I had an interesting dream last night

There were 2 of me - each on separate sides of a river. On one side of the river I was one of a crowd of a thousand or so all spread out in front of the face of a steep rocky mountain. I saw the dream from the perspective of the other side of the river. There was a battle raging, and the leader of those of us on my side of the river felt they needed to speak to us. So we all sat down cross legged as if we were in grade school and listened. While we were being spoken to there was a command given for a firing squad type shooting to be directed to the other side - and within seconds there were hundreds of random shots fired. I watched out of the corner of my eye as bodies slowly crumpled to the ground on the other side, not seeming to care much . . . until I remembered that there was another me on that other side and I quickly scanned for a sign of my existence. I couldn't see myself, so I looked for the lady that had been standing by me. I found her and my eyes instantly looked to her feet to see a lifeless body lying there - the body of me. I did not hesitate at all in standing up and shouting "No!". I quickly crossed the river - walking on the water - and went to kneel by my lifeless body. Realizing that I was not a tangible being - but rather a spirit - I begged the forces of nature to let my spirit re-enter this lifeless corpse in front of me. All the while I was wailing - deep, sorrowing, painful cries of pain. Pain of body and spirit. I couldn't be dead. There was still so much for me to do.

And then suddenly, as if someone had administered a saving breath to that lifeless body, it awoke gasping for air. And as soon as that happened I could no longer see things from the eyes of a spirit - I could no longer see things from the other side. I was now on the right side - alive - and I went around telling everyone what had happened to me. The dream seemed to last forever as I wandered around telling people. "I was dead!" I would say. "I saw myself, I was dead, and it was so sad, but I came back! look!"

The thing that stands out to me the most from this dream is the wailing. The weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth - as they say. It was so deep in my dream that I can still feel the pain in my chest today. It was quite tangible.

The meanings to this dream are many. The nature of the dream played a lot from a game I have been playing lately - especially the fact that I could walk over the water. But I would like to think that this dream was meant to get through to me. Just typing it out here I'm noticing so many interesting things. So many things that seem obvious to me now.

I love dreams. Always have, always will. I ought to open up a dream center someday. Encourage people to come in and tell me about their dreams and then I could try to help them interpret. I've always felt I had a knack for it. It would be a delicate process, carefully peeling back the layers of symbolism and then helping the dreamer see what lies beneath. That would be fun. A fun, interesting spin on the therapy approach. That's it. Someday I will be a therapist who specializes in helping you fix your life by showing you what the music you listen to does for you - whether it's helping or hurting. Then I'll show you what your dreams do. Then I'll give you a big bear hug and send you on your way.

Please silence your cell phones and pagers

I love that screen that comes up right before the previews roll in the theater. A starry (I think) screen comes up with a soothing voice saying something like "our feature presentation is about to start. please silence your cell phones and pagers now."
She says it like 17 times. and there's this harp playing in the background . . . and the sound effect of wind whooshing across the screen. It could put a baby to sleep.

ANYHOW,
I think that they need to do something like that before class starts - since people are still just too thick to remember to do it for class! Seriously, there's this girl in my 2:00 class who - everyday without fail - her cell phone rings. Now, some cell phone rings are ok in this circumstance. A "classic" ring is usually ok - especially if your volume is turned down. Let that happen once or twice and I'll know that you're not a bad person, you just forgot.

But this girl, what does she have for her ringtone? Oh, could it be one of the most annoying songs ever . . . . "Mmmbop" by Hansen. Remember that song? Got it in your head? Now imagine the chorus ringing out LOUD for all to hear in the middle of a lecture. Yeah - girl - please, save yourself from any further embarrasment and silence your cell phone!

No offense to the good Blonde women of the world, but 3 blonde girls had their cell phones go off today. I was not in the mood . . . I'm just glad I get to go home now :)

we need to speak up

Jenny just got back from the store and told me about a new Barbie doll released in June of this year. Barbie Top Model. It's common knowledge that Barbie's proportions are already out of control, right? Well, Barbie Top Model is even worse. Her legs are longer, waist is smaller, skirt is shorter.

It's sad to see this on our shelves. The unreal expectations that the media forces upon women in our society causes so many problems, and we know that girls are becoming self conscious at a younger age. I wish we could put a stop to it all. I guess the only way we can do anything is to limit our children's exposure to these types of toys. What do you think?

Let The Fur Fly

I gave Lucas a haircut today. It wasn't his first haircut, but it was my first time attempting it on my own. He's pretty good when it comes to grooming - as long as I have him on a high surface so that he can't run away. So I set up my own little makeshift groomers table on my bathroom counter and let the hair fly. And let me tell you, there was plenty of hair to come off of this pup.

Exhibit A: The happy, furry puppy during a lounge session about a month ago.




























I had determined over the past week that I was going to purchase my own set of hair clippers in order to save some cash. So I bought a good set of hair clippers at Wal-Mart last night for the affordable price of $20. I'm hoping that they will last a long time. It took about an hour, and I got a good sized bag of doggy hair from the ordeal, but now Lucas is all trimmed up. He doesn't look nearly as good as he always does after a session at the groomers, but I'm sure with time I'll be able to get his cut right.

Exhibit B: Lucas looking younger. A bit scruffy, but it works.













Now, if only I could get his hind quarters to look as good as they do after a visit to the groomers, I'd be set. It might help if I gave him a bath, because no amount of brushing could get his fur to fluff up like it does after a grooming session.

He's still pretty dang cute though. Such a good patient puppy.

New Church Media Campaign

I read an article this morning on the church website about a new media campaign that the church is piloting right now. This particular ad gave me goosebumps. The power of testimony is pretty incredible.



edit:
for some reason I can't get this video to work. Here is a link until I figure it out.

Appropriate Lyrics

I've always loved music. It's the music that has always gotten to my heart. The melodies and chord progressions. But lately the lyrics have been jumping out at me. I don't know what changed - I guess I can just relate with so many of them more now than I ever have before.

The wonderful thing about lyrics is that so often we can relate, but they never will match our circumstance completely (unless we wrote them). Such is the case with the lyrics below. They almost fit perfectly.

Star Signs
by Leona Naess

And I still love him tonight
no distance or time can bite
and i still feel out of place
in crowded rooms
and the silence of space

no love could be
this hard to beat
i still read your star signs
star signs

and they know just when to hit
when morning comes and your friends
they gotta split
and you know just what to say
when no one's around you know how to play

no love could be this hard
to beat
i still read your star signs, star signs

baby, baby can't you see
this world ain't big enough for you or me so
light the candles and turn out your lights
and turn on my lights

no love could be this hard to beat
i still read your star signs, star signs
i don't even know what they mean
what you mean

I don't even know what you mean
what you mean

Let It Die
by Feist

Let it die and get out of my mind
We don't see eye to eye
Or hear ear to ear

Don't you wish that we could forget that kiss
And see this for what it is
That we're not in love

The saddest part of a broken heart
Isn't the ending so much as the start

It was hard to tell just how I felt
To not recognize myself
I started to fade away

And after all it won't take long to fall in love
Now I know what I don't want
I learned that with you

The saddest part of a broken heart
Isn't the ending so much as the start
The tragedy starts from the very first spark
Losing your mind for the sake of your heart
The saddest part of a broken heart
Isn't the ending so much as the start