Dreams...

Going to be a short post tonight. I must apologize for delay in a follow-up post to my most recent post. I have been very tired, but haven't had much sleep.

Those close to me know I have very vivid dreams. When I am tired, in the minutes before sleep, I can visit places that I have dreamt about going as far as 3-4 years back...perhaps more. And it's not just one or two at a time. When I really get going I can visit over 50 different places and think about all the different things I have done at those places. The ones I visit most are of my hometown, though they never look like it exactly. I have many versions of home. Some are very grand and some are quite minimal.

I can tell you right now about my home and it's variations...from muddy backyard filled with alligators....a large garage with hidden passage ways...snakes in the trees....in the town there is an old video store that looks to be going outta business...large office buildings...none of these resemble my hometown. And these are just to name a few. It's much harder to type about it. I could probably blurt it out in person once I get into the "pre" dream/sleep state. I have killed, been killed, watched people jump from rooftops, climbed the walls of a large mansion in a city downtown. Robbed banks, won hands of poker to never wake up with my "earnings"...and that is always a huge let down.

The other nite I had a dream about a report that had gone out about a missing woman. A woman, that someone else and I, had killed months ago in another dream. And I remember talking about it with this person at what was almost like a mall/casino. We would climb a really tall ladder, that acted as stairs, but took no more energy than an riding in an elevator. We would discuss the matter further and then I woke.

Now that I keep typing more and more the dreams are coming back to me. It just takes time to get warmed up.

The unfortunate thing is that they are just dreams. The great ones far outweigh the nightmares. And I actually even like the nightmares.

I have a lot of water dreams I guess. A lot of flooding. And a lot of that flooding takes place when I am driving and have to cross the flood waters from a river. It slightly resembles the area I grew up in when it would flood around there. Between DeMotte and Hebron and between DeMotte and Lowell.

There are a couple places I would like to try living on earth: Australia, Iceland and the Chinese countryside. But none compare to ANYWHERE I have visited in my dreams. To tell you the truth, if I kept a notebook by my bedside I could probably have a blog just for dreams. Of course, there are some dreams I would rather not mention.

I used to have a good amount of dreams where I could fly, but not so much anymore. Once in a while I will have a dream about flight. Just thinking about those now I can remember flight dreams from when I was about 10. That is no lie. My sister, Rebecca, has very vivid dreams as well. I'm sure she has a lot she can remember.

I'd like to find other people who can dream like this. I know a lot of people who rarely remember their dreams and I think that is unfortunate.

I'd like to discover more about my dreams and how to remember them in the greatest detail in hopes to one day document.

Wouldn't it be great to record our dreams?!

Some skeptics say our dreams really only last for a few minutes, but I disagree. I am no scientist, but I AM the one dreaming and you can not pack all of what I see, think, hear (and yes even smell and taste) into just a few minutes.

So this is goodbye and goodnight.

I wonder what tonite's dreams will bring.

A beginning...

I have decided that instead of just aimlessly ranting to close friends and family I will post my daily thoughts in hopes to inspire and evoke reaction from others who think like me. Most of my topics will pertain to my absolute disdain of religion (mostly christian fundamentalists).

I believe the time for change is now.

I am not the most educated person, but my ability to separate expression and emotion from facts and truth gives me certain insight to what I seek.

I believe in a peaceful existence. I believe in progress.

I believe that a christian presence holds us back. I am not the only one who thinks this way. I am just one voice of many who think as I do. Once I realized that there were so many like me I decided to no longer be silent. To no longer spare the feelings of the believers. To no longer let them stand in my way - our way.

We atheists, humanists, agnostics, freethinkers are not all troublemakers. We are not all angry, childish or selfish. These are the labels we have been given in the past. Of course, actually, these labels would be better suited for the Christian fundamentalists.

Some of us were/are our country's forefathers, respected authors, philanthropists and great philosophers.

It was Ernest Hemingway who once said, "All thinking men are atheists." and Benjamin Franklin was quoted as saying, " I have found Christian dogma unintelligible. Early in life, I absenteed myself from Christian assemblies." and " Lighthouses are more helpful than churches."

If these men are so respected then why are their thoughts and views, like so many others before and after them, not respected in the same way as their actions, social status or contributions to society.

An answer: It has always been made clear in our time that good can only come from a "god fearin' folk". That believing otherwise is absurd and unholy.

It's late and I have so much more to write, but it is time I retire for the evening. My apologies for leaving in the middle of a thought, but there will be plenty more to follow.