I'm in the high rise apartment building again. I must be on the 30th floor or so. I have an unobstructed 360 degree view of the city. There are no walls. Every outer wall is made of glass. It is a sunny day. No clouds, just bright blue skies for as far as I can see. And then suddenly, with absolutely no warning at all, the sky is filled with menacing cyclones, spiraling toward me at an alarming rate. Not just one or two, but at least 20 tornadoes fill the sky and all I can do is wait and watch in horror as their devastation becomes imminent. There are no rooms for me to hide in, no shelter in sight. Just me in this big empty room surrounded by glass walls. I know that this will surely be my end.
The dream is the same every time. I don't know how I get to this apartment. I don't know what I dream about before this one begins. I'm just suddenly there and I'm very afraid. And then as quickly as it started, it ends. The tornadoes never reach me. They come very close, and then somehow, I pull myself out of the dream. I have had this dream countless times over the past 20 years or so.
I've looked it up in a dream book before. The book said something like I feel that my life is out of control. When I have the dream, I don't feel like that at all. My 7 year old niece has the same dream. In her dream, she is also in a glass room and there are several tornadoes flying through the air. I don't think that a 7 year old really feels that their life is out of control, but who knows.
I have another recurring dream. In this one, I am in my Aunt Barbara's house, or rather it looks like that on the outside, but once I go in, it is different. It is an old house, probably built in the 1920's. As I enter the house, the stair way is in front of me, that remains the same as the real house. To the left is a large room that looks to be a ball room. It is long with a beautiful hard wood floor and grand windows along the outer walls. The room is empty except for a grandfather clock at the far corner of the room. I always go to this clock and open the bottom door where the pendulum would be. I bend down and look inside and know that I have found the secret door again. I crawl through and upward and find myself in a part of the house that very few others know about. I feel safe here, but I'm not really sure what it is. I don't do much once I'm there, I just kind of look around and feel excited that I have found the secret place.
Sometimes in the dream, instead of going to the ballroom, I climb the stairs. Where as my Aunt Barbara's house only had two floors, this one has several. But every time I try to go to the third floor or above, the floor changes and becomes very unsteady. I do make my way very carefully through some of the rooms though. They are beautiful, but empty, and I always wonder why someone doesn't fix the floors so these rooms can be enjoyed.
I have no idea what the dream is all about either. It is much more detailed than that at times, but those things remain a constant. When I visit Indiana, I am often tempted to go to my aunt's old house and knock on the door and see if the current owners would let me in so I could investigate. They wouldn't think I was too crazy, would they?
Do you have recurring dreams/nightmares. Have you looked them up? Do you make sense of them at all? Can you control your dreams? I'd like to know!
SIS Bren
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26 comments:
GREAT post Bren. I'm crunched for time but will comment in length a little later. I can't wait to share my nightmare.
SIS Barb
Hi Bren, thats funny. I dream about Aunt Barbaras all the time. I always find a secret room on the second floor, only it is a scary room. I wish I knew what it meant.
What interesting dreams you have Bren. I used to have a reoccuring dream for years. I don't anymore.
I've had a few dreams more than once. Look them up? sometimes. Mostly, I think my dreams deal with the insecurities or problems I'm working through. Some, I remember vividly, others remain impressions. When feeling threatened though, I do have several dreams that take me to a safe place. Subconcious trying to reassure you? Maybe.
Interesting article, ma'am.
Barb,
I hate nightmares. But I can't wait to hear yours. Does it involve being locked in a room and forced to listen to "Xanadu"?
SIS Bren
Hi B.J.,
I apologize. I got your daughter's age way wrong. I was thinking she is 6, almost 7. But now I think she is 5 and will be 6 in a couple weeks. I forgot to mention that she gets out of her nightmare by making the walls rubber so the tornadoes will bounce off of them. How clever.
I wonder why we dream about Aunt Barbara's. I always wonder if something happened there. I never knew you dream of her house too. We'll have to compare notes!
SIS Bren
Hi Sia,
I consider myself fortunate that I can almost always vividly remember my dreams. Even if they're bad ones. Sometimes, if I don't think about them as soon as I wake up, they start to fade.
I think you're right. Probably my dreams have to do with what is going on in my life. Sometimes though, my dreams are so freaky, I think I could make a great Sci-Fi movie based on them.
Do you know why your recurring dream went away? I wonder if issues in your life were resolved, or if it just simply went away.
SIS Bren
Brenda,
I had this nightmare for a long time when I was growing up. I was standing in the middle of a glass room. Sound familiar?!? But no tornadoes -just lots of HUGE pennies that would fall on me. As they hit me they turned into rubber and bounced back up to come back at me again! I could always hear people arguing in the background but couldn't tell what they were saying. The dream would end with me waking up feeling like i couldn't breathe. Had it for about 5 years or so.
It's very weird that you and B.J both have dreams about Barbara's. I think that means something for sure!
I had this one dream when I was a kid that involved tornadoes. Only I think they must have been more than tornadoes because they were clearly fighting. *g* I had that one a couple of times. And I had another dream with weird parallel world/time shifting crap going on. Had that one a couple of times too.
Bren, what a vivid dreams! I have vivid dreams as well--in color (I've heard we don't dream in color but I do!)--but I don't always remember them in detail. Some of my dreams are so violent and scary, I wake myself up because I can't take anymore. Then I'll think, hmm, maybe I should be writing horror novels. Not.
I had one very specific recurring dream all throughout my childhood. I was on the run, running for my life from Nazi soldiers. They never caught me, and the dream wasn't anymore than that, but weird that a kid would dream that often, huh?
Years later, in my adult life, I underwent a past life regression. I experienced three lives--three vastly different times. In one, I was a woman writer living in Nazi Germany. I saw myself sitting at a typewriter writing secret notes, notes that would help Jews escape. I worked for some kind of underground Resistance group.
After that session, I instantly thought back on those childhood dreams. Weird or what?
The recurring dream of my adulthood is me driving a car and suddenly the road is covered with water. I can't see anything but water, but I have to keep driving and my fear is that if I waver to far left or right I'll drive into the water and drown.
A friend who analyzes dreams told me that the water represents emotion. And the fear of drowning is one of being overwhelmed. She said this is an anxiety dream. Of feeling emotionally overwhelmed and of being afraid of making the wrong decision.
There are others, but I rambled on long emough. I'll end with this freaky tidbit. I dream about Aunt Barbara's house quite often. Not her per se, just the house. And the dream always feels a bit scary. I often dream of going up the stairway, being afraid to open doors of second floor rooms. And there's always this secret stairwell toward the back. One that leads somewhere I don't want to go. (insert Twilight Zone theme)
Also often dream of Grandma Miller's house in Peru. Again, the second floor is scary, especially the playroom in dad's childhood room. The playroom that was actually a storage room, a place I used to love to play. All sorts of cool things in there. Why it represents an evil place in my subconscience, I have no idea!
SIS Beth
Brandy... A dream about being pummled by rubber pennies? How... unique. Gonna have to look that one up!
Tori, I'd like to hear more about that parallel world dream. How cool. As to tornadoes... I have had several dreams about tornadoes as well. Bren, Barb, BJ, Brandy and I grew up in Indiana where tornadoes are a constant threat in the summer months. I wonder if that's why they're so ingrained in us. Are you from Tornado Alley?
SIS Beth
Beth, In my dream the secret stairs lead back down to the kitchen. That is very strange that we all dream of that house. If I can remember exactly where that house is I might try to check it out.
Brenda, She will be six in a couple of weeks. She is a very clever kid that is always coming up with something new. I can't wait to compare notes with you and Beth.
To all you B sisters that had the dream of Aunt Barbara's house...I don't mean to be a buzz kill BUT she did have 2 sets of stairs. The main set was towards the front of the house. The other "secret" set was at the back of the house off the kitchen. I'm sure it was the servants staircase at one time. It was typically dark and unadorned giving it that eerie quality. At the top of that staircase and to the right was a bedroom that I labeled the junk room because it was full of stuff, mostly likely a lot of crap that they just didn't want to part with.
Of course I could have dreamt all that but I don't think so. Now y'all can throw shoes at me or something.
*****My nightmare went on for several childhood years and then stopped only to start up again in my 20's. I haven't had it in a few years but I probably will tonight.
Like Beth, which I do fine eerie, I was always running from Nazi soldiers, but it wasn't just me. It was the whole town of Peru, Indiana. It always ended up with us in Wabash river, holding on to a thick rope and making our way, not from one side to the other but from one end to the other. Hearts pounding, we always tried to be so quiet and kept our eyes averted. I think we thought that if we couldn't see them, they couldn't see us. Remember, I was a kid. It always ended with me being terrified and my fingers swelling, swelling, swelling from holding on to that rope so tight. They kept swelling until I woke up.
CRAZY! I love this post.
SIS Barb aka Elle J Rossi
B.J. and Beth,
Do do do do, do do do do (that's me singing the theme from "The Twilight Zone. How bizarre that we all dream of the same house. There are in fact a set of stairs in that house that are beside the upstairs bathroom and lead down into the kitchen. You may think they are secret because they were very rarely used. There always seemed to be things stacked on them and we weren't allowed to use them, but I remember going down them a couple times.
B.J., I think there was a small room, more like a cabinet maybe, somewhere in Lisa's room. I wonder if you got locked in there or something? Maybe Beth remembers that cabinet. Or maybe it's something from my dreams.
Beth, I also dream of Grandma Miller's house and the play room. Remember that old cast iron stove? It was cool! I also have uneasy feelings of the house but I think most of them come from watching Sammy Terry on the late night horror show.
SIS Bren
Barb,
Just read your post about the stairs. You're right, they were in the back.
Also strange about the Nazi soldiers. I wonder if that is a common dream that people have. I have dreams about soldiers chasing me, but I'm not sure if they were Nazis or not. I hope you don't dream of them tonight.
SIS Bren
Beth,
I also believe that I dream in color. My dreams are so real to me that I try to stay asleep so I can finish them. If I happen to wake up, I concentrate while nodding off again so I can try to pick up where I left off. I've heard that we don't dream in color, but that we assign colors to the things in our dream when we are awake and remembering them.
I have the water dream too. Mine always involves a bridge though. I am trying to get to the bridge but the water keeps rising and rising and I can't see the road and am afraid to fall off, just like you.
Here's another recurring dream I have involving water. I am driving somewhere out West. The scenery is breathtaking. Mountains, cliffs, huge trees. As I come over a mountain, there is a large body of water with and extremely steep bridge approaching it. Only the bridge ends, and there is a sort of swinging pendulum, with a very small piece of roadway that is only long enough for one car. You have to get up speed and time it just right to hit the swing and then continue on to the other side. I am always terrified and sure that I won't make it, and the dream always stops right before I reach the top of the bridge. Wierd, huh?
SIS Bren
Tori,
Your dream of the parallel world/time shifting sounds really cool. That would be a dream that I would look forward to, I think.
SIS Bren
Brandy,
I am very intrigued by your dream and I am trying to look it up on-line. I did find this:
Penny
To see pennies in your dream, indicates your fear of poverty or some financial loss. It is also often connected with your talents, energies, and perseverance. Do not underestimate your ability. If the penny is shiny, then it signifies luck. To find pennies in your dream, it suggests that you are discovering your hidden talents and ready to unleash your potential.
I'll have to look up what a glass room means.
SIS Bren
Hi Everyone,
I am loving reading about your dreams. I found this web-site that looked pretty cool. Check it out if you like.
http://www.dreamdictionary.biz/default.asp
SIS Bren
I thought that those back stairs were real. I also had the image of them leading to the kitchen. The 'secret' part was more the feeling in my dream. Maybe Brenda's right, BJ, and they seemed secret because we weren't supposed to see them. I have also dreamt about the bathroom at the end of the hall, near the stairs, but wasn't sure if that was real or imagined. Folks, we're talking A LOT of years ago.
As to Lisa's room... I don't remember the cabinet. You guys all rmember more than me, and I'm the oldest! I probably spent the most time there. Me and my awful memory.
BJ--I think the house in on Main Street or is it fifth? As you head out of town toward the movie theater? I think. Mom would know.
Ah, yes, the playroom/storage room at Grandma's house. I DO remember that stove! I also remember that she had an old brown briefcase type thing that was full of Avon samples. Yup. Grandma was an Avon Lady at one time. I also remember she had super cool hats stored up there. In those days and before (60s and 50s), women still wore hats (Jackie O type pill box hats with netting and feather and fruit and what not) to Church and special occasions. Remember the big can of marbles? Although I think she kept that in a closet downstairs.
Still can't fathom why that playroom is so scary in my dreams.
As to Sammy Terry... He terrified me! Glad I wasn't the only one!
SIS Beth
Barb/ Elle, I can't believe we both had a recurring dream about being chased by Nazi soldiers. That's just weird.
Bren... that bridge/pendulum dream is like a scene out of a movie (or book). You gotta use that somehow!
SIS Beth
I also believe I dream in color. I have a recurrring dream when I'm trying to find my way. I guess that should be telling me something, right?
I live in Tornado Alley now and hate it. I'd rather be out in the desert. :)
The parallel world dream was actually kind of fun in a bizarre way. I don't remember a lot of the details except I was in my 20s in the dream (I think I was in my early teens at the time) and was driving to my new home in a pale green station wagon. It broke down in this cute little town where everyone made me feel welcome. While my car was being worked on, I spent the night at a B&B. Some other stuff happened (including meeting a cute guy, I think) but when the car was ready, I had to go on my merry way to meet my sister (except I'm an only child!). So I drove on to my sister's who lived in an old Victorian house which looked IDENTICAL to the B&B I'd stayed in. As she was taking me upstairs I glanced out the window on the landing and freaked out. It looked out on the little town I'd stopped in. Only now it looked almost like a ghost town. I asked my sister about it and she said the town had died a bunch of years before we were born. And then I woke up. Both times! I remember being very annoyed about that. *g* I guess I remembered more about than I thought. :)
Tori,
I'm so glad you remembered. That's a great dream. Maybe if you set your mind to it, you can make yourself dream about it again, but this time make it continue.
By the way, I love Victorian houses. That is my dream home!
SIS Bren
Hi Olga,
I wonder why it is said that we don't dream in color. I mean, why not? We see everything in day to day life in color, so it makes sense to me that we would also dream in color. What? Do we turn into dogs when we fall asleep? (They see in black and white, right?)
As for your dream, maybe it is trying to tell you something. Do you ever "find your way" in your dreams?
SIS Bren
Bren, unfortunately I rarely remember my dreams anymore. *sigh*
I don't think I've ever NOT dreamed in color, so whoever said we don't must have a boring dream life. *g*
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