(Male, 40’s) This is a recurrent dream-image that I’ve had all my life– like as far back as I can remember. It may have started in adolescence, but I’m not sure exactly when.
The set-up of the dream varies– the how or why part — but the dream always leads me to a dark forest at night. There are noises around me, and I’m running. I’m not big on running in real-life, but in my dream, I’m running for what feels like a long, long time. Why I’m running isn’t completely clear either. Am I running after someone or am I running away? All I know is that I’m fearful and I’m running.
And just when I am so tired that I want to give up, a thought occurs to me, like I realize or remember something that I already knew.
So I get down on all fours, and I begin to run again. I can run faster than I ran standing upright and with more energy. And I keep running on my hands and feet through the forest.