Well, you might be right there. I wouldn't be surprised if a recurring dream that happens throughout one's life had some importance to it. The knowing of the surroundings could be false memories, memories from other dreams, or perhaps your guess. I too have feelings in dreams, I've even had pain before when I purposely made it super-vivid. I know that Ev once was in a palace where everything was made of water. I've made energy balls made of water before, so I tend to think of water as symbolizing energy.