Dream a little dream of me....

I love that song. "......birds singing in the sycamore tree, dream a little dream of me". Mama Cass. What a voice, what a sweet song.... like a dream. Do you dream? Do you remember your dreams? Do you attach any significance to them? Any meaning? Are they windows into our deepest desires and fears, are they omens of what is to come, are they suggestions.. signs of which path to take or are they mearly coincidental mumbo jumbo to be enjoyed, forgotten but not to be taken seriously. Some people believe that the reason we only remember a small portion of our dreams is that they are so horrific our subconcious wont let us for fear of losing our minds.

Over the years I have read all types of books and literature on dreams and dreaming. What I found is that opinions on dreams are like opinions on what to do when confronted by a bear in the woods. Strange comparison? Not so. Pick up any two books on bears and read what the "expert" says to do when confronted. One will say "make noise". The other will say "be silent". One will say "run", the other "lay down and cover your head". One will say..... and on and on. The real truth about bears is that they are wild animals and by nature unpredictable. we can study bears and get an idea of how they might behave in a certain situation but at the end of the day there is no guarantee at all. They are likly to react in almost any way possible. Just ask the bearman. The guy who was a "foremost expert" on Brown Bears. Studied them, lived with them, protected them ..... and in the end was eaten by them.

What were we talking about? Oh yeah, dreams. I think that when it comes to dreams everyone and no one is right.... or wrong. I think some are fanciful and some are desires. Some are wishes and some are memories of past events. Some are hopes and some are fears. I also do think that some could be omens and some could be put there by He that watches over us. How do we decide... how do we know which ones are beneficial.... an omen or a direction to take and which ones are just our imaginations at work. What works for me is to find a quiet time during the day... or night, clear my mind of as much static as possible, let go and let my spirit fill with love... love for me, love for others, love for God .... and then turn it over to God. Let Him tell me what are His wishes and what are not. If I pray with an open mind, an open heart and without fear, jealousy, desire and hate the answer will come. If I am doing all of the things God wants me to do then I already know the answer for it was already in me.

We all know.... we are all born with a clean slate. Hopefully as we grow we are nurtured, taught by loving parents and/or guardians the difference between right and wrong. The lessons are really simple... anyone can learn them. thou shalt not.... and do unto others.... and so on. But as we grow older some of us forget... or in my case decide which do, and do not apply to me. When it comes to justification nobody was better than me. I can make just about anything sound like a good idea. During those dark days I had bad dreams, torturous ones. I had one re-occuring dream while in prison. I would dream that the whole time in prison had been a dream and then wake up in my dream to find it was only a dream. That I was in prison and at the beginning to boot. Weird but quite disturbing.

I don't have dreams like that anymore. My dreams are usually of things I want to or hope to do. Dreams of mountain lakes and deep forests. Dreams of doggies and children. Dreams of faraway places and open spaces. Dreams cooking meals and making fires.... of belief and faith.... of love and happiness.... of being whole and being loved. Dreams that make my heart swell, my spirit soar and open my mind to the possiblities of this life and the love from and of Him.

Have a blessed day,

Mark