Since childhood, intermittently, I have had a vivid dream of an airplane crash. It is the only dream I have ever had in color; I see fiery red flame as the jetliner (it is a jetliner) descends. It falls near to my neighborhood. I feel impelled to rush to the plane, to try and save the passengers. The feeling I have in the course of "the airplane dream," as I have come to call it, is excitement, not fear.
I have not had this dream in quite a while--perhaps a year or more, but I expect it will happen again.
So the question is: why this repetitive dream? Could it be a past life experience, or could it presage an event to come? Could it symbolize aspects of my character: my desire for excitement, attraction to crisis, as well as my tendency to want to reach out to help others?
I have always been something of a risk-taker, and it is interesting that I ended up in the helping professions (teaching and counseling). I would guess that my first dream of this nature occured when I was about ten years old.
And why only this dream in color?
I feel that this dream is significant, that it conveys a message, perhaps from my Higher Power. Perhaps it is suggestive of an alternate reality, the phenomenon of reincarnation. Perhaps my last life ended in a plane crash.
I would like to hear about others' repetitive dreams. Do you regard them as particularly significant? Do you think that it is important to reflect on such dreams?
***
Upon further reflection...
I am remembering what was going on when I started having that dream. I was living in a "cracker project" in Florida as a kid (Not everyone in Boca Raton Florida was rich). My mom was alcoholic and I probably felt that she was going to crash and burn...Her life was on that downhill slide. And, of course, I wanted to save her, but did not know how, as a ten year old kid.
There is a repeated theme in my life of wanting to save both my mom and dad from their alcoholism.
I also think that I always had the desire to play the hero role. This is certainly a common theme, at least in our culture.
The fire, I think, symbolizes some kind of creative fire within me. I would compare the dream in color to the color scenes in Pleasantville. Certainly, life in Boca Raton for me and my family was in fifties black-and-white. Interesting that I conceptualized the same kind of transformation--symbolically--by adding color, and the color of fire, yet...
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Comments
I wonder what people in an era without planes had instead of this dream?
The only time in my life I had a dream about a plane crash, I had a vivid dream of a red and white plane with a cross on the side crashing on a rocky coastline. I woke up early that morning and said to my husband, "A plane has crashed somewhere, red and white, on a rocky coastline, maybe Norway, or Eastern Canada, or somewhere." We learned shortly thereafter that Swissair Flight 111 had crashed in Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia. . .a plane we had flown a couple of years earlier to Zurich.
If I ever had another airplane crash dream, I'd take it seriously. I've heard stories about people who've had recurring dreams of an accident (car or airplane), and later in their life, they have it happen in reality, and are prepared for the emergency because the dream prepared them for it.
Hopefully, in your case, it won't be like that, and it's just a stress you're working through in your dreams.
And I always dream in color, which often is a big factor in the dream.
Recurring dreams are common and are often triggered by a certain life situation or a problem that keeps coming back again and again.
The dream may be highlighting a weakness, fear, or inability to cope with something in your life - past or present. (when you were 10 did something major happen in your life that may still be affecting you today?)
Plane crash dreams, can mean that you've set overly high and unrealistic goals for yourself and are in danger of having it come crashing down. OR, you lack of confidence, have a self-defeating attitude and self-doubt toward your goals - meaning you do not believe in your ability to reach said goals. Loss of power as well as uncertainty in achieving your goals/being able to do what has to be done, are also a possibility.
I had these dreams a lot when I was younger. As for color, I have no clue. I always dream in color. Possibly the red signifies trouble, anger, hatred, fury or even passion.
My second recurring nightmare is tornados. I've had this nightmare for years before, during, and after lving in Texas where they were a real threat. They come at me from all sides, but never hit me. They just terrify me. This one is easy - it is always about some inner turmoil I am facing or fearing in my life. They have subsided a great deal since I found some peace a few years ago.
As to your witnessing the fiery crash, with feelings of saviouring and excitement? It's interesting to note you call it a dream and not a nightmare. Perhaps something you saw on TV at a young age that made you think "I could have saved them". I'd translate this one literally, not figuratively, since it doesn't scare you. A desire to be a hero, I think that would be a common theme. I know I have them consciuosly in daylight.
There is a repeated theme in my life of wanting to save both my mom and dad from their alcoholism.
I also think that I always had the desire to play the hero role. This is certainly a common, at least in our culture.
The fire, I think, symbolizes some kind of creative fire within me. I would compare the dream in color to the color scenes in Pleasantville. Certainly, life in Boca Raton for me and my family was in fifties black-and-white. Interesting that I conceptualized the same kind of transformation--symbolically--by adding color, and the color of fire, yet...
Thanks for all of your comments...
Patrick