For the longest time (at least three decades) I thought that I was the only one in my family to be plagued with a recurring dream in which a fierce tornado is about to hit down on me. *nightmare* That is until about twelve years ago, when my sis and I were on a cruise vacation… lying out on the ship’s sun deck… sipping tiny-parasol-garnished tropical libations… listening to live Caribbean steel drum music… with the clear blue sky stretched out around us in all directions across the calm sea (you get the picture!) Well, wouldn’t you know it… that’s when stormy memories of an incident, buried within our psyches since summer of 1966 (scared the bejesus out of both of us)… suddenly gushed out in a torrent of exclamations! *eureka* All it took was a mention of the fateful night of our childhood – when a nasty tornado had whipped mayhem near our hometown – effectively searing into our brains the chilling terror we felt in that dire moment… when Mom was in a panic to quickly usher all four of us kids AND our pets (after rousing us from sleep)… from our second floor bedrooms, then straightaway downstairs to the basement. Dad was already at work at his night job… high winds knocked out the electricity and telephone… we were all quite terrified out of our wits… well, except for my most mischievous bro who became transfixed at the kitchen window for a few mesmeric seconds… watching our doghouse get sucked skyward! *sheesh* By the way, no one was injured in the storm… but there sure was a huge mess to clean up outside in the yard… and several days passed before power was restored. *grueling*
As it so happened for sis and me, the totally stark contrast of our bright and blissful holiday surroundings which we were so thoroughly enjoying – juxtaposed with the frightful darkness of that bygone bona fide defining moment from our shared past – is what punctured said bubble of trapped memories. *bingo* Anyway, after comparing details of each others' dream sequences, it turns out that a rogue REM sleep funnel cloud haunts both of us – with cameo appearances in dreamland – on a regular basis. And truth be told, it’s oddly comforting to know that I’m not alone in this nocturnal ordeal! *empathy*
But fortunately, with the passing of time (over four decades and counting) the bad dream is losing its dreadful hold on my subconscious… and most recently has become quite cartoonish (popular G-rated animations are wickedly more intense!) Ha! So now I laugh, or go crazy… but laughing feels good so that’s what I do. *giggles*
Have a fabulous week! I’ll be back here by Wednesday ☺
~peace~
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I love how you have intuitively begun to transform this dream into a less frightening and harmful form. That is actually a conscious tactic one can use to transform PSTD-type dreams. Through journaling, art or dream re-entry (using shamanic drumming or meditation to take yourself back into the scary dream) you can confront and/or transform the scary monster (or tornado, in your case!) into a harmless cartoon - or even a powerful ally! I know of a Viet Nam Vet who was able to transform the terrifying sounds of exploding mortars and flying shrapnel into the sound of thunder and rain through this technique. Perhaps your tornado could transport you to Oz where magical gifts are discovered! I'm glad your dream has taken on a more gentle feeling.
ReplyDeleteClaire
the Artful Aclhemist