Dream 04-28-12 Tornado Watch

Tornado Watch

I am a young woman working in an office building – it is a new job and I have been taken around to meet a few of the people I’ll be working with. I am just learning my way around the office itself which takes up a whole floor of the building – one of the higher floors. I have a small office, hardly bigger than a cubicle, but I am happy and proud because it is mine, and I can work alone in it. There is only one person I answer to, and she is training me.

Then a murmur starts going around through the offices – people are talking, I overhear them, there is a tornado alert. We look out the windows and can see tornadoes in the distance, beyond other buildings. Someone says we should all get outside, or go home, or whatever we wish. I go with several people outside, at the base of the building. The wind is swirling around.

I go to the end of the building to see if we can get down an alleyway, but at the end of the alley, all view is blocked out by the dark funnel of a tornado. I rush back to the front of the building where a few others are pressed up against the building. I see that there are at least 5 or 6 tornadoes of various sizes all around us – then a few more pop down from the sky, mostly small ones, but frightening nonetheless.

Out of nowhere, I feel a kind of swirling motion and my left arm is lifted into the air, as if pulled by a newly forming tornado, but then it is released. My heart is pounding at the sensation, the close call. The woman next to me heads toward the alley, and I call to stop her, but she looks down it and enters it so I go see – the tornado is gone and not far from the end of the alley I see a large oak tree. I look at it, standing sturdy against the wind, and run toward it knowing it is a haven of safety.

The other woman and I wrap our arms around it and hold on as the wind buffets us from all directions. It feels solid and safe. Finally the winds calm and we realize that the tornadoes have lifted. But there are still warnings out, and I know that there are more to come.

We join the others in front of the building and decide it would be best to go into the building. Someone says a second round of tornadoes is on its way. Inside, everyone goes in different directions. We can still hear the sounds outside, but muffled. The building feels safe, secure. I want to make my way back up to the office and see if anyone is still there. I have to take stairways – different ones, it becomes like a maze.

I come across a place where the stairwell opens up into a concrete room where a wire mesh screen has fallen and is separating half of the room. I see on my half there is a large carton with blankets in it and bowls of water and dog food – on the other side are puppies, one is caught in the mesh. I liberate him and help the other puppies get through to their carton, the mother dog shows up, frantic but happy to see them. I make sure they all get water and have food available. All this time I can hear the second round of tornadoes outside, wind howling in the distance.

I continue up and reach the office where I find several co-workers. They tell me the second group of tornadoes have lifted, and I look out to somewhat clear skies. But I am not sure, I sense there will be more, and tell them they should stay safe, and away from the windows. I will go check things out on the roof.

I make my way up to the roof, and in the distance, I see dark clouds, and a few small funnels. I realize they are headed our way, the tornado alert isn’t over yet. I stand there, as the wind increases and flows around me and the clouds continue to form. The horizon gets darker and I turn around, realizing that the entire sky has darkened into deep muddy grey clouds. The sky is filled with electricity, and i feel such exhilaration, I don’t want to go inside, I just want to watch.

And so I continue to watch, to feel the wind against my face and body, to feel the vibration of electrical impulses flow through me. Flashes of light and color sparkle through the clouds. Not lightening, but more like electrical splashes, and I feel each sparkly flash within me. I stand in awe of the power of nature at its fiercest, allowing the energy to move through me. I feel like I could stand there forever.

Finally, in the distance, I see the first funnel form, and then another. The wind is whipping around me. I have never felt so alive! Never felt so at one with nature as at this moment. I know that the building will stand up to this new influx of tornadoes, and I know we will be safe. I wish I could stay out and watch. I have to force myself to go inside, to safety. I take one last look and go inside, carrying the wonder and awe with me.

Comment:

Wow….. Awesome. That was quite a finale, I can still feel it, the awe and exhilaration and energy. The dream started out calm enough, and moved through uncertainty and even fear but then the trek upward, and out onto the roof, and that final communion with the storm, I woke with such a feeling of wonder!

Even as a young child I loved thunderstorms, and would sit at the bay window watching the skies, thrilling with each flash of lightning and each rumble of thunder.  But I was always terrified for tornadoes – ever since I saw The Wizard of Oz at a young age. For me, at that age, it was the most terrifying of movies, even if it ended well. The idea that a tornado could sweep you up and carry you off away from your home – the adventure didn’t even matter, that fear stayed with me for years.

But in this dream, it was different. Even at the moments of fear, like when the wind grabbed my arm, I wasn’t terrified. Scared, yes, but at the same time fascinated, and somehow knowing I’d be safe. Old fears dropping away?

Other elements? The tree felt like a haven of safety, strong and sturdy, alive. What a comforting feeling it was! The strangest part of the dream is the appearance of the dog and her puppies – weird little interlude, but it was part of the dream, so I left it in.  As for the job itself and who I was – no idea. I was not judee, but I was within the perspective of this young woman at her first job, excited and confident.

NOTES:

Setting: office building, upper floors, my office, outside in the city, a grove with a tree, stairwells, the roof

People:  me-as a young woman, my boss, other office people

Things:   tornados, oak tree, dog and puppies, wire mesh, stairs

Actions:  learning a new job, seeking safety, holding on, climbing stairs, searching

Snippets of thought: a new beginning, tornado warnings, running for safety, the awe of nature, grounded with the tree, letting go, excitement, enthrallment, danger turned to energy, being one with the storm, absorbing energy, transforming fear.