Run Running

Running with exuberance in a dream suggest you are flowing with life energy, or strong and easy motivation.

You can run to or run away, or even run from someone or something, so it is important in some dreams to define which one it is. Also it is important to define if you are running to get somewhere, to reach a goal, or simply running as an expression of exuberance, or to get fit. See: Chased.

Running away: Avoiding something; trying to get away from something, your own emotions or sexuality for instance, so not meeting problems in a way that will resolve them. This can indicate anxiety about what you are running from. It might be old painful experiences or feelings of guilt.

Running to: Trying to reach a goal, so an energetic attempt to get somewhere. If you are running toward someone or in relationship to someone such as children, this suggests feelings of responsibility and self-giving. But in some dreams it is evident the dreamer is sometimes running toward danger.

Running to get fit: It can suggest you are taking your health seriously. It depends on why you are running though. Are you running because you have an underlying fear that in fact is making you run to avoid death? If so it is better to meet the feelings of fear of death, and when that is done you can run with good feelings. See Fear Frightened

Running something like a business: Meeting the challenges of running your own individual way of life. Or depending what the dream is maybe about your own business information. See business woman/man

Running with great pleasure: The unhindered flow of your innate self, so an expression of the person you can be if the tensions, blockages and hesitations are dropped away.

Running without knowing why: Uncertainty or lack of clarity about what you are feeling or expressing – where you are going to or from.

As if made of lead: Held back by one’s own hesitations. Or maybe, because you are a life-form, and so are created by the process of Life, and because life has a flow or current which carries you forward all the time, through babyhood, childhood, adolescence, and onwards, you could be trying to fight the current. See: Paralysis; Sleep Paralysis; Opening to Life

Idioms: Run for one’s money; run of the house; out of the running; on the run; run along; run down; run for it; run out of steam; run out on someone; run up against; run wild.

 

Useful questions and hints:

Does this show a sense of urgency and haste?

Am I trying to escape from an emotion or fear?

What do I feel as I am running or watching someone run?

Could it simply be a feeling of exuberance and life energy?

See Secrets of Power Dreaming – Working with associations – Makes Inner World – Allowing the Spontaneous

 

 

Comments

-Ashely Leo 2017-02-08 1:09:46

Hi Mr.Tony,

Thank you for this post. I have a dream last night. At first,i reached a town where everybody wearing formal dress 24/7.But somehow,i’ve been chased by the Mayor of the town for not wearing formal dress like them and i climbed up 20ft fence. I was running all night long and suddenly middle of nowhere,i saw a bus filled with kids and they invited me to their place. It was a town where there is no adults. At first,im so happy living there until i get chased by 15 kids since they forced me to stay with them. Again,im running until i’ve reached a town where everyone was wearing white clothing. Im not happy living there,so,i ran away after they forced me wearing white dress.

-Jeanne 2016-12-31 16:43:42

How about if u are running but can’t get to where u are going& u keep on trying over& over but not to succeed?

-Grace 2016-10-06 14:47:07

Hey my boyfriend dreamt he was running with me from a guy with a weapon I was dressed in school uniform and was I was trying to give him a key

    -Tony Crisp 2016-10-07 9:04:00

    Grace – It is your boyfriend’s dream, and nearly always when people dream about someone they know or a strange new person or situation they automatically believe the dream is about that person, situation or animal. But when we think of our friend or partner our thoughts are not them – just our thoughts and feelings about them. So dream images are ways of communicating via our associations not actual things or people.

    But what I do see is that your boyfriend sees you as a schoolgirl who he is trying to protect from the attention of another more dominant male – playground feelings. The key may represent his feeling that you are trying to give him clues to actually who you are.

    Tony

-Cydney 2016-06-09 13:41:31

Hi I was wondering if someone could help me interpret this dream I had last night. I had a dream that I went back to high school with an old friend of mine. We don’t really talk much to this day but back in high school we were best friends. By the end of the school day I had to go home and that’s when it dawned on me that I had to go home. And the school was not in the same district of where I currently live. So I’m frantic trying to figure out a way to go home. I road the bus that took me to my grandmas old apartment. But I knew that she didn’t live there anymore. And it was getting dark and I think it was raining. Behind her old apartment was a nature trail with a lot of trees. So I’m running through the path and I see at least six deer. they were eating and minding their business. I was a little nervous to approach them because I stopped running. They noticed me and just stopped what they were doing and bowed. They didn’t even run away like most deer would. They just let me pass. So I ran past them and tried to make my way back home, but I woke up before I could make it home. The whole time I’m dreaming this I’m wondering why was I stranded when I have a car. i didn’t understand why I couldn’t just drive myself home.

If someone could please interpret this dream for me. it would be greatly appreciated.

-Zara 2016-02-20 8:39:03

Hi, I had a dream that I was running from a man who I didn’t recognise, he was yelling at me and saying there’s no point in running because I’ll get you and I’ll beat you, I’ll beat you up, and I kept running, I was so scared, and was in my hometown, I ran to my boyfriend’s and then the guy who wanted to beat me disappeared. What could this mean? I

    -Anna - Tony's Assistant 2016-02-24 10:44:17

    Dear Zara – Please also read http://dreamhawk.com/dream-dictionary/beaten-up/
    To understand your dream you will have to stop running and face the man who wants to beat you up.
    Your dreams are a unique area of self-expression. They are a safe area to experiment and experience things in any way you wish. Often we introvert, or take into our dream life, rules and fears that have no place there. For example, while dreaming, you may fall into the sea and be terrified you will drown. But that is impossible because you are only experiencing images of your feelings and thoughts. All you can do is to feel fear. You can easily breathe under water in a dream, or fly, or die and be re-born. So remove such limitations from your inner life by visualising such changes into your dreams when awake. Imagine yourself being what you can in your dreams. Even passive people who couldn’t stand up for themselves can change as they do this; http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/secrets-power-dreaming/
    Anna 🙂

-zanele 2015-10-25 6:11:18

hi i need to understand this dream where my late sister is running past me to her friends and when i talk to her she didnt respond and went on running

-Ethan Miller 2015-09-25 17:32:42

Hey Tony! I constantly have multiple dreams a night where I’m in my house, upstairs, and someone breaks in trying to kill me. In my house, there’s like an over hang where you can look at the front door, and the stairs going up on one side. And on the other side you can see the living room and the backdoor. In every dream I’m upstairs, someone breaks in, I slowly walk to the over hang, they start running up the stairs and I jump off the balcony into the living room, dart out the back door, and jump the fence and run throughout the neighborhood. I always feel like he’s right behind me, but when I look back he’s never there. I always get away. But last night I got in an arguement with my parents that got me really frustrated and angry, and I held it in(I’m 14). And I had a dream that night where I was in the kitchen, and a kid, that looked like he was my age, broke in. I started to fight back for the first time. He had some tool ( I can’t remember) and I had like a mardigra looking mask along with a thin metal rod. I ended up stabbing him in the throat with it, killing him. I ran upstairs again, going to the balcony, and his dad breaks in. He runs up the stairs, I jump off and dart throuh the back door like always, except the fence was extremely torn up and the wood planks were all different lengths, which was different them all the other dreams. I still jumped over and got away. But what caught my attention is that I actually killed someone! I am always able to control myself and calm down tense situations, but it was pure violence and anger to that poor kid. Even though he was trying to kill me too. I woke up breathing really hard at about 6:00 am.

    -Anna - Tony's Assistant 2015-10-09 14:10:48

    Dear Ethan – I feel you are well on your way of understanding what does not work in your (inner) world and so all I can do is give you some more understanding.
    Being able to control yourself and calm down tense situations is a wonderful gift, but I wonder if you are doing it for the right reasons.
    There are several signs in your dreams that you have become afraid of (expressing) your own feelings and that is what the symbol of killing suggests.
    A burglar is a symbol of emotions – like feeling anger or feeling frustrated – or fears arising inside you and you do not dare to meet them yet; to express them, and so you run.
    Running away is a symbol of avoiding feeling and expressing your feelings, probably because you perceive that as threatening.
    In your last dream you become more aware of what you are doing to yourself; which is expressed by you stabbing “the kid that looked like it has your age” in the throat.
    A throat is a symbol for self-expression in your dream and you become aware that you kill the possibility to release what you are feeling.
    That is a wonderful step, for you can only decide to change something once you are aware of it.
    You also wrote that you are aware that “it was pure violence and anger to that poor kid.”
    One of the functions of dreams is that it is a means of expressing the otherwise unacknowledged aspects of yourself. So if you do not allow your anger and frustration enough expression while you are awake; your dream will help you to release it, which is like a move toward becoming whole again.
    Whole in this context means that there is a healthy balance between being in control of your feelings and allowing them expression.
    In a dream fighting is a better approach than running and so your change has “torn up the fence you had built around you.”
    Good for you!
    See also http://dreamhawk.com/dream-dictionary/active-passive/
    I see you wearing a mask in your dream as a symbol of the inner quality you have and can develop to express your feelings and needs.
    With this in mind I trust that you will learn to face “his dad” as well.
    See also http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/eight-step-method-to-manage-intense-emotion/
    Anna 🙂

-Lily2632 2015-08-16 17:06:10

I dream of running at a meetings running long distance and I enjoy it … I do track and I don’t know what it mean does it mean I’m not trying hard enough or my body and ache for a run.

-Hannah 2015-08-11 1:51:10

Hi. Could you also help me with my dream?. In my dream, i was the son (though i am female)of a young important couple, when i say young i mean young, my parents looked like teenagers, and my dad in this dream, he looked like a member of a band that i like(in real life). And that we were at what looked like our palace. And my parents knew we had to run away because it was going to be invaded and the invaders were looking for us. Before leaving i had to leave a note, stating something like i was 14 years old and wanting to join an organization or something (ive no idea, im in my 20s in real life), so then my mom said (who was a queen), that we had to escape now as the enemy had arrived, especially me, and that i was being targeted in particular. And so the three of us ran outside through a field of wheat for camouflage. My dad said keep myself hidden in the fields and stay down, we were running so fast while staying down. And we were being chased. Someone almost caught me but i escaped, and i didnt feel scared at all, if anything all i felt was a positive rush of adrenaline. I was assured of my dad knowing what to do. And it all played out like we were in an adventure movie, and i knew we were the main characters and was certain of survival. After that we entered a building and went in one of the bedrooms. And me and my dad found our hiding places. Him, in some kind of cabinet and me under the bed. I was told i was some kind of prodigy child and was called david copperfield, and that i could no doubt hide very well. My dad seemed only like an older brother. And when we were hiding from an invasion of soldiers looking for us, i still felt very safe. Its like i know we were going to succeed because i was so reassured that my dad could do anything, that even if we were caught, he would know what to do. I felt protected. Soldiers came and went inside the room looking for us, they looked threatening, but each time im certain we wouldnt be seen, and thats what had happened. There came to a point that i had changed hiding places, and hidden under the sheets and pillows. I had a strange girl hide beside me, it was because of this girl i had almost gone into trouble, she was the one who entranced me to hide in this way. And that wasnt such a good idea because we werent very camouflaged, but luckily the soldier who looked didnt go inside, so he barely noticed. After that, my dad told me that it was a bad hiding place because we clearly could be seen, and it was lucky we didnt. In the end, we had survived.

-wendy 2015-05-30 3:09:19

Hi Tony..please help me to interpret this dream. I am an avid runner but have never dreamed that I was running. I dreamed I was running alone as I normally do in real life and I was on a typical 6 mile run. I had to cross this large body of water and the only way to do so was to run across this huge white very expensive yacht. Afraid that I would be caught by the owner as trespassing . …I sped up and hurried across. On my way back I was doing the same thing and was caught by a very tall man dressed in all white. He had a women and three small boys around him but they faded away as if they were ghost. In the dream I sensed that they were his wife and children but they had all died and he was a lonely rich man. He took me to his mansion where his servant prepared his bedroom for bedtime. I could see his large closet for two but only half of it was filled with men’s clothes. I was nervous because I do not want a relationship with anyone at this time in my life. It was obvious this guy was attracted to me. Please help explain.

    -Anna - Tony's Assistant 2015-05-31 11:33:06

    Dear Wendy – A wonderful dream! I wonder if you confuse your waking life – “I was nervous because I do not want a relationship with anyone at this time in my life” – with your dream life.
    Your dream shows your flowing life energy and you are exploring where it can take you in your inner world.
    Please also read http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/energy-sex-and-dreams/
    Crossing a river depicts the inner changes you are making and when you have overcome your fear of “tresspassing” you are ready to meet this rich man which could mean you can gain a lot from an aspect of yourself you do not yet identify with. I feel that “this huge white very expensive yacht” is a symbol of your awareness where this relation-ship in your inner world can take you and the white clothes are a symbol of a sense of wholeness; purity or marriage. Attitudes that express or allow a lot of your core energy.
    See http://dreamhawk.com/dream-dictionary/core/
    The woman and the three boys who had died I see as those aspects of you which had to be released – the old selves had to die – before you were able to meet this male part.
    The mansion, like house, shows all the different departments of your life, such as the bathroom for cleansing, library for mental growth, etc. The mansion however, is sometimes used to show just how big you are, how much you hold in yourself, and perhaps the amount of work you have put into becoming who you are.
    Although a house represents all the aspects of self in which our identity lives – a body, emotions, creativity, etc. – a mansion is depicting the same thing with a different emphasis. It is ourselves as we are plus features still latent, possibilities not yet developed or explored.
    Your dream ends with “where his servant prepared his bedroom for bedtime. I could see his large closet for two but only half of it was filled with men’s clothes. I was nervous because I do not want a relationship with anyone at this time in my life. It was obvious this guy was attracted to me”.
    So perhaps you can carry the dream forward and put your clothes next to his’ in the closet?
    Perhaps you might even share the bed and make love with him?
    Our sexual dreams, even if our sex life is satisfactory, show us what growth, what new challenge, is being met. Sex in a dream is an intimate relationship, a deepening of union between yourself and a facet of yourself not yet fully integrated or accepted.
    See also http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/archetype-of-the-animus-jungs-view-of-the-male-in-the-female/
    and
    http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/peer-dream-group/#carryforward
    and
    http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/sex-and-dreams/
    Anna 🙂

-Lacey 2015-05-28 14:17:03

Hello, perhaps you can help me with my dreams. Often, I dream that I’m in some sort of warehouse collecting items at the same time I’m being chased by zombies. Tons of them. I always end up making it out and try running back home to get to my baby, but I never make it. Something always keeps me from getting there and I end up hiding instead, each time the hiding place is different. I have looked up zombies, running towards, running away from, chased, warehouse, hiding, warehouse, collecting, everything I can possibly think of and I still cannot put it altogether. Perhaps I am putting it together wrong? But considering I have this dream often over a period of several years, I feel my subconscious is trying to tell me something.

    -Anna - Tony's Assistant 2015-05-29 17:09:24

    Dear Lacey – I do appreciate the effort you took to explore your own dream using the dream dictionary and I trust I can give you some more ideas and some links that will be helpful to you.
    Your dreams recur because there are ways you habitually respond to your internal world. Because your attitude or response is unchanging – “I try running back home to get to my baby, but I never make it. Something always keeps me from getting there and I end up hiding instead, each time the hiding place is different” – the dream that reflects it remains the same. It is noticeable in those who explore their dreams using such techniques as described under processing dreams, that recurring themes disappear or change because the attitudes or habitual anxieties that gave rise to them have been met or transformed.
    See http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/processing-dreams/
    Your dream suggests that you are running away and hiding from getting to know the way you are programmed, from getting to know your habits and your beliefs.
    Many of our beliefs are unconscious. They were absorbed in childhood and often remain without any conscious evaluation; that is why they are symbolised by zombies in your dreams.
    See http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/beliefs/
    The same goes for habits. Habitual responses can be etched deeply into us.
    We would not be able to walk or talk without the amazing support of our habits. But some habits, like repeatedly running and hiding are more undermining than supportive.
    See http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/habits/
    The way to get out of this cycle of running and hiding is to step back from it using self-observation; this is like stepping back and not be lost in the emotions or moods. See http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/self-observation/
    and
    http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/letting-things-happen/
    I also feel it will be helpful to use Power Dreaming, and so while awake and relaxed imagine yourself back in the dream and continue it as fantasy or a daydream and move it toward satisfaction. Alter the dream in any way; experiment with it; play with it, until you find a way to fully feel at ease with what you were searching for. In doing this you must not ignore the feelings of resistance and spontaneous emotion and fantasy that may occur. Satisfaction comes only when you have found a way of integrating these into your conscious imagining.
    See http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/secrets-power-dreaming/
    Good Luck!
    Anna 🙂

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