Wanderer,
I once knew a girl with some similarities in her life to what you describe. For example, she grew up in a home where there seemed to be a lot of emotional abuse and too much pressure from her father for her to work hard and succeed and do things his way. As a result, she ended up studying something she didn't enjoy in college and then quit before she graduated. And then her father died suddenly at a young age. Your situation may be different in many ways from that girl, but I felt moved to respond to you because I have known someone who went through some similar issues in life.
First of all, you talked about "wrong behavior-patterns" within yourself that you were not aware of, presumably because you were brought up that way and didn't think there was anything wrong with it. These are indeed very difficult things to resolve. I have some wrong behavior patterns in myself also, such as perfectionism, which I have tried very hard to overcome and have only made slow and gradual progress. My thought would be, just try to listen to other people's ways of thinking and doing things, and see if you find patterns other than your own that you admire and would like to cultivate in youself. And don't feel guilty about the negative patterns you already have, since it wasn't your fault you developed such patterns. The challenge is to move forward, not keep looking at the past.
You said, "Each time I solve a problem within myself, I just encounter another." In response I would say, that's probably typical. You are going through some major self-reflection and a period of your life where you may realize a lot of things about yourself that you want to change, and it may be a long and difficult process. But keep trying. I myself know about this from personal experience, because once I really seriously started analyzing my own personality and looking deep into my soul, I found a lot of things there I didn't like -- some things even that repulsed me -- and it is taking years for me to try to forgive myself for these things, overcome them and move beyond them.
You said, "The feeling I have is that, there is a problem within me and that I am constantly beating about the bush, without actually seeing or finding the bush itself." I would like to suggest that the proverbial bush might be your sense of deep-seated inner inadequacy, as a result of your upbringing in a family where you faced emotional abuse. If you feel inadequate and do not love yourself, then many bad personality traits will follow. I would encourage you to do a lot of prayer and focusing on spiritual healing to help you recognize the Divine Light within yourself, and that your outward personality is not who you *really* are.
As for the dreams about your father.... First of all, I have become increasingly skeptical that dreams necessarily reflect an objective external reality in most cases. So your dreams could reflect your own fears about him, rather than his true spiritual state.
Secondly, if your dreams about your father really are the special kind of dream that is a true vision of reality, then I would try to remember that individual souls are not fully responsible for their own progress, and even souls that are "stuck" or struggle to move on will one day find the help they need. Contrary to the New Age doctrines of absolute free will and that people can only help themselves and solve their own problems, I believe there is an omnipotent and benevolent God who is going to save all souls in the end. I believe this because of the testimony of the Gospel about Jesus Christ.
I would encourage you to check out Christian Universalism, which teaches that all souls will eventually be saved and enter heaven. This teaching, which is based on a correct interpretation of the Bible, may perhaps bring you some peace concerning your father's fate in the afterlife.
My website:
http://www.christian-universalism.comI hope my comments don't sound too glib. I just thought I'd share a few thoughts, and maybe something I said will be helpful.
Peace,
Freebird