an intruder.

But they are all very realistic, moreso than other dreams I've had. It's like a reoccuring dream, but each time I'm in a new place - some are modern, some are old etc.

MOST of my dreams (other than the really bad ones) are variations on this theme. I always figured the 'house' to either be my mind or my life as a whole.

Another one I have a lot is sort of similar, but instead of a house, it's a sports coliseum that's frozen in one moment, I wander through the bleachers and the field looking at the statue people. Sometimes I sit down by them and read or eat lunch.

reply to post by mr-lizard

I personally dont think there is much meaning to dreams, but I do have maybe 1 or such dream per month as well.
For me the usual theme is big old abandoned buildings that seems to morph around with rooms appearing or vanishing and hallways that lead nowhere and so on.

reply to post by juleol


Yeah kinda similar. Occasonaly the dreams are grandiose, but the majority of these dreams just seem to be plain houses, filled with clutter - The 'feeling' I get from them, is that I missed out on something big, and everyone just left, leaving me to wander through the empty shells and buildings looking for clues.

A little melodramatic I know, but that's the feeling I get. Like everyone left for something important, and I just 'woke up' somewhere unfamiliar, not quite knowing where I am.

reply to post by mr-lizard


Yes! I have a LOT of dreams with dilapidated or abandoned houses, although in my dreams it is always somehow my responsibility to fix them up and always a work in progress. I've had houses with wooden floors with large holes in them stuffed with paper, or where the walls are stuffed with paper. Sometimes they are houses with multiple stories that, the higher you climb up the stairs, the more closed off, bricked or wood-nailed over, the rooms become, and the more the infrastructure disappears, to the point the staircase wraps around he inside frame of the house and the entire interior is in ruins/gone. One memorable occasion the house grew inside and became like the interior of an old fun-house (Coney-Island style). That one dumped me in a lake when the stairs turned into a roller-coaster and guess what? Outside, the city had grown up around that house and it was all modern, banks and such. Actually, come to think of it, that particular one wasn't my house, in my dream. It belonged to someone else and I was there to pick up some old furniture or something. I guess there are a few that belong to other persons.

As a matter of fact, just last night I had one of these house dreams. This time it was the kitchen that had crazy-high beamed ceilings and I remember thinking how cool the beams were but how I was sad somebody had tried to remodel at some point and knocked out a lot of the interior (missing infrastructure theme again) and so it wasn't sound and needed some shoring up. The paint was layer on layer of ugly, peeling, oil based paint and the floor was sloped and had some old torn up covering. There was a rope swing tied to one of the horozantal beams and somebody pushed me in it. I had to duck/turn my shoulder because it was swinging me up so high, I kept knocking into one of the other beams. It goes on, but you get the point.

reply to post by mr-lizard


Actually dreams although present, can be past/present/future as the sleep state access simultaneous times, and dreams try and put a no space/no time event. So it could be predictive too...

Good luck on your quest

reply to post by mr-lizard


Old ideas beliefs ways of perceiving which are no longer yours, vacant,unaware, uncertain,unconscious, undecided,

reply to post by mr-lizard

and I just 'woke up' somewhere unfamiliar

unfamiliar beliefs and new ways of perceiving which are no longer yours but beliefs you may fall back on from time to time,


Very important for you to understand what has changed in you life recently that makes you want to return to some familiar way of thinking

I had a very memorable and important dream once of being in a house, and the whole dream was very clearly about myself inside, and had essential messages that changed my life. So from that I took that Jungs perspective was pretty right on.

But then later I had a dream in which I was doing like you- exploring different houses, very obviously not mine. I was flying from one to the other, and observing.

Then a whole 'nother element of the dream came in, in which many of these houses were owned by vampires, and I ended up facing a lot of vampires who assumed I was part of their community and wanted to exchange blood sucking. I was sort of "infiltrating" and pretending to be one myself, afraid that they find out I was not. I was afraid they'd find out I was "the butterfly", something they apparently were all trying to track down. So I'd make excuses not to do the blood exchange, like "Not right now, I'm busy", "not right now, I just drank and am full" sort of excuses.

My interpretation of my dream at the time was that it symbolized my exploring the minds of others. That is, as I was listening to others opinions, ideas, and points of view, I was observing their inner personalities (their homes).

The vampire thing, I think, was my hesitation to engage emotionally with others, which is true of my personality. I love to get to know others, out of curiosity, but remain usually independant and detached from them, without forming any bonds. Interdependance in which friends feed off of, and nurture, each others emotional needs is something I feel repulsed from taking part in.

So from my interpretation of "houses", I would say yours is similarly about learning others personalities and views, in RL or on the web. The absence of the owners completely indicating that you don't even have any personal interaction at all with these people (do not exchange personal messages with them, have them initiating friendships.....).

Something that hit me is that, with my access to the web years ago, I suddenly gained vision of such very different points of view and ways of thought and living than those I had been exposed to in the past (only people in my local environment) that it stirred up a curiosity for exploring others in a way I hadn't had before.