Building dreams

Have you ever dreamed about a place, somewhere you’ve never been and yet it feels familiar?

Have you had multiple dreams about this location?

Does this place have any significant features, the kind you remember when you wake?

And do you think you’d recognize this location if you learned that such a place existed?

I have a place like that. I’ve never been there in real life and yet it has appeared numerous times in Morpheus’ realm. During these dreams, the features of the place are usually the same.

For me, it is a skyscraper in some unknown city. The lobby is immense, with soaring ceilings and dark marbled tiles. The walls are made up of floor-to-ceiling windows on three sides, but it’s dark whenever I enter the building so the view is always obscured. Instead, I see the lobby’s reflection in the shimmering black glass.

Sometimes the building is a hotel, albeit a rather unfriendly one. In these dreams, the building has the feel of a fortress, as if very wealthy or famous people are staying there and no trespassers are allowed. Other times, it is an office building, and various newspapers, publishing houses and wire services fill each floor.

The left side of the lobby contains an immense paneled security desk, staffed by large, serious men. For some unknown reason, I always try to avoid the guards, using crowds or cunning to sneak past them and up the stairs.

To the right are two black escalators moving in opposite directions. Frosted glass lines each side of the moving stairways and an obsidian marble median separates them. The stairs are made of thick steel, and the steps are wide enough to comfortably hold three people standing abreast. Slowly the stairs rise to a second floor and then a third. From there, I usually make a quick turn, and hop into a second elevator to reach the higher floors.

Once the elevator reaches what the panel notes is the top floor, I disembark and walk over to another lift. The door to this elevator is more obscured, but I always seem to know how to find it. This ride takes me to the rooftop, and when I step out of the elevator, I’m treated to a stunningly brilliant view of the city’s lights.

According to my dream dictionary: “Dreaming that you are on a roof, symbolizes boundless success.” Reaching the roof feels more successful than being on it, at least in my dreams, and I never wake feeling as if I’ve accomplished something or am about to do so. The dictionary also notes: “If you are moving up in the escalator, then it suggests that you are addressing and confronting emotional issues.” Can’t say I know what those issues are, but perhaps the answer will be revealed someday.

I believe this recurring dream, this unknown yet familiar building, this long ride up to the roof is simply a metaphor for my work life. As such, I find myself wondering if I’ll ever reach that elusive rooftop. More importantly, if I do, will the view from the top be worth the climb?