Over the weekend I had another Back to School/high school/boarding school/group trip dream (of course). All I can remember of that part is a very rudimentary dorm situation (metal bunk beds), and a girl I actually went to school with referring very matter-of-factly to herself as a lesbian. This was surprising because, although I wouldn't have been surprised to discover that she was, she came from a very conservative family. I was a little in awe of her courage in being so open about it, in view of her background, although the implication seemed to be that she saw it as a spiritual burden to be borne and fought against. I guess that made it a little easier for her to be open about it.
Anyway, the rest of the dream was in the same cultural vein. I somehow ended up in a gigantic megachurch. It was more of an alternate universe, really. Instead of being just a church, with the usual seating-and-platform setup, it was a vast domed structure, with the dome duplicating a sky. It was filled with houses as far as I could see, like your average suburban housing development with largeish houses crammed very close together on very small lots.
The houses were arranged around a central mountain-like contraption. It was very tall and narrow, modeled after the rock columns/mountains you see in pictures from Asia, and although I knew it had been constructed from scratch it was a very convincing facsimile. There was a walkway with railings spiraling around it all the way to the top (which disappeared, or at least appeared to disappear, into clouds). A children's choir was arranged all along the walkway, conducted from below by a woman in a yellow satin robe (I think the children were similarly garbed). She had to crane her neck all the way back and wave her arms at the sky, but they seemed to have no trouble following her (although I wondered about the acoustic viability of such a setup).
The inhabitants, from what I saw and overheard, were very excited about taking part in this alternative living experiment. The whole thing was extremely creepy.
Showing posts with label religion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label religion. Show all posts
Monday, January 25, 2010
Monday, April 20, 2009
Wedding
My boyfriend and I were going to a wedding. It was to be held in a mall, and as we walked up a ramp to the upper level, I kept noticing tacky little "venues" for other weddings, some just in food court style eating areas! When we got to the area where my friends were getting married, however, there was a quiet, nicely lit balcony filled with round tables with white linens and gold flatware. He walked me over to a table near the back, and as we sat down I saw that it was by a big screen that was showing a college football game--I think it was EWU vs. OC (whatever those letters stood for; I think at least one of the teams was from the Northwest). There were a lot of players on the field, at first in uniform and then in street clothes. At some point, we were no longer looking at a screen, but over the actual game itself. In the stands, I saw a hand-drawn poster supporting keeping religion out of schools (it featured a large electric guitar, a trap set, and a Bible with the words "lust" and "lush" written on it). A girl with hair down to her waist turned and waved at us.
The couple who I realized were getting married sat at the table with us, and I was thrilled to be surrounded by such good friends. In real life, these two have been married for almost six years and have a baby. The lights went down and we held hands for a blessing. The groom's mother, wearing some sort of cowl, the bride's mother, and a few other women were singing a haunting song for the blessing when my alarm went off.
I hit snooze, naturally, which meant I also got to dream that a squirrel had gotten into my apartment somehow and was tearing around my bedroom.
The couple who I realized were getting married sat at the table with us, and I was thrilled to be surrounded by such good friends. In real life, these two have been married for almost six years and have a baby. The lights went down and we held hands for a blessing. The groom's mother, wearing some sort of cowl, the bride's mother, and a few other women were singing a haunting song for the blessing when my alarm went off.
I hit snooze, naturally, which meant I also got to dream that a squirrel had gotten into my apartment somehow and was tearing around my bedroom.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
variety pack
Last night I had a dream involving Curly Sue (one of our illustrious contributors, who I happen to know in real life). I and several other people I knew (although I only knew them in the dream) were enrolling in some kind of educational program. It was semi-university, semi-short-term seminar/summer camp. I don't remember what I was studying--I was probably undecided, knowing me. She was already into her program, though, and it turned out that she was doing some kind of religious studies. She had to teach a class that she was apparently somewhat nervous about, although when she started in I thought she was doing a great job. It was kind of strange, though, because I couldn't figure out whether her course of study was the theoretical study of religion, or whether it was more "practical religion".
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My husband and I are trying to buy a house (in real life), and we've been doing lots and lots of research on dogs so we can get one when we move out of our apartment. I've looked at so many dogs, both in person and online, that for a while every time I closed my eyes I would see dogs of all sorts. I was having a lot of dreams involving dogs, but the only one I can really remember is being somewhere with my mother and some other family members. There were a couple of very friendly pit bulls there, and my mother was so taken with them that she decided pit bulls were wonderful dogs, the ideal dog! This was extremely funny, since my mother is not a dog person in general and thinks of pit bulls in particular as "those dogs that eat their owners".
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And finally...quite a while ago I had a dream about Madonna, who is not someone I normally devote a lot of thought too.
I can't remember a lot about the dream, except that I was employed in some kind of position where I was supposed to be putting together coffee-table type books, and the editors wanted to feature Madonna somehow (her house, maybe?). So I had to work with her on getting some things, and she was extremely nice, professional and helpful. She gave me some white, gauzy fabric with her initials in loopy red script all over it, and although I didn't like the idea of having her initials all over my garment I was excited because it was really nice fabric. As I was talking to her I was distracted trying to figure out what I wanted to make with it (some kind of billowy blouse). Her house was, as would be expected, very impressive and fancy, with big chandeliers and huge rooms covered in marble. Afterward I kept talking to people about how friendly and nice she was, although I was simultaneously embarrassed to be gushing about a celebrity.
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My husband and I are trying to buy a house (in real life), and we've been doing lots and lots of research on dogs so we can get one when we move out of our apartment. I've looked at so many dogs, both in person and online, that for a while every time I closed my eyes I would see dogs of all sorts. I was having a lot of dreams involving dogs, but the only one I can really remember is being somewhere with my mother and some other family members. There were a couple of very friendly pit bulls there, and my mother was so taken with them that she decided pit bulls were wonderful dogs, the ideal dog! This was extremely funny, since my mother is not a dog person in general and thinks of pit bulls in particular as "those dogs that eat their owners".
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And finally...quite a while ago I had a dream about Madonna, who is not someone I normally devote a lot of thought too.
I can't remember a lot about the dream, except that I was employed in some kind of position where I was supposed to be putting together coffee-table type books, and the editors wanted to feature Madonna somehow (her house, maybe?). So I had to work with her on getting some things, and she was extremely nice, professional and helpful. She gave me some white, gauzy fabric with her initials in loopy red script all over it, and although I didn't like the idea of having her initials all over my garment I was excited because it was really nice fabric. As I was talking to her I was distracted trying to figure out what I wanted to make with it (some kind of billowy blouse). Her house was, as would be expected, very impressive and fancy, with big chandeliers and huge rooms covered in marble. Afterward I kept talking to people about how friendly and nice she was, although I was simultaneously embarrassed to be gushing about a celebrity.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Reunion
(Wow, this got long! It was the first even vaguely coherently narrative dream I'd had in a long time, probably because I accidentally slept for about 11 hours last night.)
I was back at my high school reunion, but in the dream we seemed to alternate between being teenagers and our current ages. At one point, we were on a bus, and our class sponsor (the physics teacher) was explaining to us something about being able to ride back on the bus, or to take our own transportation and go out. He seemed to be strongly encouraging a drink called "Burma," because it would fit nicely into the theme of what we'd been studying. I did some research, and found a book with really cool old labels from various brands of Burma, and recipes for exotic snacks that made nice accompaniments to it. I never got to taste Burma, although we did go out later; all I remember is that the waitress brought me what was supposed to be a beer, but there were only about two inches in the tall glass, and it tasted like apple juice.
The next day(?) there was some sort of vespers-thing, of which I don't remember much, except that the girls and boys were separated and that at the end, the RAs were the first out. These included people I'd seen at the reunion, in their current state, and at least one who wasn't an RA in school.
From there, we headed to the cafeteria. It was raining, and I was walking by myself. As I turned a corner, I saw a boy from high school, who had liked me a lot then and whom I'm afraid I didn't treat as well as I should have. He hadn't been at our actual reunion. I started crying when I saw him, and we walked toward each other as though everything was going to be okay (I've had the everything-is-going-to-be-okay dream about him before, actually). But then he turned into another (girl) friend from high school, who had been at the reunion, and who was also crying. I was disappointed, but we hugged and went inside the cafeteria together.
My mom still worked there, as did the rest of the foodservice staff from my senior year. I said hi to them in the kitchen, and then we went to find tables in the dining room, which had been set up for some sort of banquet.
The next day was graduation, and it was sunny. A friend and I were walking to the gym for the ceremony, and realizing that I was dressed quite conservatively. I was even wearing nylons, with a dress I recognized as one I'd purchased 10 years ago. I got out my phone to make a call, and when I opened it, my uncle was on the line--he had been trying to call me just as I was trying to call (him?). He was trying to tell me where I should meet him in the gym ("Adam Tennessee"?). I was really excited to see him, but something seemed vaguely wrong and/or sad at the same time that it seemed completely natural. I think I knew there was some reason I hadn't been able to, and wouldn't be able to see him, although I'm not sure I realized in the dream that it was because he was killed almost four years ago.
We got to the gym and were looking for him and my dad, who had also called, but couldn't find them. At some point, one of the security/organization people was walking by with a walkie-talkie, and I could hear my uncle on the other end, trying to either explain or figure out this AdamTenessee business. I tried to make another call with my phone, but realized that it had somehow been smashed and misshapen, although the new shape did end up being rather rounded and ergonomic. I was mostly disappointed that it wasn't all little and compact and as easy to slip into a back pocket as it had been. I never got to see my dad, or my uncle.
I was back at my high school reunion, but in the dream we seemed to alternate between being teenagers and our current ages. At one point, we were on a bus, and our class sponsor (the physics teacher) was explaining to us something about being able to ride back on the bus, or to take our own transportation and go out. He seemed to be strongly encouraging a drink called "Burma," because it would fit nicely into the theme of what we'd been studying. I did some research, and found a book with really cool old labels from various brands of Burma, and recipes for exotic snacks that made nice accompaniments to it. I never got to taste Burma, although we did go out later; all I remember is that the waitress brought me what was supposed to be a beer, but there were only about two inches in the tall glass, and it tasted like apple juice.
The next day(?) there was some sort of vespers-thing, of which I don't remember much, except that the girls and boys were separated and that at the end, the RAs were the first out. These included people I'd seen at the reunion, in their current state, and at least one who wasn't an RA in school.
From there, we headed to the cafeteria. It was raining, and I was walking by myself. As I turned a corner, I saw a boy from high school, who had liked me a lot then and whom I'm afraid I didn't treat as well as I should have. He hadn't been at our actual reunion. I started crying when I saw him, and we walked toward each other as though everything was going to be okay (I've had the everything-is-going-to-be-okay dream about him before, actually). But then he turned into another (girl) friend from high school, who had been at the reunion, and who was also crying. I was disappointed, but we hugged and went inside the cafeteria together.
My mom still worked there, as did the rest of the foodservice staff from my senior year. I said hi to them in the kitchen, and then we went to find tables in the dining room, which had been set up for some sort of banquet.
The next day was graduation, and it was sunny. A friend and I were walking to the gym for the ceremony, and realizing that I was dressed quite conservatively. I was even wearing nylons, with a dress I recognized as one I'd purchased 10 years ago. I got out my phone to make a call, and when I opened it, my uncle was on the line--he had been trying to call me just as I was trying to call (him?). He was trying to tell me where I should meet him in the gym ("Adam Tennessee"?). I was really excited to see him, but something seemed vaguely wrong and/or sad at the same time that it seemed completely natural. I think I knew there was some reason I hadn't been able to, and wouldn't be able to see him, although I'm not sure I realized in the dream that it was because he was killed almost four years ago.
We got to the gym and were looking for him and my dad, who had also called, but couldn't find them. At some point, one of the security/organization people was walking by with a walkie-talkie, and I could hear my uncle on the other end, trying to either explain or figure out this AdamTenessee business. I tried to make another call with my phone, but realized that it had somehow been smashed and misshapen, although the new shape did end up being rather rounded and ergonomic. I was mostly disappointed that it wasn't all little and compact and as easy to slip into a back pocket as it had been. I never got to see my dad, or my uncle.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
family gatherings, etc.
I had a weird dream over the weekend in which I was at a large family type gathering (not my family--what's with me being at all these not-my-family family gatherings lately?). I was wandering around and noticed a crayfish-like insect dressed in overalls writhing around on the ground. It looked like it was suffering, so I thought I should put it out of its misery, though my motives were mixed somewhat; I was also repulsed by it. I was beating it with some kind of implement I can't remember now, when it morphed into a healthy cornfed country boy in overalls. By this time it was too late and I had to finish the job because the insect/young man was pretty far gone (this part was vague, not too graphic). Then, wanting to leave the scene, I went over to a walled-in porch and sat down at a table. There were two teenage girls arranging and rearranging and commenting on various slices of cakes and pies that they had made (none of them on dishes, just on the tablecloth, and amazingly durable what with all the handling). They were excited because the wholesome young hero was going to be coming by and they hoped to impress him with their desserts. At this point I realized that I had just pummeled the wholesome young hero to death and felt intensely uncomfortable.
As a prelude to this dream, there was another episode involving my having acquired several pets (a mixture of cats, rabbits, turtles, and possibly a bird). I had taken several of them to work with me and had lost track of them. A whole day had gone by and I was getting really worried because it was time to feed them, and not only did I not have a food/water setup ready for them, but I wasn't even sure where they were. I haven't had a neglected-pet dream for a long time, but I used to have a lot of these. I'm sure it indicates an unhealthy level of guilt and anxiety.
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Then night before last I had a couple of other unsettling dreams. The first involved a lot of people from my high school class reassembling, as if we were still in high school. The setting was more summer-camp than high school. It was at an abandoned building way out in the country, next to a creek. The really unsettling part was that there was an elaborate system for disguising the building when we weren't there, including a very convincing huge fake live-oak tree. I knew that something was amiss if so much effort had to put into hiding the location.
The other dream was another movie dream. This was one of those movies that probably started out as a play because the setting was so simple and it focused on the interactions of a very small group of people. It was vaguely 1950s and involved a desperate, depressed woman in an abusive marriage. She dug a hole in her yard in which to conceal her two children, then was trying to figure out how to leave her husband. A couple she was friends with showed up, and then immediately the husband also arrived, somewhat drunk and quite belligerent. The friends were trying to mediate and keep the husband from getting too violent. The whole atmosphere was very dark and depressing, although I was impressed with the costuming/sets/makeup. I woke up--somewhat unsettled--before I could learn what the outcome was.
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And finally, last night I dreamed that I was at another family gathering, this time with people I was actually related to. It was mostly my dad's side of the family, and it was supposed to be an Easter communion service. I wasn't sure how that was supposed to work out, since there are several different religious persuasions involved. Interestingly, everyone seemed to be wearing cowboy boots--after seeing some really nice ones on a cousin, I looked at my own feet and discovered that I too had on cowboy boots.
After a lot of milling around, we finally made our way into a sort of private room in a hotel/restaurant where this service was supposed to take place. Just as everyone was getting settled, though, a large curtain on one side of the room was swept aside and the whole space (now triple the size) was invaded by a film crew who insisted that they had the whole place. I was excessively angry and accosted a passing waitress type who said she was the manager. I started yelling, really in high dudgeon, about how my family had reserved this space before the film crew.
I feel like I deserve some nice, funny, carefree dreams now.
As a prelude to this dream, there was another episode involving my having acquired several pets (a mixture of cats, rabbits, turtles, and possibly a bird). I had taken several of them to work with me and had lost track of them. A whole day had gone by and I was getting really worried because it was time to feed them, and not only did I not have a food/water setup ready for them, but I wasn't even sure where they were. I haven't had a neglected-pet dream for a long time, but I used to have a lot of these. I'm sure it indicates an unhealthy level of guilt and anxiety.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Then night before last I had a couple of other unsettling dreams. The first involved a lot of people from my high school class reassembling, as if we were still in high school. The setting was more summer-camp than high school. It was at an abandoned building way out in the country, next to a creek. The really unsettling part was that there was an elaborate system for disguising the building when we weren't there, including a very convincing huge fake live-oak tree. I knew that something was amiss if so much effort had to put into hiding the location.
The other dream was another movie dream. This was one of those movies that probably started out as a play because the setting was so simple and it focused on the interactions of a very small group of people. It was vaguely 1950s and involved a desperate, depressed woman in an abusive marriage. She dug a hole in her yard in which to conceal her two children, then was trying to figure out how to leave her husband. A couple she was friends with showed up, and then immediately the husband also arrived, somewhat drunk and quite belligerent. The friends were trying to mediate and keep the husband from getting too violent. The whole atmosphere was very dark and depressing, although I was impressed with the costuming/sets/makeup. I woke up--somewhat unsettled--before I could learn what the outcome was.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
And finally, last night I dreamed that I was at another family gathering, this time with people I was actually related to. It was mostly my dad's side of the family, and it was supposed to be an Easter communion service. I wasn't sure how that was supposed to work out, since there are several different religious persuasions involved. Interestingly, everyone seemed to be wearing cowboy boots--after seeing some really nice ones on a cousin, I looked at my own feet and discovered that I too had on cowboy boots.
After a lot of milling around, we finally made our way into a sort of private room in a hotel/restaurant where this service was supposed to take place. Just as everyone was getting settled, though, a large curtain on one side of the room was swept aside and the whole space (now triple the size) was invaded by a film crew who insisted that they had the whole place. I was excessively angry and accosted a passing waitress type who said she was the manager. I started yelling, really in high dudgeon, about how my family had reserved this space before the film crew.
I feel like I deserve some nice, funny, carefree dreams now.
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