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Dear Reader ~
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Mark Twain wrote, "In our dreams - I know it! - we do make the journeys we seem to make: we do see the things we seem to see; the people, the horses, the cats, the dogs, the birds, the whales, are real, not chimeras; they are living spirits, not shadows; and they are immortal and indestructible."
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Perhaps so. But what about the dreams that our dreams have? Are they real, too?
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My fascination with dreams began with a recurring nightmare I experienced when I was in third or fourth grade. Several times I found myself alone on the schoolyard playground at night, when I saw the Bogeyman running toward me. In total terror, I would run away, toward the school buildings, but could always hear him getting closer and closer behind me! I would run and run until, thoroughly exhausted, I would manage to wake up, still feeling the Bogeyman's hot breath on my neck.
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Then somehow - either by unexplainable intuition or by secretly receiving information from a mysterious Source - a day arrived when I KNEW that I was able to awaken from a dream at any moment I chose. That night, the Bogeyman came for me again. This time I ran only as far as the nearest schoolyard water fountain, and that's where I decided to take my stand.
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Mark Twain wrote, "In our dreams - I know it! - we do make the journeys we seem to make: we do see the things we seem to see; the people, the horses, the cats, the dogs, the birds, the whales, are real, not chimeras; they are living spirits, not shadows; and they are immortal and indestructible."
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Perhaps so. But what about the dreams that our dreams have? Are they real, too?
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My fascination with dreams began with a recurring nightmare I experienced when I was in third or fourth grade. Several times I found myself alone on the schoolyard playground at night, when I saw the Bogeyman running toward me. In total terror, I would run away, toward the school buildings, but could always hear him getting closer and closer behind me! I would run and run until, thoroughly exhausted, I would manage to wake up, still feeling the Bogeyman's hot breath on my neck.
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Then somehow - either by unexplainable intuition or by secretly receiving information from a mysterious Source - a day arrived when I KNEW that I was able to awaken from a dream at any moment I chose. That night, the Bogeyman came for me again. This time I ran only as far as the nearest schoolyard water fountain, and that's where I decided to take my stand.
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I stopped at the water fountain, turned around to face the quickly approaching Bogeyman, and I stuck out my tongue and started blowing 'raspberries' at him. I waited until the moment he reached me, stopped, extended his arms and attempted to grasp my neck with his hands. AT THAT VERY MOMENT, my eyes popped open and I found myself lying on my back, in my bed, staring at my bedroom ceiling above me. The Bogeyman was gone. That was my first 'lucid dream' experience (i.e., when the dreamer is conscious of the fact that he or she is dreaming). And soon, the Bogeyman stopped pestering me in my dreams. He was smart enough to know that he could not terrorize a child capable of awakening at will.
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Fast-forward about 26 years. An adult now, I was on a Spiritual journey and had begun daily meditation sessions. While meditating one day in April of 1997, a still small voice in my mind said, "We have fallen asleep in God's embrace, having a nightmare that we are elsewhere". From that day forward, this has been my personal Spiritual slogan, which has been a mighty help in my life.
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In 2018, The Spirit led me to move from Reno to a place I call Willoughberry, which is the friendliest place I've ever lived and the hometown of my dreams.
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These days, I have extremely vivid dreams on a regular basis. Fortunately, I rarely have what I would categorize as "nightmares". However, unfortunately, I also rarely have what I would call "pleasant" dreams.
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My subconscious mind creates dreams as if it's writing a story or a screenplay; and any story must always have some sort of conflict which the protagonist is required to face and attempt to overcome. That's where the "drama" is; that's what keeps driving a story forward to some sort of denouement. And that's how most of my dreams are; there's nearly always some sort of tension, something I'm struggling to deal with.
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Two of my all-time favorite dreams occurred recently, while I was asleep here in Willoughberry. On January 4 of this year (2023), I dreamed that I was chasing after my dog, Muddy, who was chasing a cat that was chasing a rat that ate the cheese that lay in the house that Jack built (or something like that). So I was running down stairs, climbing over fences, and jumping over hedges. After awhile I began to notice that I was seeing everything from a unique perspective. I was perceiving things at interesting angles and seeing buildings, cars, and people framed between trees and archways in a uniquely creative way. Suddenly, I mentally said to myself (my subconscious mind speaking to itself), "Wow! This is the best cinematography I've ever had in a dream!"
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Questions: If my dreams are being produced and directed by my subconscious mind, why was my subconscious mind so surprised and impressed by what IT had created? And why doesn't it provide me with such artistically "filmed" views in ALL of my dreams? Why isn’t my mind fashioning dreams with this level of creative imagery on a nightly basis?
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Late last year, I had an even more unusual dream. This one was quite extraordinary!
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I don't recall all of the specific details, but I was experiencing a tremendous amount of stress; a pressure that felt as though the weight of the world was upon me. It felt like a life or death situation with the degree of angst cranked "up to eleven". I was sweating and gasping for air!
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Suddenly, my eyes popped open and I found myself lying on my back, in my bed, staring at my bedroom ceiling above me, and realizing that the whole thing had been nothing but a bad dream. Feeling an instantaneous sense of great relief, I mentally said to myself, "Whew! Oh, thank God that was just a dream!"
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I continued to lie in bed for a minute or two, just enjoying this feeling of relief and deep peace. Then I yawned, stretched, and went into the bathroom to brush my teeth. Upon entering the kitchen to brew a cup of coffee, suddenly my eyes popped open and I found myself lying on my back, in my bed, staring at my bedroom ceiling above me! I instantly understood that EVERYTHING had been a dream!
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I'd had a dream that I had a nightmare, from which I awoke. In other words, my dream had been dreaming!
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This 'dream within a dream' scenario has me considering how it might apply to my long-standing Spiritual slogan. Maybe I don't have the slogan quite right. Perhaps it needs to go something more like this:
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We Have Fallen Asleep In God's Embrace,
Having A Dream That We Are Having A Nightmare
That We Are Elsewhere.
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Are dreams real, as Mark Twain proposed? Or are they just dreams of dreams?
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Yours Dreamily,
~ Stephen T. McCarthy
Fast-forward about 26 years. An adult now, I was on a Spiritual journey and had begun daily meditation sessions. While meditating one day in April of 1997, a still small voice in my mind said, "We have fallen asleep in God's embrace, having a nightmare that we are elsewhere". From that day forward, this has been my personal Spiritual slogan, which has been a mighty help in my life.
.
In 2018, The Spirit led me to move from Reno to a place I call Willoughberry, which is the friendliest place I've ever lived and the hometown of my dreams.
.
These days, I have extremely vivid dreams on a regular basis. Fortunately, I rarely have what I would categorize as "nightmares". However, unfortunately, I also rarely have what I would call "pleasant" dreams.
.
My subconscious mind creates dreams as if it's writing a story or a screenplay; and any story must always have some sort of conflict which the protagonist is required to face and attempt to overcome. That's where the "drama" is; that's what keeps driving a story forward to some sort of denouement. And that's how most of my dreams are; there's nearly always some sort of tension, something I'm struggling to deal with.
.
Two of my all-time favorite dreams occurred recently, while I was asleep here in Willoughberry. On January 4 of this year (2023), I dreamed that I was chasing after my dog, Muddy, who was chasing a cat that was chasing a rat that ate the cheese that lay in the house that Jack built (or something like that). So I was running down stairs, climbing over fences, and jumping over hedges. After awhile I began to notice that I was seeing everything from a unique perspective. I was perceiving things at interesting angles and seeing buildings, cars, and people framed between trees and archways in a uniquely creative way. Suddenly, I mentally said to myself (my subconscious mind speaking to itself), "Wow! This is the best cinematography I've ever had in a dream!"
.
Questions: If my dreams are being produced and directed by my subconscious mind, why was my subconscious mind so surprised and impressed by what IT had created? And why doesn't it provide me with such artistically "filmed" views in ALL of my dreams? Why isn’t my mind fashioning dreams with this level of creative imagery on a nightly basis?
.
Late last year, I had an even more unusual dream. This one was quite extraordinary!
.
I don't recall all of the specific details, but I was experiencing a tremendous amount of stress; a pressure that felt as though the weight of the world was upon me. It felt like a life or death situation with the degree of angst cranked "up to eleven". I was sweating and gasping for air!
.
Suddenly, my eyes popped open and I found myself lying on my back, in my bed, staring at my bedroom ceiling above me, and realizing that the whole thing had been nothing but a bad dream. Feeling an instantaneous sense of great relief, I mentally said to myself, "Whew! Oh, thank God that was just a dream!"
.
I continued to lie in bed for a minute or two, just enjoying this feeling of relief and deep peace. Then I yawned, stretched, and went into the bathroom to brush my teeth. Upon entering the kitchen to brew a cup of coffee, suddenly my eyes popped open and I found myself lying on my back, in my bed, staring at my bedroom ceiling above me! I instantly understood that EVERYTHING had been a dream!
.
I'd had a dream that I had a nightmare, from which I awoke. In other words, my dream had been dreaming!
.
This 'dream within a dream' scenario has me considering how it might apply to my long-standing Spiritual slogan. Maybe I don't have the slogan quite right. Perhaps it needs to go something more like this:
.
We Have Fallen Asleep In God's Embrace,
Having A Dream That We Are Having A Nightmare
That We Are Elsewhere.
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Are dreams real, as Mark Twain proposed? Or are they just dreams of dreams?
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Yours Dreamily,
~ Stephen T. McCarthy
As you likely remember, I too am a big fan of dreams. I had my "A Faraway View" blog for a few years where I delved into my own dreams and thoughts about dreaming. I've been fascinated by dreams since childhood.
ReplyDeleteOf late, though I know I do dream, I tend not to remember them most of the time. This is likely because I'm stuck in a life pattern where I get up in the morning with a routine that does not include any time for dream reflection. If I don't immediately reflect upon my dreams and write something down about them then I will quickly forget them or at least the details of the dream. I guess that is common with most people. Dreams are like any fleeting thought in that they quickly dissipate into some subconscious realm if one doesn't dwell upon them and try to figure out what they are about.
I would say dreams are "real" to us in the moment even if we can realize it is all a dream. For me, I like to think the dream is real because I want it to be real--or at least have a willingness to have a suspension of disbelief so I can enjoy the dream story or scenario. I think dreams are similar to watching a movie or reading a story except they are personal and often contain a message that is unique to self.
I'm liking the idea of a Battle of the Bands about dreams. Maybe I'll consider this idea for the future.
Lee
LEE, yes, I do remember your old blog about dreams. At one time I think you had, like, four or five blogs going at once.
DeleteSometimes I'll have dreams that seem to go on for HOURS! And it amazes me how my subconscious mind can segue from one scene into another while maintaining the same storyline. It really is like watching a full-length movie in which I am one of the principal actors.
I also like how my subconscious mind, writing these stories in my brain, can add things that are clearly preposterous and unrealistic to the max (and occasionally literally impossible), but my mind just accepts it without question and continues on the journey that my subconscious is weaving in its stream-of-consciousness way. Sometimes I wake up and just lie in bed for a long time replaying the story I just went through while asleep.
My subconscious mind is fascinating to me; my conscious mind, not so much.
Yeah, the theme "Dreams" or "Dreaming" would make for an excellent BOTB series. The Amazing Sixwell comes up with some goot idears.
~ D-FensDogG
Part 1
ReplyDeleteMy apologies. This comment will be longer than most bloggers’ actual posts.
Very early in our online acquaintance I read your motto: “We Have Fallen Asleep In God's Embrace, Having A Dream That We Are Elsewhere.” (Having a nightmare works too.) I could instantly relate, as it aligns closely with my religious viewpoint. I am going to discuss those a bit here, but only to clarify the similarity to your motto. As you know, I am a Christian Scientist. Most people have no idea what we believe, either confusing us with the Tom Cruise “scientologists” or only knowing what they’ve read in some polemic literature which has mischaracterized the religion.
I believe in one Supreme and Infinite God, the God of the Holy Bible, and in His Son Jesus Christ, our Savior. The first Tenet of Christian Science is “As adherents of Truth, we take the inspired Word of the Bible as our sufficient guide to eternal Life.”
One of the things that I believe is that the experiences of this mortal existence are but dream-shadows that reflect our thinking. Better thinking leads to better human experience, teaching us lessons – some seem to be hard ones - until we finally AWAKE to realize that the spiritual perfection of God’s creation is already present. Essentially, to quote you: “We Have Fallen Asleep In God's Embrace, Having A Dream That We Are Elsewhere.” Literally. But the false dreamer and the false dream are one; neither is real... only seem to be.
Christian Science services feature no pastors. To maintain a purity of message the services only feature readings from the Holy Bible and “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures” by Mary Baker Eddy. This is the textbook of our faith. I study them both daily. Here are some quotes from the book that I think pertain to your blog topic and why I love your motto:
From S&H, page 14:25
“Entirely separate from the belief and dream of material living, is the Life divine, revealing spiritual understanding and the consciousness of man’s dominion over the whole earth. This understanding casts out error and heals the sick, and with it you can speak ‘as one having authority.’”
Part 2
ReplyDeleteFrom S&H, page 188:11
“Mortal existence is a dream of pain and pleasure in matter, a dream of sin, sickness, and death; and it is like the dream we have in sleep, in which every one recognizes his condition to be wholly a state of mind. In both the waking and the sleeping dream, the dreamer thinks that his body is material and the suffering is in that body.”
“The smile of the sleeper indicates the sensation produced physically by the pleasure of a dream. In the same way pain and pleasure, sickness and care, are traced upon mortals by unmistakable signs.”
From S&H, page 249:14
“God is the infinite, and infinity never began, will never end, and includes nothing unlike God. Whence then is soulless matter?”
“Life is, like Christ, “the same yesterday, and to-day, and forever.” Organization and time have nothing to do with Life. You say, “I dreamed last night.” What a mistake is that! The I is Spirit. God never slumbers, and His likeness never dreams. Mortals are the Adam dreamers.”
(Note: to me this refers to Genesis 2:21 where a deep sleep fell upon Adam. Adam was not recorded as waking up.)
From S&H, page 250:14
“Mortal body and mind are one, and that one is called man; but a mortal is not man, for man is immortal. A mortal may be weary or pained, enjoy or suffer, according to the dream he entertains in sleep. When that dream vanishes, the mortal finds himself experiencing none of these dream sensations. To the observer, the body lies listless, undisturbed, and sensationless, and the mind seems to be absent.
“Now I ask, Is there any more reality in the waking dream of mortal existence than in the sleeping dream? There cannot be, since whatever appears to be a mortal man is a mortal dream. Take away the mortal mind, and matter has no more sense as a man than it has as a tree. But the spiritual, real man is immortal.”
And finally this quote, not mentioning the term dream, but hinting at healing the mortal dream we seem to have acceded to, is this:
From S&H, page 476,477
"Jesus beheld in Science the perfect man, who appeared to him where sinning mortal man appears to mortals. In this perfect man the Saviour saw God's own likeness, and this correct view of man healed the sick."
McCarthy, you look for deeper meanings in things. Sleeping dreams come and you look for what to they might mean spiritually. Information comes to you in your waking life as well, and you look for truth. There are deep, spiritual meanings in many things, perhaps everything, and as we wake up, they all point to the power of God. In my view, anyway.
Six
PART 1
DeleteSHEBOYGANBOY SIX ~
That was truly a serious E-Ticket Comment, and the most extensive I've had in quite awhile. And I sincerely thank you for it. I appreciate the fact you appreciated this post enough to give it such time and thought. I've got 'Morning Music With Joe' playing while I'm replying. And a good amount of my reply you will already be familiar with due to our long friendship. But not all of it will be old news to you.
On April 6, 1994, I had a completely unexpected supernatural Spiritual experience in which Jesus Christ baptized me with the Holy Spirit and using my own tears for water (because I had not been properly baptized when I was a youngster). At that time, I thought the date was purely random, and it was years before I came to understand how significant April 6th is. This being the date that Christ Yeshua came for me was no coincidence.
Very soon thereafter, I began studying The Holy Bible and meditating (contemplative prayer) daily. For a short while, I began looking into various Christian-based beliefs. An early influence was Joel Goldsmith, who had at one time been involved with Christian Science, before breaking off to start his own organization, The Infinite Way. (Years later I discovered that he had also been a 33rd degree Freemason. No further comment necessary.)
After being impressed with Goldsmith, and learning that he had come out of Christian Science, I eventually read every page of C.S.'s 'Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures'.
The thing I liked best about Goldsmith was his talent for imagining wonderful analogies that made some complex concepts so easy to grasp. This one was my all-time favorite:
It is the nature of the human being to love self-indulgence: ease, comfort, riches, intemperance, gluttony, indolence, and sensuality. These operate in our consciousness as a sense of separation from God. It is not actually separation from God, because we can no more be separated from God than a gold ring can be separated from the gold of which it is formed. Gold is the ring; gold constitutes the ring. There is no possible way to remove the gold from the ring without destroying the ring, because there is not gold and a ring; there is only a gold ring.
So it is with us. We cannot be separated from God, because there is no we. Actually, there is no such thing in all the world as you or me as individuals standing alone. God being infinite, God is all there is. God constitutes you and me; God constitutes our life, mind, soul, and being, just as gold constitutes the ring. Gold is the substance; the ring is the form. God is the substance; the individual is the form as which God appears. God is the essence of our being – the life, soul, mind, spirit, law, continuity, and activity. God is the all and all of individual being, whether of saint or sinner. The degree of sainthood expressed by an individual is wholly dependent upon the degree of conscious realization of oneness with the Father. The capacity for sin in an individual is dependent upon the degree of his sense of separation from God. As a matter of fact, this sense of separation is all there is to humanhood.
And here's a humorous old quote from me:
I was strongly influenced early on by Joel Goldsmith and I guess I'm sort of a “Bad Christian Meets A Christian Science Laboratory Explosion.”
~ Stephen T. McCarthy
The longer I studied The Bible (I've now read it cover-to-cover nearly 30 times), meditated and did lengthy fasts, I was directed by The Holy Spirit onto a solitary path. I still believe in some of The Infinite Way & Christian Science concepts (solely because they are validated by The Bible / Holy Spirit), but I also disagree with both in a few highly significant ways. But our views, yours and mine, are extremely simpatico in many, many ways.
Continued...
PART 2
DeleteI was born an authentic maverick, and today I am the founder (and sole member) of 'The Church Of Christian Maverickism'. Ha! Although there's nothing wrong with learning from others, I am a firm believer that The Holy Spirit should be our primary Teacher at all times (John 14:16 & 26; John 16:13; 1st John 2:27).
So, following are some ideas that were given to me by The Spirit which coincide with what we have been discussing here. I have three Bibles (one Lamsa & two NKJV) that are essentially overflowing with margin notes that were revelations given to me by The Holy Spirit.
>>... Note: to me this refers to Genesis 2:21 where a deep sleep fell upon Adam. Adam was not recorded as waking up.
Ha! My margin note for Genesis 2:21 says: "Rib = Side = Twin Souls. At no point in The Bible does Adam awaken again."
How's that for simpatico? Also, on the first page of that laminated "Bible Cheat Sheet" I sent you awhile back, you will find this: "WE ARE SLEEPING: Psalm 17:15; Romans 13:11; Ephesians 5:14; 1 Thessalonians 5:6"
>>... One of the things that I believe is that the experiences of this mortal existence are but dream-shadows that reflect our thinking.
Psalm 23: "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil."
My margin note says: "Death has no reality; it is only a 'shadow' that disappears when exposed to 'Light'. A dream."
>>... “God is the infinite, and infinity never began, will never end, and includes nothing unlike God. Whence then is soulless matter?”
Yes, agreed! Here is something I wrote which is very much along that line of thought:
God is Love. God is Love.
I was created In, Of, and By Perfect Eternal Love;
and in Perfect Eternal Love I live and move, and have my being, now forever.
Biblical References:
1st John 4:8 & 16.
Deut. 33:27; 2 Chron. 3:11 & 12; Jer. 23:24; Ephesians 4:6; 1st Timothy 1:17.
Acts 17:28.
I believe very strongly that EVERYTHING can be found in 'The Lord's Prayer' and the 1st Epistle Of John. It's all there, really - everything you and I have been discussing here - in 'The Lord's Prayer'. Our true nature and the true nature of all genuine reality can be found in that Prayer. That Prayer is so deep, but seems simple on the surface, and unfortunately few people really contemplate it sufficiently to understand the full implications of it. ("Yours", "is", and "the" are the secret keys that unlock the magnificent, joyous Truth of 'The Lord's Prayer'.)
One thing I feel is important to add to all of this is that I believe there is a very important and reasonable purpose behind our association with these mortal bodies. There is a DIVINE reason why we find ourselves in this dream-like life. Essentially, "this world" - a temporary illusory place - serves a great purpose. It is a school, and we are meant to learn lessons here. Multiple lessons. Yes, we are meant to learn about our true nature, our true God-created identities. Equally important is that we see this nature and true identity in others as much as ourselves.
I don't believe we are necessarily meant to "rise above" or "think" or "REALize" our way out of every problem or error. I believe that we need to learn from karma. Karma (or as The Bible puts it, "What a man sows, he will reap") is more "lesson to be learned" than it is "punishment to be suffered".
Now, I'll conclude with a mystery...
I have long pondered the realities and the mystery of free will and very specific prophecy. Both are equally true - free will and true prophecy - both definitely exist. But... how?! How can BOTH be true at all times? I have a very wild theory ("theory" ONLY!) that could / would answer that riddle. But that's a story for another time and place.
Thanks again, Six, for such a terrific comment / conversation. These things are rare on blogs these days.
~ D-FensDogG
Oh I wish I'd have come by sooner! I'm on my way out now, but I've lots of things to ponder ;-)
ReplyDeleteSee ya soon.
Thanks for stopping by, dIEDRE.
DeleteWe got some deep stuffs going on here, but I dig it. (There should be more to life than just BOTB methinks. :^)
~ D-FensDogG
Living in the “hometown of your dreams” must surely be akin to an ultimate destination, if not an advent by divine design. Having not yet fallen asleep in what I’d call “God’s embrace,” I can only imagine…
DeleteLucky for me, all the monsters in my life were real. I didn’t have to dream about them. When at last they were slain by fate or (my) good fortune, I didn’t have to think about them anymore either. But never did I dream of them for fear I might talk in my sleep.
A lot of what I’ve read in the comments above really resonates. Especially how we reap what we sow.
There was a dream I started having the summer before 8th grade, a very upsetting dream in which I frantically tried to tell a roomful of people that an ax had fallen from the drapes I was sewing and sliced open my head. I tried to squeeze the wound closed as blood gushed through my fingers and ran down my arm. But no one could see or hear me. I had that same dream several more times, and each time I’d try (to no avail) to wake myself up as soon as I put my foot on the stepladder that would help me reach the drapes. I finally quit having the dream a few years and a Gran Mal seizure later, after I was prescribed meds that destroyed my ability to play pool or horseshoes to the point that folks would run for cover when it was my turn – ha! If we couldn’t laugh we would all go insane, right? (According to Jimmy Buffett)
I don’t remember any pain, but they say it can affect your dreams. My great g-ma had terrible nightmares while she suffered from cancer. She never even remembered dreaming. But, what I’m thinking is that my subconscious knew something was amiss before I did. An MRI revealed a relatively small brain hemorrhage; likely from an unreported head injury.
Could it be, Stephen T., that you’re subconsciously writing an epic screenplay? Do you hope the dream continues?
Howdy, dIEDRE ~
DeleteThanks for the exceptional comment!
Oh, yeah, a wild dream you had there, and I can very easily believe that your subconscious mind was revealing a fact about something amiss in your "headbone" (as Deputy Dawg would call it). It's truly amazing what our subconscious minds seem to know that goes utterly unnoticed by our waking, conscious minds.
From July of 1995 through July of 2001, I kept a Dream Journal which began with this hope: MY BIGGEST DREAM: To become so wealthy that I can afford to get drunk in an airport bar. (Airport bars were notoriously expensive.) Despite the goofy first page, my journal was a serious attempt to record my dreams in detail. The last two entries from July, 2001, were both instances in which my Pa, who had passed away in 1996, contacted me. He had contacted me a number of times.
My first 'dream contact' with the (so-called) "dead" came in the Summer of '76. My friend Ty Heath, who had committed suicide, came to me. He later appeared in a second dream and mocked me for thinking that he was "dead".
Dreams play massively important roles in The Holy Bible. God specifically says in The Bible that He speaks to us in dreams, and probably about half of the visions of God reported by His human prophets in The Bible actually occurred in dreams, as opposed to 'open visions'.
>>... Living in the “hometown of your dreams” must surely be akin to an ultimate destination, if not an advent by divine design.
Without question, God led me to where I am currently living. I had plans to return to Arizona, but God had a different plan for me. And God *always* wins.
>>... Having not yet fallen asleep in what I’d call “God’s embrace,” I can only imagine...
My contention is that you are already - right NOW! - asleep in God's embrace. But you're in a kind of sleep state, so you don't realize that *this* isn't real; this is more like a nightmare you're having, telling you that you are somewhere other than in God's embrace.
BUT!... there is a purpose for this nightmare of physicality and you're here because you have things to learn from this illusory experience on an illusory ball of earth. When you're ready to graduate from this School of Dreams, you'll awaken and find that you had *ALWAYS* been sleeping in God's embrace.
>>... Could it be, Stephen T., that you’re subconsciously writing an epic screenplay? Do you hope the dream continues?
Ha!-Ha! Well, the dreams DO continue. I'll tell you this, if this is a screenplay I'm subconsciously writing at night, it is going to need A TON of editing!! :^D Do you know a superhuman editor I can hire?
Here's something I've been meaning to tell my friend Sheboyganboy Six for quite awhile. But since I'm thinking of it now, and since you're also here, I'll let you know about it, too...
If you have cable TV & the cable channel TUBI, there's a series that I wholeheartedly recommend. It originally aired in the 1990s and very beginning of the 2000s. I believe there were 4 seasons of about 22 episodes each. It was called IT'S A MIRACLE and was hosted by Richard Thomas (of "John-Boy Walton" fame).
IT'S A MIRACLE was a great show!! I wouldn't necessarily agree that every event portrayed was a genuine supernatural miracle (although a huge number of them definitely were), but every story is fantastic and uplifting viewing. I didn't even know this show existed until late last year, but I've become a huge fan of it. In "this world", where we are bombarded with negativity, outrageous violence, and outright insanity on a daily basis, IT'S A MIRACLE is a beautiful balm to help calm the soul and strengthen one's faith. I'm absolutely certain that you (and Sheboyganboy too) would love it as much as I do.
~ D-FensDogG
"It's A Miracle" sounds like something I'd really appreciate these days. Thanks for the tip! I'll let you know if it chases away the grumpies ;-) Actually, this mock monsoon we've had all week has helped immensely... happy days!
Delete