Apocalypse Prophecies

We humans have some sort of weird obsession with the End of the World. Not just now, but always.  

D'OH

If Family Radio (and their supporters) have it right, it may come at the end of this month. According to others, sometime next year. If you’ve looked around a bit, you’ll know it wouldn’t be the first time in the history of mankind that people have looked at some old books or up at the sky and decided, “Well, this is it! Time to stop planning for the future, because there isn’t one.”

While listening to NPR the other night, I heard a couple who believe in the May 21st date speaking about what they’ve been doing since they believe that the end of the world, or at least the beginning of the end, is coming in just over a week: and everyone who is a truly faithful Christian will be lifted up to heaven. They have budgeted everything so that by the time the 21st rolls around, they will have absolutely nothing left in their savings. The wife (or at least girlfriend, I wasn’t sure from just listening) commented at one point that they have a baby daughter. I admire their faith and resolve, but I was somewhat aghast at the fact that they hadn’t decided to leave just a little money - just in case - because the idea that the world will end on the 21st wasn’t exactly divinely issued.

Strange Dreams

I think that most people who dream (and remember their dreams) experience at some point or another 'meaningful' dreams. Dreams that seem to predict something about upcoming events, or just seem like they're trying to send a message.

I typically have several very odd dreams every night - ranging from flying over the countryside to fighting zombies en masse. But I also have highly emotional dreams, mostly about my parents or loved ones, about regrets, and things I feel frustrated about.

Many Native American beliefs teach that to ignore your dreams is dangerous, and could cause illness and madness - certainly, many people believe that dreams are the mind's way of working out problems it can't deal with during the day; a pressure valve, so to speak, or a filter. Freud believed that our dreams were the result of our desires and wishes combined with the activities we do all day, and that nothing we see in a dream can be made up. Rather, everything in a dream is remembered from our lives in some shape or form. There are countless theories about dreams and dream interpretation, what causes us to dream and why we do it, but no one really knows for sure.

I'd like to believe, for me at least, that dreams really do act as a way for the mind to work out problems in a safe environment. A way to deal with stress or maybe just experience something wonderful. Like I said, I dream a lot about my parents - I worry about my mother, and my relationship with my father right now is more or less nonexistent because I'm afraid of talking to him. So in my dreams, I endure situations with my mom where we're fighting or angry (I worry about our relationship going bad) and I have nightmares about my father controlling my life with fear and guilt. In my dreams I can react in ways I wouldn't (or couldn't) in real life, for fear of retaliation. The consequences I experience in dreams are impermanent, but the implications are powerful and can be a great aid in every day life and dealing with life problems.