From working with so many people, helping them understand their dreams, I am convinced the important part is that you connect to the dream’s meaning, no matter what method you use. Sometimes you can get some great info just from one picture or one scene in a dream!
Here’s another dream fragment (one image). This one is an example of a recurring image. After 39 years I am still as fascinated by how much information we can gather even from one sole image in a dream.
The father’s of psychology agreed that the dream gives us a safe place to practice; in essence a rehearsal for an event. No kidding. Okay… I know it’s metaphor if, for example, you find yourself committing a murder, that you are not actually rehearing killing someone. Alfred Adler said the dream gives rise to an emotion that helps you move forward towards the goal.
It’s funny. After this whole discussion about recurring themes and images in these last few articles, (Rote, https://dreamcatcher.net/layne/5949 Recurring Dream Themes, https://dreamcatcher.net/layne/6100 Dream Fragments 2) I was so focused on why we’ll have these recurrences over a short period of time, that I forgot to discuss what it’s about when you have a recurring image that stretches over a long period of time!