Lately I've been suffering from nightmares more often than I used to but they haven't really affected me. Last night however my dream was terrifying. I dreamed that I was in school when suddenly the alarms went off and we were informed that there was a shooter in the school.

It went on with us all hiding but nobody was getting quiet even though we should have been, it seemed as if nobody was taking it seriously and that we all thought it was just a drill except for myself who felt it was real. It ended with a group of armed shooters coming up the stairs and walking towards my classroom, and then I woke up.

This dream has really freaked me out, probably because it's an event that can actually happen while other nightmares are more fake.

You say that this is an event that can actually happen. Have people that you know been talking about school shootings lately, or have you been reading about them/hearing about them, which is what put the idea in your mind?

Otherwise, the dream could be about a threat that you have noticed unconsciously (or maybe even consciously).

The school represents a situation in which there is something to be learned. In this case what may need to be learned pertains to the issue of alarming yourself regarding the idea of a shooter coming into the school. (alarms went off and we were informed that there was a shooter in the school.)

While you would make an effort to conceal yourself (It went on with us all hiding) or simply keep away from the idea of a shooter coming into your school, an emotional aspect of yourself does not recognize the importance of keeping quiet about the idea of a shooter in the school. (nobody was getting quiet) The True Self realizes that there should be less talk about such a situation. (we should have been quiet)

The fact that this was not a drill, implies that the idea of a shooter being in the school is not an idea that you are rehearsing how to deal with in your own mind, while this seems to be your emotional impression. (we all thought it was just a drill except for myself) In your mind a shooter in the school comes across as a real happening event emphasizing the reality of such a possibility.

The dream shows that you begin with the idea of “a” shooter in the school – meaning one shooter. You end up with a group of shooters. This suggests that following the impression of reality that you give to the event of a shooter coming into the school, the idea of a shooter in the school has been magnified; it has been given more weight. The problem here is that when an idea acquires a lot of weight or influence in the mind, it is more likely to become a physical reality in your life.

In your mind, you have the idea that when using the idea of a shooter in the school, you are putting yourself mentally in a gaining position. (shooters coming up the stairs) At this point in your thinking, it is time to “wake up” – time to come to a greater state of awareness. [Note that a fire in a school is also a serious possibility but we put more effort on the drill – on how to deal with it – rather than on its reality. You need to change your focus. Fear also invites disasters.]