However, when awake, I am also aware, as I have already mentioned, that some of my dreams allow for no safety at our Gualala home. The waves that are crashing on the cliff as we drive up to Gualala are now chewing up our hill and are about to crash into our home. The challenge is great. I must be brave in confronting not just the threat of driving on the cliff but also living on a hill near the ocean.
Interpretations of a Residency Dream
Given that many of the folks I have interviewed report having previous homes in their dreams, it is not surprising that many interpretations have been offered over the years regarding the meaning of these revisited homes in our dreams. Here are some of the most widely shared notions about what our home(s) represents in a dream.
First, it should be noted that many dream interpreters are enthusiastic about speculating regarding this meaning. They declare that a dream about a former residence holds important symbolic meaning. These former homes can serve as a pathway to important insights regarding the content of one’s subconscious of unconscious mind. Obviously, there is the strong possibility that dreams about a former home or hometown represents our journey to the past—much as is the case with our nostalgic daydreams. It is in our former homes that we find our personal history, our former relationships, our former emotions, and our aspirations regarding the future (where we are now living when awake).
As might be the case with my escape from the evil spirits in the Sycamore Bar, our old home might represent one of Carl Jung’s archetypes, this being the sanctuary, refuge or safe haven. Much as Dorothy felt safe when returning to Kansas, finding that her travel companions and protectors (Scarecrow, Tin Man and Lion) were actually people in her waking life, we might find that our dreams of previous homes reveals something about what we are looking for with regard to safety, stability and continuity –and how we might find the primary sources of this safety, stability and continuity among people in our current, waking life.
Our dreams can also be containers for our memories. As I noted in one of my recent essays on dreams (Bergquist, 2025) some neurobiological researchers believe that we tend to sort through and organize our daytime memories when we are asleep. I have suggested that some of this sorting and organizing might occur via our dreams. This being the case, then a previous home would be a perfect location for storing memories of the life we lived when dwelling in this home.
While our dream-based home might serve as a repository for our memories, it can also serve as a repository for the “longings” of our previous life. Our youthful aspirations are vividly portrayed in the actions we take in our dreams and potentially provide us with guidance regarding where we want to go in our current future. We are “leaning” into the future (Bergquist and Mura, 2011) when we visualize taking action in our past. I was creative in my dream-based homes in Berkeley and Gualala.
Could I be just as creative during my waking life—and perhaps do something with the actual musical compositions I have set aside? Dorothy might have learned something about her own bravery in confronting the witch. She can use that bravery in confronting the real-life witch who threatens Dorothy (and her family) in Kansas. I also can learn about my bravery when reflecting on my dreams about driving up to Gualala on a very challenging road (which is made even more challenging in my dreams).
