~Chapter Nineteen~                                                             DREAM A LITTLE DREAM--- "The mind is its own place, and in itself, can make a heaven of hell, and a hell of heaven." --- Milton     Fanciful yes, but my instincts still tell me that when you're having a dream, it's down time for the soul. It's a way for a soul to let its' hair down, and to be free of the flesh for a while. Whether we're dreaming due to brain maintenance, or whether we're having nightmares because our soul is being ignored; there are times when all a person has is instinct.  Others call it faith I suppose. You can usually trust your instincts.  To use a contemporary iconography, consider "Star Wars."  Putting the nerd factor aside, relying on his instincts is just what Luke Skywalker was taught to do.  He'd learned how to let go, and to trust his feelings.  Beyond the pure entertainment value, it tells us how we can do the same thing.  But how can we come to rely on pure instinct, when we've been ignoring them for so long now? It might help you to think of your soul as a separate entity from the physical self. In truth, body and soul are inseparable until you draw your final breath.  But, for the time being, let's just concentrate on the soul by itself.  We tend to think of a soul as a pure and self-sustaining presence, but its not.  It too must evolve, learn, and grow.  While trapped here, it may no longer be omnipresent, but it's still able to feel each of its separate selves. We're getting ahead of ourselves.  It's difficult for a being composed entirely of light energy to occupy a solid, tangible space in fleshen form.  Such flesh and bone vessels as bodies are clunky, needy things.  All of those glands and organs require a lot of maintenance.  For a soul, this is a sordid affair.  Fortunately, the body comes with an onboard computer of sorts.  The autonomic system helps to negate any non-spiritual distractions.  As a physical being, you wouldn't want to experience life for long, if you had to consciously think about every heartbeat.  The more tedious tasks are handled out of reflex.  The body's concerns are governed by the central nervous system, and the more mundane functions are handled automatically, for the most part.   Finally, this is where the nightmares come in.  There are as many types of dreams as there are dimensions--- recalling of course, that they're all bound together.  Some of the more popular varieties of dreaming involve some form of flight or another.  All living things have dreams about flying, because all contain within them, the singularity of the soul. We've taken it on faith (for without scientific merit to back it up, what else is there right now?) that this energy source we call a soul, exists.  In the same way, we can also postulate that a spirit's domain is only limited to the boundaries present in the fabric of spacetime itself.  Having such free reign to navigate unencumbered by such barriers, then it makes sense that souls have mastered the art of flight.  The flight in question however, is more a flight of consciousness, than anything as quaint as angels. The explanation for dreams of flight is due in part, to a soul being set temporarily free of the body as it takes wing.  If we take out of the equation, the bio-chemical and psychological reasons for dreams, then the need for sleep also derives from the soul's need to rest, that is, to unplug itself for corporeality.  This affords it the opportunity to go about its business of being a soul, at least while we're asleep. When the physical brain stirs from its slumber, then the soul is bound by obligation to return.  That's why when waking from a dream about flight, there are times when the memory of the dream state is so profound in your head, that you think it's possible to go outside and pick up where the dream left off.  You feel like you should still be able to fly.  Dreams are perceived as reality, because while they're occurring, they are a form of reality.  As you dream, rarely are you ever aware that you're asleep.       But what about nightmares? Apparently, there's this correlation between the muted soul, and why we have nightmares. This might be due to how after having a sufficiently shaking nightmare experience, we tend to remember it because of how we can wake up so shaken.  A person usually has no trouble in remembering the content of nightmares.  It makes for a lasting impression. It's important that we first understand the basic parameters of dreams, since superficially, they're essentially all the same. It's tempting to launch into the multi-dimensional elements involved with dreaming, but not just yet. Now, about nightmares. Why do we have them? As a rule, nightmares are to dreams, what pain is to injury. On the physical level, pain serves a specific purpose. Every physician knows that pain is an excellent diagnostic tool. A patient's treatment often begins with the Dr. asking, "where does it hurt?,"or, "can you describe the pain for me?" Animals are harder to diagnose so far.  In the future, we may learn how to telepathically link up with an animal mind, or animals can be engineered with a hyroid or vocal chords more suited to human speech (we'll discuss gene manipulation later).  For now however, we're forced to concentrate on our own experiences as humans. Pain is the body's way of telling you that there's something wrong.  It prompts you to take evasive action, and to make yourself well again.  Without sadistic implications, pain can be a good thing.  Or as W.C. Fields once said, "A little pain never hurt anybody."  In a similar fashion, nightmares serve the same diagnostic function as pain does. If the soul is in a state of neglect, nightmares can alert us to this. It's the soul's way of getting your attention. Pain to the soul isn't a physical response, so much as an emotional one. But if the needs of the soul aren't being addressed, then you might be made to suffer physically, sometimes in the form of depression. The link between body and mind makes this possible, and the soul has ways of making your body heed its call. It's usually nothing too serious mind you, but at the very least, nightmares can get the job done by depriving the host of sleep. In general terms, dreams are the soul's reward to itself.  Dreams give souls a needed break from biology by allowing temporary refuge from the tug of gravity. But as anyone who's suffered a sleepless night can attest, the physical self needs rest. That's the difference between dreams and nightmares. Dreams represent freedom for the soul, and nightmares represent a small penalty if the soul is ignored.  Right now, such a suggestion might sound arrogant, but no more so than when a person says they have a pow wow with god every third Wednesday.  In fairness however, both experiences are based on feelings. Sometimes our feelings can mislead us. The feeling that we're two separate beings, one of mind, and one of body is just another illusion. The needs of the soul are equally as real as the needs of the body, since they are one. As we said, sleep supplies the physical self with the natural opiate, serotonin. Really, it's a type of pain-killer. So, if you don't get enough rest, serotonin levels are depleted. You are made more vulnerable then, to pain. It should be said that there's more than one kind of pain too.  It doesn't necessarily mean physical pain.  This doesn't matter to the soul though.  It will do whatever's needed to get its message across to you.  Sleep deprivation can lead to all sorts of maladies, anything from migraines, to depression.  When you have nightmares, you suffer from the subsequent lack of deep sleep.  You're consequently deprived of certain opiates.  You then experience some form of pain, which tells you that there's something wrong.  This is your soul saying, "serves you right for ignoring me."       It's puzzling to think of how something like a soul can have needs.  If we stick to the portrait of the life force we've been painting so far, then it's practically immortal.  It also gets let out every night to frolic on the astral playground. What is it that a soul can possibly still need? Not all that much really.  But, it does need you to be aware of it, and to listen to its desires.  You must remember that souls take on physical form for a reason, otherwise they wouldn't be here in the first place.  Souls have an agenda. If for whatever reason that agenda isn't being met, then a protest will be lodged.  If specific quotas or issues are being suppressed or ignored--- then the soul will let your body know this. When your stomach growls in protest, you eat.  But how can we nourish the soul? Now, let's magnify this tendency of people being ignorant of their souls by billions.  The reason the world is in so much "pain" today, is precisely due to the current belief system which holds that your soul (or your imagination, if you please) isn't considered on the whole, the least bit important.  At present, the planet is afflicted with a staggering lack of imagination.  Imagination is the nourishment of the soul.  To put it another way, your society by virtue of its design and beliefs, discourages the thing that's the most crucial to spiritual development--- that which makes us creative beings. You're continually being deprived of why souls have come here to begin with.  The need to imagine, and the need to create are considered insignificant here, even ridiculous. Having such a hollow attitude leaves you stripped of the potential to exceed the sum of your parts. You rob yourselves of the chance to evolve, and to attain growth. The reason your soul protests so much, is because its goal to transcend is being effectively thwarted by a culture that says collectively: "We are separate, we are alone. We are not creative, imaginative beings, and we laugh at dreams."       A certain bias has to be acknowledged at this point, along with a touch of paranoia.  I can hear the thoughts of our critics already. They're saying things like, "Of course he's gonna bitch about how our society stifles creative growth. He's a starving artist type. He wants change? How about getting a real job for a change." How about a brief explanation here, just so that we can understand what we mean by a creative spirit. Being creative isn't limited to being a good painter, or a good sculptor. Art is but one way for the soul to express itself as a creative force. If you analyze the motive behind any creative act, you'll note that it's often based on the need for understanding something more clearly. Creativity is more than art.  It's what the soul needs so as to live and experience a life of creating a new perception. With understanding, can come an ability to become whatever it is that you seek to know.  "Seek and ye shall find," and all that sort of thing.  This is the moment for which all evolving beings thirst, as they stand on the pinnacle between what was, and what will be.  A step forward is for what all souls crave.  All thinking entities are addicted in a sense.  They wish always to reach yet another plateau of understanding.  The only way to truly understand a thing, is to become that thing.  Only in reaching such understanding, can you reward yourself by moving on.       Why am I suddenly feeling the urge to start burning incense, and to pick up a sitar? Need we be reminded that this is the west.  Much of the imagery here of what Eastern philosophy is, begins and ends with Apu on the Simpsons. I don't think I'm the only one who's having a hard time absorbing this Zen stuff. We're supposed to be relating to people, not alienating them. When trying to talk about everything, linear thinkers are bound to get a little dizzy. No disrespect intended, but we're trying to get an overview of all this. We're trying to free ourselves of Earthly barriers. As you can see so far, that ain't easy.       Ok, so we're somewhat limited in our scope.  But the thrust of this argument is that with all things considered, everything's equal.  There's no such thing as big or small, smart or stupid. Actually, that was said in part as a way to make you feel better. That's not an insult. It's just that being made to feel inferior can sometimes make someone simply give up. A person is discouraged from ever trying anything, for fear of being criticized or mocked.  If everybody just gave up the fight, then they'd be put back into the position of letting others control their lives. We can no longer afford to do that.  Apathy reigns supreme in a society that has lost the will to grow. There are a lot of you who've just given up the struggle.  With the way things are going, it's bound to get worse before it gets better.       Forgive me if for saying so, but it sounds very much like we've little chance of turning this ship around.  In fat, we could be talking about a complete hull breach.  So many of us suspect it, but not many are willing to accept it just yet.  If it looks like we're on the verge of committing suicide, then maybe that's our fate.  Maybe it gets to the point where you're better off dead, especially in a culture that doesn't seem very willing to provide any alternatives. Time for a little pop culture quiz. Remember the Joe Pesci character in the movie "Good Fellas." No matter what you say to this guy, it's taken the wrong way.  You could say to him here,  "We're gettin' into some pretty big ideas now," and he responds by saying, "Are you telling me I'm big? Big, as in FAT? What, am I some blubber laden Buddha doll placed here for your amusement? Is THAT what you're saying?" As a species, you're well within your rights, but we really do need to stop being so paranoid.  There's always hope, so long as there's enough of your kind to carry on.  Even if humanity fails, and surrenders itself to extinction--- the soul will endure.       We've been implicated as being a pretty stupid lot.     We're all but saying that it's over for us as a species. It's all well and good that we have the immortal soul thing to fall back on and all, but come on. I haven't seen any mushroom clouds yet.  So far, annihilation's not been in the interest of the current power structures, thank goodness.  Although I have to admit that I've had some pretty interesting dreams lately.  They involve me standing with my arms outstretched, waiting for the flash of bright white light to diminish.  When I'm finally able to make out the distinctive mushroom shape on the horizon, that's just when the heat and the shock wave consumes me.  Given the sorry state of affairs befalling your planet now, there's a pretty good argument for failure here. Once again, it's only a matter of perspective. There are levels of ignorance. That's what we'll call it instead of outright stupidity --- ignorance. Stupidity is too harsh a word.  It stings of judgment. People aren't stupid per se, but are merely misinformed. They generally have only one thing to go on concerning their views in life, and that's what they hear.  If it's not what they've come to believe, or if it threatens their view in some way, they tune it out.  Let's not fool ourselves about what a person sees on the news here in the States either.  It isn't exactly raw & uncensored.  Generally, you're only told what the powers that be want you to know.  This too is a trend that seems to be accelerating. There's some healthy spin control going on, should a few unwanted tidbits somehow get out from behind closed doors, and on the air.  If something torrid manages to make it into the public's mind, damage control usually takes care of those annoying questions in short order.  Obfuscation is alive and well wherever big government's concerned.  It's not hard to agree that generally, you're only told what the governing body wants you to know.  That being as it may, people primarily have only  the opinions and beliefs of others on which to base their own view of what's truly going on. This is one of a multitude of reasons why you should be careful who you listen to, especially where the bottom line is a profit margin. People in the position of handing out advice are frequently the same as those who are looking to satisfy their own needs or desires.  That in turn, only corresponds with their own limited view. Sadly, that view is usually concerned with how to get more material things. Look to the most valuable resources on the planet, and follow the money trail that leads to it. Such a trail so often leads to those who are supposed to be working for their respective people, but are instead, too busy going over their profit margins. To be fair, people of today are only as stupid as their willingness to believe in just what they're being told. If on the other hand, they keep on accepting as gospel truth what they've been force fed all their lives, then obviously that can be a problem. Are such people stupid? No. Are they blind? Yes. But all of us are blind if we're being kept forever in the dark. All of us are therefore, "ignorant" of the many other choices we could make for ourselves. If only we could learn how to wish for them. To do otherwise is the essence of ignorance.           With the way things seem to be going, maybe it's time to call it what it is.  It's at least possible that people are in fact, quite stupid.  We can't say that though, because it does indeed, smack of judgement. The proof they say, is in the pudding.  All we have to do is once again, look to nature as proof of our "ignorance."  For instance, some people judge a lion to be a "dumb" animal. But I think such individuals are living a life of delusion, especially if they think themselves smarter than the lion. As we've already said repeatedly, it's only a matter of perspective.  Humans might appear to be more "civilized" with their veneer of synthetically derived outer skins, or while sitting in their internal combustion vehicles.  But the lion doesn't need such things, and they aren't vital for her survival.  She's perfectly content with her walk in life, and feels no obligation for a change in venue. From the human perspective, lions might be deemed inferior.  She eats raw meat, she's constantly jousting or competing with her subordinates or superiors, and she crawls off to die if her jaw gets broken by a kicking Cape Buffalo.  She is primitive.  She is no more than a lowly beast. If we're tempted to judge the lion by calling her stupid, just stop to realize that her life also has much in common with yours. Like you, her life was fashioned with what was needed to survive in a harsh world. You fight the same battles, and combat your own brand of superiors and subordinates. On many levels, both lions and people are precise equals. They both see themselves as being separate. Now, much like the lion felt the kick of her would be prey, along comes your own kick in the teeth. You'll be just as slack-jawed when you're told that the lion is in many ways, smarter than you. By her superfluous design, a lion is superior in that she will be far more able to survive in the wild.         This is to be expected among lions.  But we've had our survival instincts dulled with the advent of civilization.  It's not our fault that we can't hunt down and kill our own prey.  But we have weapons with which to compensate, and we can wreak wholesale slaughter upon whatever we see fit.  Surely then, we're smarter than any lion. Uh oh, was that ever a stupid thing to say. How stupid would the lion be judged if she were to go out and kill just for the sport of it? What if her pride's credo was, "I kill, therefore, I am." The lion knows better, and even if only inadvertently, she respects nature's balance. She and her kind take from it only what they need. Add to the argument that a greater number of herbivores can keep the less populated carnivores well fed. The design is implicit, and nature will provide for all that respect it. How smart then, are the humans who flagrantly disregard this unwritten law?       Here's where we lose a lot of people.  The environmentalists, the naturalists, the animal rights activists, and all of the other environmental organizations come off sounding like a pack of "down with people" crusaders.  Is this an effective strategy to use on the vast majority who couldn't care less? People won't hear the message if they're made to feel like idiots. Maybe that's what's needed now.  People need to start feeling at the very least, a bit foolish.  How we laugh when watching that ape at the zoo.  He'll do anything for attention. Is it anger at your mocking him that makes him pick up his feces, and hurl it at you? We're all in our own kind of cage.  No matter where we might wish to turn, we're still surrounded by our own waste.  But no, we didn't come all this way, just to have our noses rubbed in it.