Strange, frightening experience

[Heather B.]

This one came last night, and I hadn't drunk anything, but I was really worn out.  This is pretty different from any of my other experiences.  I didn't seem to be *physically* in the dream, but was there more as a disembodied observer.  My perspective kept switching around... sort of hard to explain.  But here goes...

I was inside a very expensive, high-end shopping mall, and I saw these people planting bombs everywhere. I could see this happening all over the building at the same time.

Then, I was on board a school bus full of children, and the bus was going along a wide street.  It was a very clean, very wealthy-looking place.  There were all these buildings in white and pastel, and there were palm trees--I thought it looked like California, Florida, some place like that.  The bus was driving past a group of buildings. And I knew that one of them was the shopping mall I'd just been in, and surrounding it were some tall office buildings and a ritzy hotel.  I stared at the buildings through the back windows of the bus.  A few seconds after the bus had passed, the whole place blew sky-high, with flames and smoke and debris going everywhere. The bus and all the traffic around it stopped and people started running everywhere, screaming, taking cover in buildings.

Then, I felt like I switched to an actual person's perspective, as if I was actually in someone else's skin, because suddenly, I was surrounded by all these physical, physiological sensations.  I knew I was in a bank building, down the street from where the explosions had occurred.  It seemed like I was a bank clerk, or teller.  I was beneath a desk, in a knot, hugging my knees.  My eyes were squeezed shut very tightly (so I still didn't see a body, just felt it).  I could felt my fingernail snag the nylon hose on my left shin (I despise nylons and never wear them myself).  I was shaking uncontrollably, and felt my heart racing, and my muscles all clenched, and my breathing very fast, and I could hear blood pulsing through my head--all the physiological signs of panic.  I heard this inner voice just saying, "Oh God, oh God, oh God," over and over, louder and louder.

It ended there, but strangely, I don't recall waking up or becoming conscious.  It just stopped, and I suppose I went on sleeping.  But I remembered it when I woke up this morning, and I still see and feel everything very strongly.  It's very disturbing because of the fact that it didn't have the usual dream/projection elements---no dead loved ones, no strange settings, and it wasn't about ME.  I wasn't there myself, as an active participant.  I don't really know what it was all about, but... I don't think I'm going to be going to the Galleria or any other nice shopping places anytime soon.  

[Heather B.]

I'm giving this a "bump" in hopes that someone might have any insights, similar experiences, etc.

I'm still really bothered by it, and by the whole... having no physical body, switching perspectives, then being in what seemed like someone else's body... thing.

[greatoutdoors]

For me it is not unusual at all to dream from another perspective. It is extremely unusual for my dreams to be about me. Most commonly, I am someone else. The next most common is the omniscient viewer -- not a participant, just an observer. Strangely, the older I get the more often I have "me" dreams, where the protagonist is actually me. Can't say that I like the import of this!

However, the clarity of the dream, and the completeness, make me wonder if you weren't seeing something that has either already actually happened or may be going to happen. I would spend some time checking news stories of recent incidents. Also, can you think back and find anything that would give you a hint as to what the name of the mall, or any of the stores, etc. might be?

My clearest "psychic dream" was about a guy at work -- not someone I normally had a lot to do with and certainly not on my list of favorites (he was our office manager). I very clearly saw him on a farm, loading sacks of deer corn into a pickup with some other people. At one point he cracked his knee very solidly against the tailgate of the truck -- spent some time hopping and cussing. I had the dream on a Saturday night. It was such a clear dream that when I went into the office on Monday I dropped by his office to ask him about it. A friend of mine went in with me. He was sitting behind his desk when I came in and asked, "Did you by any chance hurt your knee this weekend?" He got up from his chair then and limped around the desk, saying, "Yes, as a matter of fact, but how did you know that?!" He told me he and friends had been unloading deer corn from a pickup at their hunting lease and he had hit his knee on the tailgate. When I described my dream his sole reaction was "You're sick, get out of here." Needless to say that was the last time we talked about it, but it was several days before he quit limping.

As in your case, what struck me about that dream was its clarity -- no question, no ambiguity. That's why I would encourage you to do some detective work and see what you can find out. Of course, you have been under some stress, and a mall bombing is a very likely scenario for a terrorist attack, so it could just be your subconcious "acting out" your anxieties. But still...

My recommendation would be to revisit the dream in as much detail as you can -- not about body reactions so much, but physical landmarks, time of day, type of vehicles, name on the bus, anything that would nail down the specifics. Then either post it here, or put it in a sealed envelope and label it. This could be just a very realistic nightmare, or a golden opportunity to document a psychic talent.

[Heather B.]

Wow, that "dream" you had about your coworker is amazing!  I hope mine doesn't come true in any way.  I feel especially anxious now that school has started--because of the school bus part, you know.

I've been trying to come up with more details.  But I think I was so freaked out during the dream that I couldn't focus too well!  

I can say that it was a very sunny, warm afternoon.  It seems like there were palm trees either along the median of the street, or along each side--I remember lots of palm trees.  Everything seemed very contemporary.  I know it was in the United States.  I also remember vaguely that the people planting the bombs were both men and women, and that some of them looked "foreign" and some looked "American."  But all pretty ordinary-looking people in street clothes, no different from any of the other people you might see in public.

I think maybe it could be a representation of fear.  I'm not afraid of being a victim myself.  But I do fear for others, especially children.  Maybe that is why I was not "myself" in the dream--because my fear is for other people.  If, Heaven forbid, such a thing happened in a city where I live or was visiting, I would want to protect and help and rescue other people, even if I put myself in harm's way.  If I could save others by dying or being injured, then I would without a thought.

[greatoutdoors]

Yeah, that one was pretty awesome from my side, too; especially when I saw him limp around that desk! Like I say, that was far and away the clearest "real" dream I've ever had. Knowing now about OBE and such, I wonder if perhaps I wasn't actually watching them for some reason. BUt I guarantee if I had my "druthers" I would have picked someone else to zone in on!  

For some reason, your dream calls the Galleria to mind. In all likelihood though, you were just expressing your anxiety through your dream. Do you keep a dream log? They can be most interesting, even if you only write in them sporadically. When you go back and review what you've written, along with your mood, etc. when it occurred, you can get a good insight into your psychology.

[Heather B.]

Yes, it was a Galleria-type place--shopping mall surrounded by office buildings and a big fancy hotel.  But the surrounding setting wasn't one I was familiar with.  

I do write about my dreams a lot in various journals... I'm always hoping to gain further insights by means of them.  I have a bit of  background in psychoanalysis, so I'm always paying attention to my dreams as much as I can.  

Thanks for your suggestions!

[elijah]

Hey I think I've read abt ur incident. Is it abt the explosions of Egypt? I read an account of a man who said he hid himself behind the counter or something and it was a BANK building.
Did u have something in ur hands? Coins money or something?

Have u experienced what he faced?