A few years ago I had a doozy of a dream. I was being chased by a lizard man through the streets of an abandoned village. Man was he scary. I ran into rickety houses, trying to hide from him, but he followed me into every single room. Eventually I had to surrender. He ate me. Then he pooped me out.

Anxiety producing? Absolutely!

Clearly, when we have dreams like this something is trying to get our attention.

But what?

The clue lies in who or what is chasing us, but often we  don’t know what that is, and we’re too afraid to turn around and find out.

There are many kinds of chase dreams. Have you ever had any of these?

• have no idea what is chasing you
• know exactly what is chasing you
• think you know what is chasing you, when in fact, it is something completely different

A clue about how this dream pertains to waking life is in how we respond to the chase.

Here are some personal examples:

• escaped a tiger by going out of body
• hidden under tables and behind closed doors
• turned to face my pursuer
• been shot at by my old landlord while he sang “Jesus loves me”
• been bitten by a shark
• been eaten alive by a reptilian monster (and pooped out!)
• killed my pursuer with a machine gun
• even turned to give my pursuer a lecture!

So, why do we have chase dreams?

It is always worth asking if the dream is potentially literal.

For example, is it possible the dream is warning you about a potential waking life event? If the answer is yes, pay attention to the dream images and take precautionary measures.

In my experience, however, most dream are not this literal. I do know several people who have literal, prophetic dreams, so I always make a point to ask if the dream may be precognitive.

More often than not, chase dreams are symbolic on some level.

Here are some possible associations with this dream:

feeling like someone is

• out to get you
• hounding you
• threatening you
• putting you (or someone else) in danger

It’s also possible that this chase dream is trying to alert the dreamer to a behavior that needs to be changed or addressed. Perhaps it has to do with:

• an addiciont that is causing health problems
• a bad relationship that is unhealthy
• a job that is too stressful
• a belief that is antiquated

If we run from the pursuer, we are most likely trying to avoid a confrontation in waking life. Perhaps we are afraid of change or a conflict. The mere fact that we had this dream and remembered it is a good indication that despite our fears, we are quite capable of facing the situation.

If in the dream we face the pursuer, we are most likely consciously ready to face this waking life challenge. We may actually be in the process of interacting with whatever it is we have up until now been running away from in waking life. Our dream may even hint at a way to solve our problem.

The only way to know what a chase dream is referring to, though, is to ask questions of the dreamer and the dream.

Here are some questions to ask after having a chase dream:

Who is chasing the dreamer?

Am I running away from something (avoiding something) in my life?

Am I being harmed?

Am I missing out on an incredible opportunity?

What am I ready to face or what do I feel apprehension about facing?

If the character(s) is a recognizable entity (person or thing), but not something or someone you know in waking life, notice as many details as you can. Describe the entity in a timed writing exercise or write a letter to yourself from the entity. How does this relate to a waking life experience? Does the dream entity have a mustache? Do you know someone with a mustache? Could there be a correlation?

If you don’t know who or what is after you, you can re-enter the dream to find out. Some people simply close their eyes and imagine they are back in the dream, others use shamanic drumming to assist them in the process.

Whatever method you use to re-enter the dream, imagine the setting of your dream. Imagine you are running. Now turn to face the pursuer. What do you see? What do you sense? Ask it who/what it is and what it wants from you. Trust what you see, hear, feel, experience. You already know the truth on some level, otherwise you wouldn’t have remembered the dream.

The post barely touches the surface of possibility with regard to chase dreams and their deeper implications. The best way to understand chase dreams is to interact with your own and those of others.

Most important: if you dream of being chased, pay attention. Something is sincerely trying to get your attention to tell you something important.