Memoir
/ˈmemˌwär/ noun. a record of events written by a person having intimate knowledge of them and based on personal observation. Usually memoirs. an account of one's personal life and experiences; autobiography. the published record of the proceedings of a group or organization, as of a learned society.
Dreams can be terrifying, mysterious – they can fill us with dread, joy, contentment, and even wonder. Do you have recurring dreams? I certainly do. I feel like these dreams we have again and again hold a special message that’s up to us to decipher and benefit from. I’m excited to hear what yours might be and I’m sure those who read your memoir in the decades and centuries to come will be equally captivated.
Memoir Monday has grown so much that I won’t be able to comment on everyone’s posts anymore (and get my own work done) but I’ll still be supporting your posts with reblogs, votes, and shares on my other social media accounts (X, Facebook, etc.).
For all of those who’ve regularly participated in Memoir Monday - keep going, you’re making great progress in chronicling your very own life story for future generations to enjoy.
For those who missed the inaugural post explaining what the Memoir Monday initiative is all about you can find it here.
Now for next week’s Memoir Monday prompt:
Have you ever had recurring dreams? If so, describe them.
My answer:
I’ve had three recurring dreams throughout my life, each set in a world that feels like the past. These dreams are intensely vivid, filled with sights, scents, sounds, and emotions that linger long after I awake. They’ve always made me wonder if these memories could somehow be ancestral or genetic.
The "Country Fair Dream"
In this recurring dream, I find myself strolling through a grassy field, wearing a linen suit and a straw hat, amidst a colorful array of tents. The smell of fried foods wafts through the air, blending with the lively sounds of the fair—children’s laughter, the clink of coins, and cheerful music. The sun is setting, casting a warm glow over the scene. I feel a sense of joy and contentment, as though the year is the mid-to-late 1800s. I’m holding an ice cream cone and enjoying the evening with a date. The atmosphere is peaceful, and I feel at ease, perfectly happy and free from worry. It’s an experience full of nostalgia, bringing me immense joy.
The "Ballroom Dream"
The second, my "Ballroom Dream," is the strangest. It transports me to an opulent ballroom aglow with candlelight. Guests around me are dressed in lavish attire, some wearing powdered white wigs. Through open windows, the soft night breeze stirs the drapes, adding to the ethereal atmosphere. A hauntingly beautiful minuet plays from a string quartet, and I find myself dancing with a striking woman across the gleaming wooden floor, amidst the heady scent of perfume. What’s remarkable is that in the early '90s, I received a CD as a Christmas gift, and one of the pieces on it, Haydn’s String Quartet in F Major, Op. 3/5 "Serenade Quartet," was the exact song from my dream! My head spun when I heard it, it instantly transported me back—like déjà vu—leaving me with a peculiar sense of melancholy, yet also immense comfort and security. I’m uncertain of the time period, but it seems as though this setting could be from the late 1700s, though it may just be some sort of costume ball from a later era.
The "Tobacco Shop Dream"
The final dream is brief but striking. I’m walking down a gloomy city street, past horses and buggies. I glance down to see I’m wearing navy pinstriped trousers and polished black shoes, holding a black cane with a silver handle. I descend a flight of stairs into a subterranean tobacco shop, where the earthy, rich scent of pipe and cigar tobacco fills the air. The shopkeeper immediately recognizes me, respectfully greets me, and hands me three cigars and I tuck them into the inside pocket of my jacket. I hand him a large silver coin, receiving no change. My demeanor is not warm—I’m detached, almost dismissive. The dream ends before I leave, and it feels like a part of my routine, lacking the joy of the other two dreams. There’s no hint of happiness in this one, only the feeling of a mundane, habitual moment with a lingering sense of regret.
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Wow, those are pretty intense. I don't think I have ever had a recurring dream like that. At least not one that I remember so vividly. I kind of remember having a dream where I was working with Jerry Seinfeld on a habitat for humanity house or something like that. I don't remember much beyond that :)
Not all of my dreams are this vivid but a handful of them are. These three are just brief snippets, just taking seconds for the scene to play out but they leave a very deep impression every time I have them. That's a pretty cool dream. Have you ever volunteered for HFH?
No, never. I don't even know why I had the dream. I feel like sometimes I have dreams in familiar places that are the same, but perhaps the scenario is different. Like a house that is supposedly mine in different dreams, but the layout is unfamiliar. I wish I had more vivid dreams.
They can be so mysterious sometimes!
I do remember one of my dreams from last night. My friend and I were staying in a rental house and we still had about a half hour left on our time. He had to get going, so I was going to pack up and head out. The next people showed up a half hour early and were unpacking and having a party while I was still trying to pack up. I confronted one of the ladies about it and told her it was rude and she said "is it?, I didn't know" or something like that. Of course I could draw parallels to how the government might be the next couple of months, but it's all open for interpretation!
Wild! That's a very plausible interpretation. Your brain must be expressing concerns through the dream. So interesting!
Probably more likely I am just odd! :)
Dreams set to Haydn - that's not a bad deal at all. It's interesting to me that your recurring dreams are happy ones (often, people seem to remember more vividly the nightmares, and those seem to recur more often). So very interesting.
I love this phrase. Makes it feel like a very specific type of satisfaction/contentment. Do you wonder why both these happy dreams are period pieces, so to speak?
To be honest, I'm very curious about the final dream (perhaps more so than the other two, even). Do you smoke cigars in your real life?
PS: Love the theme!
The really wild thing is I didn't know what song it was in the dream until I found it on the CD. There's little chance I ever heard it before either. I very rarely have bad dreams and when I do I hardly ever feel panicked. The only panic-inducing dream was this one...I was running down a flight of stairs in an old apartment building and heard people a few flights above running down after me. I didn't ever seen them but in my mind I knew it was soldiers chasing me. I only had this dream once. It ended before I was caught (or escaped).
The only thing I can think of is this is connected with either genetic memory or related to a past life?
Ugh, the Tobacco Shop dream fills me with a kind of dread and loneliness, like I've wasted my life (akin to Ebenezer Scrooge). Judging by my attire I was elderly and the way the shopkeeper treats me I get a sense I was wealthy/respected. I did used to have the occasional cigar! I had a humidor and everything but just lost interest in them after a while.
Thanks! Do you have any recurring dreams?
That really is odd! Maybe a remnant from a past life indeed. It's interesting also that the dream ends (as these pursuit dreams often tend to) before a clear resolution either way. Maybe it's not necessary for that kind of dream to end on either definitive answer in the dream world? I don't know.
Ah, so you're old in the dream as well! Hm that might be a significant detail - maybe there's also powerlessness? You passing by those seedy characters/places, but being old and keeping your head down (after your own pleasures and interests), maybe you're powerless to change the seediness of your surroundings? That's a cool dream!
I do :D Mostly bad ones for me, though. Pursuit, also, features heavily in my dreams. That and keeping monsters at bay. Typical childish dreams maybe :)
That was the part that kind of freaked me out. It was such a revelation when I heard the song from the CD though. Maybe it's an imagined connection? I'm not sure. Perhaps it isn't necessary for the those kinds of dreams to end. One common theme throughout most of these kinds of dreams for me is the emotional impact -- contentment, fear (with the staircase dream), dread, and joy.
Yes, I get the impression I'm old in that Tobacco Shop dream. I don't remember feeling pain but I was walking with a cane. The surroundings weren't seedy. This was a downtown city street filled with red brick storefronts. The weather was gloomy, overcast and grey. The tobacco shop was just down a small flight of stairs in the basement level of one of the buildings.
I kind of epiphany came to me last night that these three recurring dreams could be memories from a single lifetime. Wealth and privilege seemed a common thread throughout the three. The first two are filled with light, happiness, and joy...the last, sadness. Very Dickensian.
That isn't childish at all! I think a lot of people have these kinds of "bad" dreams. I think these are usually dripping with metaphor.
My mother studied dreams and was my go-to person when one bothered me.
Maybe you are dreaming of one of your ancestors who did these things.
Your mom sounds like someone I would love to meet; I think I need someone to guide me through my dreams. !LUV
I wish she was still with us, she passed 3 years ago and I have also needed her.
Oh no, my condolences.
I wish her soul to rest in peace.
I'm sending you a virtual big hug and lots of love 🫂❣️
Thank you and hugs back to you.
She would have been interesting to talk with about these dreams! Possibly! I figure it's either genetic memory or related to some kind of past life experience.
#hive #posh
It's so interesting how the universe works. I was just sharing with my husband yesterday about some of my recurring dreams, and now this week's prompt is talking about dreams.
I do have some recurring dreams I love to share, but I must tell you, they are not very sweet dreams. Who knows, someone out there might find them relatable or interesting.
I should go and start working on my entry🥂
An incredible bit of serendipity there! Maybe writing about the bad dreams might lessen their power? I hope so. Can't wait to read about them!
I hope so as well; although I think I am no longer scared of the bad ones, I never knew the kind of relief I would feel by sharing them here.
Thank you
Is there an Eric, at this moment, at this very moment, living another life, having other habits? And all the Erics that exist, who is only one, You, are found in dreams. Your dreams are fascinating especially because of the details. They feel so vivid, though I imagine with your writing streak, it must be like that: almost literary stories taken from centuries past. In my case, I also have recurring dreams and recurring nightmares, having to do with haunting and loss. This will be a very interesting #memoirmonday, as always. A beautiful Thursday, my friend. Hugs
This is precisely what those who believe the "infinite universe theory" believe! We all have several versions of ourselves co-existing at the same time in different dimensions or universes. It's hard for me to completely wrap my head around. I've always had a super vivid imagination and my dreams are usually full of this kind of detail but I do have some that are "fuzzy" around the edges and I struggle to even decipher what they are or what they mean. I can't wait to read your contribution and thanks for the idea about making topic this a #memoirmonday theme!
My dreams aren't that interesting to share. In fact, they used to be scary. They are these demonic dreams that are common in Africa ( where you see masquerades pursuing you in your dream). My husband prayed with me and I don't see those kinds of dreams anymore.
I think dreams are related to what we think. If we think about something too excessively, we will automatically be carried away by dreams. Have a nice day, Eric.
Very true, they can be related to what we have on our minds. Thank you and I hope you enjoy the day!
I do have certain dreams that may be regarded as recurring as the themes of the dreams and feeling they bring are the same but the sight in the dreams are different.
The topic fascinated me a lot. I will try my level best to participate in it.
The first of your dreams is full of joy. Reading that piece I felt experiencing the scenerio myself.
Coming accross the same song from the second dream is interesting.
I also came accross dreams that proved to be a prediction of real life incident. It baffles
I hope to read your entry! Thanks!
👍
I hope to create one. 🙃
I had a recurring dream for many years, I think I will share.
Can't wait to read it!
Your recurring dreams are really impressive, especially for all the details you mention about the dreams
Thank you very much dear friend for sharing these experiences
Have a lovely afternoonHow are you dear friend @ericvancewalton
Not all of my dreams have this much detail, just a handful. Thanks and I hope you're having a great week!
I am impressed by your ability to remember, it is as if those dreams have been recorded like a movie. In all of them there is enough material to make many interpretations, you would need a few sessions of analysis to decipher them completely. Thanks for sharing, dear @ericvancewalton . A big hug from Maracay.
I wish all of my dreams were that vivid but they're not. Thank you! I hope you're having a wonderful week!