What would you do if you came across a video online that had two scenes from a dream that you recall from your childhood. This happened to me today, and, for a moment, I ended up feeling like a Microsoft Blue Screen of Death.
The first two scenes of the video above are from a reoccurring dream I had decades ago, and when I saw it, I felt like the author of the video must have been inside my head at some point. This experience doesn't really fall under deja vu, psychic predictions, premonitions, etc., so I'm curious about what I should call it. Maybe we each have a doppelgänger in experiences, and this was their dream put to video?
After the shock of seeing this wore off a bit, I was reminded of a story that I loved very much as a child by Roald Dahl called The BFG. It's about a Giant who collected good dreams and gave them to kids - as if any one of us could have one. (Side note: I'm not sure why a movie of this story has never been made, as it is in my opinion his best book - better than James and the Giant Peach, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Witches and Matilda – all of which have been committed to film.)
Also, to be clear, nothing after the first two scenes were ever seen by me before I first watched this video, and I'm glad, as it's quite a trip in itself. Anyway, I'm just curious if anyone else has had something like this occur?
OK, part of me feels really bad for posting this, since I'm sure American Idol alum Kellie Pickler is a really sweet girl. However, she did place sixth out of thousands of hopefuls on season five of American Idol. That says it all really; You get the idols you deserve. Music idols used to have real passion rather than feigned emotion, because they talked and sung about stuff they really believed in, and used their talent and position to try and make the world a better place. How are we going to find the next John Lennon, Dylan or Bono if we continue to mistake light entertainment for real artistry?
Like I say, I'm sure Pickler's a very sweet girl, after all she did do this TV show for charity, but she's not going to be changing the world with her music and the fact that she's one of our idols, along with the likes of Britney and Lindsay, is a poor reflection on us not her. But, hey, I don't want to get too high on my horse. Life is all about balance. I love my guilty pleasures. We all need a bit of yin with our yang, and a brain break from life's pressures once in a while. But perhaps it's us who should be wearing the dunces hat for putting up with too much of this stuff, which leaves little room for anything more thought provoking on our airwaves. Then again, perhaps the fact that an average American girl doesn't know that France is a country and Europe isn't is all the provocation we need to realize that something is very wrong in our corner of the world. After all ignorance isn't really bliss, it's effing dangerous as we see in the non-reality-TV real world.
Saving the planet at 10 miles per gallon. Couldn't these people do the same in a hybrid Escape or Highlander? This advertising campaign is basically an admission by the marketing geniuses at GM that if you have any kind of conscience at all you have to apologize in order to drive one of these monstrosities. FUH2!
Precognition is the stuff of science fiction. Is it also the stuff of dreams? Australian born dream expert Robert Moss, a compelling advocate for and guide to exploring the visions that visit us in sleep, would emphatically answer this question, "Yes!"
Basing his account on both Tubman's earliest biography and more recent tellings of her life, Moss explains the vital importance of dreaming to this escaped slave who came to be called "Moses" for her astounding achievement of returning to slave territory and risking her own freedom and life again and again in order to help liberate over 300 other slaves. Moss describes the violent incident that gave rise to the dreams that would guide her heroic missions. As a young woman, Tubman courageously stepped between an overseer and a runaway slave. When the overseer threw a two pound metal weight at the fleeing slave, it hit Tubman square in the center of her forehead causing blood to pour forth from the wound. Though she'd already been a dreamer, this incident had both physical and psychical aftereffects that intensified this gift.
Tubman became a narcoleptic and in her dreams began receiving specific, helpful information regarding the future. Because of the immense value of her dreams, she warned the slaves she was shepherding never to wake her if she fell into a deep sleep as they journeyed Northward together. Given the urgency of their predicament, the runaways showed great restraint in heeding these instructions. Their reward inevitably was safe passage. Even when the direction that came to Tubman in a dream indicated a return into the South or stopping at an unknown farmhouse, it never steered her wrong.
Moss, a former journalist, is a gifted raconteur. For a fuller version of Harriet Tubman's jaw dropping adventure check out Conscious Dreaming: A Spiritual Path for Everyday Life. Besides telling great stories, Moss also provides invaluable guidance. For instance, A Simple Experiment for Validating Dream Precognition can be found on his website. There and elsewhere, he convincingly demonstrates ways that many of us, like Harriet, can follow our dreams to freedom.
A church in Minnesota is taking some rather unusual action in response to the prohibition of gay marriage: It's considering refusing to marry straight people until the gay marriage ban is lifted. Intended to redress the current imbalance, the course of action was first put forward by a straight parishioner of the Saint Paul-Reformation Lutheran Church in Saint Paul, MN at a meeting two years ago. Since the proposal stood unchallenged, the church's pastor Anita Hill is now in the process of enacting a ban on civil marriage duties, though the congregation have yet to vote to approve the move.
If the ban does take effect, the church will continue to bless all unions, both gay and straight, but the civil paperwork needed to make a marriage legal will have to be done elsewhere. "We are looking at the function of our church in marriage ceremonies," said Reverend Hill in an interview with the local City Pages weekly. "Is it just to get it done in a pretty place? We're not in the wedding business; we're in the blessing business."
Though research undertaken for a recent book, UnChristian, found that 91% of outsiders perceived Christians as anti-homosexual, many Twin Cities churches have been quietly vocal in supporting gay rights. According to census information Minnesota has the third largest concentration of same-sex couples in the U.S. The Saint Paul-Reformation Church had previously challenged doctrine - and the authority of Lutheran leaders - when they ordained lesbian pastor Hill, who was in a committed relationship and refused to take the vow of celibacy required of gay clergy. Meanwhile at least three other churches in the Twin Cities area have enacted similar civil marriage bans in protest of the current laws.
"There is a mother in our congregation who gets teary thinking that her daughter might not be able to get legally married in that chapel she sits in every Sunday," says Reverend Hill, who previously spent five years serving as a diversity trainer for the Family Service of Saint Paul. The Daily Mantra applauds Reverend Hill for her trailblazing leadership, but would like to suggest that she change the name of her church's His 'N Hers Club (which meets at 4pm every third Thursday of the month) to something more all-encompassing.
In response to the Communist Chinese government's edict, which went into effect on September 1st 2007, requiring Buddhist temples to get prior approval from four separate government departments before they can recognize individuals as reincarnated lamas, The 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, has suggested he may hold a referendum amongst his followers worldwide to let them decide the future of the Dalai Lama lineage, which dates back to the 14th century.
The Chinese government have long been maneuvering to get their choice anointed as the next Dalai Lama after the death of the current one in order to gain greater control over the contentious region of Tibet. In 1995 they arrested the six year old boy The 14th Dalai Lama had named the Panchen Lama. Gedhun Choekyi Nyima (born April 25th 1989), The 11th Panchen Lama, is the second highest ranking Tibetan Buddhist lama, and according to tradition bears part of the responsibility for finding the next incarnation of the Dalai Lama. He became known as "the youngest political prisoner in the world," and has not been seen in public since his arrest, though the Chinese government claims he is still alive and well. In his place, Chinese officials installed their own pretender to the thrown.
The 13th Dalai Lama died on December 17th 1933 and Tenzin Gyatzo, the son of a poor farmer, was publicly recognized as the 14th Dalai Lama six years later in 1939. He was discovered after a long search and successfully completed a number of tests. During one of these he was able to pick out objects belonging to the previous Dalai Lama that were hidden amongst objects that weren't.
Tenzin Gyatzo follows in the footsteps of his 13 predecessors in a chain of reincarnation that dates back over 600 years. The first Dalai Lama, Gendun Drup, was himself said to be the earthly manifestation of Chenrezig, who is said embody the compassion of all Buddhas and walked the earth with Buddha Shakyamuni, the founder of Buddhism.
In his official biography, the 14 Dalai Lama says, "I am often asked whether I truly believe this. The answer is not simple to give. But as a fifty-six year old, when I consider my experience during this present life, and given my Buddhist beliefs, I have no difficulty accepting that I am spiritually connected both to the thirteen previous Dalai Lamas, to Chenrezig and to the Buddha himself."
Under the current climate of confusion and duress the exiled 14th Dalai Lama is suggesting he may either forgo rebirth or be reborn while he is still alive. The purpose of reincarnation is so that the Dalai Lama may complete the work of his predecessors.
In response to The 14th Dalai Lama's proposals, Liu Jianchao, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, said, "Dalai's remarks obviously violated the religious rituals and historical conventions." The Chinese government is officially atheist, so irony was piled on irony when Jianchao continued, "The reincarnation of the living Buddha is a unique way of succession of Tibetan Buddhism and follows relatively complete religious rituals and historical conventions."
In his typically compassionate way it seems The 14th – and perhaps final – Dalai Lama may gently be handing the Chinese government the delicate silk cord they require to hang their current policies against religion and the freedom to pursue it. Certainly he has shown any claim to logic or reason on the subject has long departed from the Communist administration’s inconsistent public utterings on the subject. I wonder how you say "hoisted by your own petard" in Mandarin?
Looking to procrastinate with a clear - even virtuous - conscience? Look no further than FreeRice.com. Launched on October 7th by John Breen, creator of TheHungerSite.com and Poverty.com, FreeRice donates 10 grains of rice via the United Nations World Food Program for every vocabulary question you answer correctly. And those grains add up: As of November 27, FreeRice.com has donated 4,181,025,950 grains of rice - enough to feed more than 200,000 people for one day.
So, how do you play - er, help? When you first visit FreeRice.com, a randomly selected vocabulary word with four possible definitions will appear on your screen. The program then adjusts its difficulty based on whether you answer correctly: three correct answers in a row raise your "level" and one incorrect answer lowers it. With an impressive arsenal of terms, and difficulty levels appropriate for everyone from children to college professors (50 is the highest level, though it's rare to score above a 48), FreeRice.com is a satisfying visit for academes and altruists alike. Just take heed, according to the site's disclaimer, exercising your social conscience on FreeRice.com just might make you smarter. How many procrastinatory pleasures can claim that?
A bus company is offering discount bus travel in return for used cooking oil to power its bio-fueled fleet in a ground-breaking pilot scheme in the U.K.. Households along the Service 1 bus route in Kilmarnock, Scotland have been given free containers to collect their used oil in, which they can exchange for discount travel vouchers at their local recycling plant.
A fleet of eight single-deck buses, operated by the Stagecoach Group Plc., have been fitted with dual fuel tanks for the trial scheme. The buses will warm up for around ten minutes in the morning using mineral diesel (it's cold in Scotland). Once a normal engine operating temperature is achieved, the buses will then switch to bio-fuel made from cooking oil and other food industry by-products for the remainder of the day. It's estimated that the initiative will cut CO2 emissions by 82%.
"This innovative project is a great opportunity for our customers to play their part in saving the planet by recycling household products that would otherwise go to waste," says Stagecoach Group Chief Executive, Brian Souter. "I'm sure the idea of cheaper travel in exchange for the used contents of your chip pan will capture people's imagination."
41-year old British humorist Andre Jordan explores his journey through depression in his unique blog, A Beautiful Revolution. His self-deprecating musings, which are sometimes poignant and other times brutal, take the form of short essays, poems and doodles. A collection of his work has also been compiled into a new book entitled If You're Happy And You Know It..., which comes out in the US next year.
In an interview on the BBC's Ouch disability website, to which he contributes weekly doodles, Jordan describes depression as, "All-consuming and exhausting. But at the same time, it does give you empathy for other people. Depression helps you to look at people and understand that nothing is black and white. It also makes you appreciate the really tiny things that are quite amazing."
Turning his black thoughts into dark humor, Jordan turned depression on its head, transforming a major negative into inspirational art. "Getting up every day and being able to draw and paint and write, and people around you encouraging you to do it. That's success, because I'm happy."
Hey, is that just photoshopped or did a lion really lie down with a lamb? Whichever the case, heartfelt thanks and a deep bow to Sadiq Alam whose blog, Inspritations and Creative Thoughts, features this sweet image accompanying thoughtful consideration of the relation between dietary choices and spirituality.
The quotations from heavy hitters that he includes might well give a meat eater pause. After all, given their other achievements, it certainly seems possible that Leonardo da Vinci, Albert Einstein, Mohammed and Gandhi have something to teach us.
"Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances for survival of life on earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet."- Albert Einstein.
"I do feel that spiritual progress does demand, at some stage, that we should cease to kill our fellow creatures for the satisfaction of our bodily wants."- Mahatma Gandhi.
We here at Daily Mantra love Sadiq's talk of an "ecstatic universe" and are intrigued by his claim that the superiority of vegetarian over "flesh based" diets stems from the comparative amounts of sunlight contained (and transmitted to the eater) by each. In his view, photosynthesizing plants are composed more of sunshine than are the animals who consume them.
Eating "concentrated light," as he calls fruits, grains, veggies, etc., enlarges your consciousness by increasing the light within your being. Whatever you make of his logic, Sadiq's somewhat literalist understanding of food and spirit is both poetic and appealing.
Another blogger with similar interests and concerns is veganism advocate Meria Heller. Heller describes herself as a spiritual activist and attributes her fearless and worry-free emotional state to her vegan diet. She helpfully encourages concerned non-vegans to meditate and pray about their eating habits and mentions books like Keith Akers' The Lost Religion of Jesus, which argues that you-know-who was a vegetarian. Unfortunately - speaking, for instance, of a "holocaust" of animals - she also uses some inflammatory, guilt inducing language.
Whatever the benefits of a vegan diet - and there are many - nothing good comes from guilt. Better to love ourselves and discover our own path than expend precious energy trying to making others conform to our ideas of right and wrong. Who knows? When we take back our energy and power and joyfully begin focusing on and living our own life, others might just be drawn to following our lead. If we are vegans for instance, veganism might start looking mighty appetizing! Pass the kale and tomato risotto, please!
Concoct-a-controversy organization, the (Rent-a) Catholic League are asking cinema-goers to boycott the new fantasy film The Golden Compass (click HERE to view trailer), claiming it is "candy-coated atheism." The $150 million New Line movie, which stars Daniel Craig and Nicole Kidman, opens on Dec 7th. Written and directed by Chris Weitz (whose previous credits include About A Boy), the film is based on the first installment of English author Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy.
Pullman's stories are set in a parallel universe where witches, magical creatures, and animal spirits walk the earth alongside humans, who are governed by a sinister religious organization called the Magisterium, which some have likened to the Roman Catholic Church. A good against evil battle takes place over the course of the books, which culminates in the death of God at the hand of a child.
Ironically many Christians, including Church of England leader Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, have come out in support of Pullman, claiming his books attack oppressive dogma rather than religion itself. Despite deliberately playing down the questions of religion in the adaptation of the book to film in an attempt to placate more religious American audiences, the Catholic League are still concerned the film will serve as a gateway to Pullman's literature. They accuse the author of having twin goals "to promote atheism and denigrate Christianity. To kids."
A statement on their website says, "The Catholic League wants Christians to stay away from this movie precisely because it knows that the film is bait for the books: unsuspecting parents who take their children to see the movie may be impelled to buy the three books as a Christmas present. And no parent who wants to bring their children up in the faith will want any part of these books." The league are also flogging a pamphlet entitled The Golden Compass: Agenda Unmasked for $5 via their website.
In an interview with the BBC, Pullman dismissed the leagues accusations as "absolute rubbish" saying, "I am a story teller. If I wanted to send a message I would have written a sermon."
The Catholic League, who have a long history of getting upset about things, previously called for a boycott of The Da Vinci Code. The film went on to top box office charts here in America and grossed $758 million worldwide in 2006.
In an effort to prove that whales shouldn't have to die to facilitate scientific discovery, Greenpeace have teamed up with scientists researching humpback whales in the South Pacific for a project they call the Great Whale Trail. Using funds provided by Greenpeace the scientists managed to tag 20 humpback whales with electronic transmitters. The signal from these tags is bounced via satellite to a ground station, which tracks the progress of these magnificent sea creatures. Using this information, the scientists were able to discover the whales' secret mid-sea hangouts as they migrated across the ocean from their breeding areas in the warm waters of the South Pacific to their feeding grounds in the protected Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.
In order to shield the animals from the Japanese whaling fleet, who are aiming their harpoons at humpback and fin whales for the first time in 40 years in an effort to increase this years' catch by 70% over last season's (see Times story), Greenpeace is delaying posting their tracking information online. The six-vessel Japanese whaling armada skirts the 1986 International Whaling Commission Moratorium banning commercial whaling by claiming their vessels are conducting scientific research, which is exempted from the edict. Japan's Institute of Cetacean Research, a non-profit organization which was set up by the Japanese government in response to the 1986 ban, is funded by Kyodo Senpaku, a company that sells whale products, worth approximately $60 million annually, which are produced as a "by-product" of the non-profit organization's supposedly "scientific" activities.
In an effort to publicize the humpback whales plight and their Great Trail project, Greenpeace are running an online competition to name the whales on their Great Whale Trail. 30 names have been shortlisted from over 11,000 submissions. Many of the names are translated from other languages, such as Amal, which means "hope" in Arabic, and Manami, which means "love of the sea" in Japanese. Other popular choices include Humphrey (?), and our favorite, Mister Splashy Pants. Voting ends on November 30th.
One of the most ancient and universal symbols is the circle. With no beginning and no end, it represents the sun, completeness, eternity and the soul. With movement, circles become spirals, a shape that is seen everywhere in nature. In the symbol of the spiral we can see how incremental change is possible with the return of repeating cycles. If you look closely, you may see something similar happening in your relationships and work - we do the same things over and over, but eventually we end up somewhere completely different and unexpected. This is the magic of spirals in effect.
A growing group of people all over the world are taking this symbolic form and using it as a tool of artistic expression, meditation, fitness and unadulterated fun. They call themselves hoopers or hoop dancers, and have an online bible at Hooping.org. They can be found swirling their hips lazily in the sun at summer festivals, dancing with passion and precision in nightclubs and parties, and working up a sweat in fitness classes.
Hula hoops were once the playthings of children, but new, larger hoops are now made just for adults; their added weight and circumference makes it easier to keep the hoop spinning around the body. This means that even if you think you won't be able to hoop, chances are good that you'll catch on quickly with one of these new-style hoops.
Like yoga, there is a meditative mental space that can be discovered within the circle spiraling around you. Hooping also tones the core, hips and pelvic floor muscles, increases cardiovascular strength, and is practically guaranteed to put a grin on your face. Want to give hooping a whirl? Check online for a hooping group near you at hooping.tribe.net, order an instructional DVD and premade hoop from Hoopnotica.com, or gather a few basic materials and make your own hoop (see instructions). Hooping is low impact and irresistibly enjoyable, so set your inhibitions aside and step into the spiral.
"Modern day Christianity no longer seems Christian,” writes the author of a revealing new book. UnChristian is a data-driven study written by David Kinnaman, the son of an Arizona pastor, who serves as the president of The Barna Group, a Christian Gallup-like research organization based in Ventura, CA. Analyzing information culled from extensive surveys and numerous interviews, Kinnaman, with the help of co-author Gabe Lyons, reports on the state of contemporary Christian culture and how it's perceived. “What began as a three month project has turned into a three-year study to grasp the picture God was revealing through the data,” writes Kinnaman in the book’s preface. “It was not a pretty picture.”
38% of outsiders surveyed had a bad impression of Christianity, 45% had a neutral one, and just 16% had a good impression. Furthermore 91% of outsiders felt that Christianity was anti-homosexual, 87% said it was judgmental and 85% thought it was hypocritical. 84% of outsiders claimed to know a Christian, yet only 15% could see a lifestyle difference that indicated that their friends practiced what they preached. In light of these findings, The Daily Mantra caught up with Kinnaman to find out if, and how, Christianity can get back on track.
DM: In the first chapter of your book you start by saying “Christianity has an image problem.” Is it really the image that’s the problem or the underlying substance?
DK: I’m glad that I wrote that sentence, because it’s provocative. It’s tough for Christians to understand what a substance problem really is. All the people that work at the Barna Group come back around to that question of the substance/image problem. If you look at the stuff that we’ve done, we make more enemies with Christians than we do with outsiders because much of the information that we put out is not very flattering to the Christian church.
Around the time 400 A.D. Constantine made an official Christian nation out of The Roman Empire and for sixteen hundred years since then we’ve lived in Christendom in the west, which is this idea that society is essentially Christianized. America is a quote-un-quote Christian nation, in the sense that 83% of Americans say they’re Christian and seven out of ten say they’ve made a commitment to Christ that’s still important in their life. I am as concerned about superficial Christianity as I am about anything else in our culture. What does it really mean to be a Christ follower in a country where almost everyone says that they are? How do we really be the kind of people that Jesus asked us to be? So few people really live like that. If the first sentence of the book is that ‘Christianity has an image problem,’ the last sentence of the book ought to be ‘Christianity has a substance problem.’
DM: You also say ‘they react negatively to our swagger,’ but I think that more than the swagger it would be the stance.
DK: Yes, I can understand that. I think we’ve been so busy defending a fort that we forgot why we built the fort in the first place. The Church is supposed to be a beacon of hope for people, and that is really why we’re known as unchristian because after sixteen hundred years of Christendom, after creating higher education and many of the hospitals, and creating many of the non-profits that have benefited society, we’ve been more concerned about reacting against things that we are fearful of, rather than trying to recreate and reclaim those ways of making life better for people. We have become more known for talking about sin than doing anything for those people affected by sin.
One of the most important roles a woman may choose to take on is motherhood. Those who don't adopt face the milestone of giving birth; a major and miraculous event with physical, emotional and spiritual components. While families and friends may be present and willing, not everyone is knowledgeable, experienced or even very good at care-giving when facing their own family-related issues. And that is where a doula can help.
The word doula means "woman's servant" in Greek and in ancient times referred to one of a team of knowledgeable women offering back rubs and constant emotional support during labor. It brings to mind scenes from the book The Red Tent or maybe even Wonder Woman's island. According to the organization DONA International (www.dona.org), today's doulas, "like their historical counterparts... know how to help a woman in labor feel better." Unlike a midwife or a doctor, they are not there to deliver or worry about the baby as much as they are there to support the mother as she embarks on a somewhat overwhelming experience. Rhonda Crehan, a doula from Waldorf, Maryland explains, "in addition to what you've described, I use a soothing voice to redirect any pain and to provide the mother with the peace of mind and emotional understanding she needs."
Doulas are not medical staff, but they are liaisons to the doctors and nurses, there to help make sure that the mother's wishes are known if she's not in a place to convey or enforce them. They do not replace a partner's role in the birth, but instead facilitate it with their knowledge and experience. Even after birth, postpartum doulas are there to help a woman navigate her way through the changes in her body and home that may make her feel like a stranger to herself. Having such support throughout the process can ease the stress on all family members as well as giving the newborn an easier and hopefully more enjoyable entrance into the world.
Dream expert Robert Moss has written another inspiring book encouraging readers to pay closer attention to what they may otherwise overlook. A culture's values are reflected in its language, and the book's title, <The Three "Only" Things , cryptically highlights our own culture's lamentable tendency to disregard intangibles. Dreams, coincidences and imagination are the three oft-dismissed phenomena in question. Although "it's only an equation" and "it's only a contract" are never likely to become colloquialisms, without batting an eye, we have all used the phrases: "only a dream," "only a coincidence," and "only my imagination."
Moss promises that reversing this tendency and bringing into focus what usually remains blurred on the periphery has highly beneficial consequences. His website MossDreams.com provides a convincing celebrity poster child for the so-called "only things" in the person of Hilary Swank. He dubs the two-time academy award winning Swank a "master of The Three Only Things" and tells fascinating stories from her life to explain the honorific. Swank's rise to fame from trailer park beginnings has all the earmarks of a classic Hollywood tale, and the part that "dreaming big" by envisioning her future success has played in her life has been much publicized. Another equally remarkable story is less well known. Moss writes:
She was living her life dream, and she was also tracking her night dreams. She dreamed she was called on to save someone's life during what seemed like a heart attack. The dream prompted her to take CPR. She was ready three months later when a man collapsed in front of her in an airport, the victim of a massive heart attack. She used the CPR technique she had learned, revived him briefly, but was not able to save his life. She would be ready next time.
The way this story departs from Hollywood formula lends it credibility. The neat ending of a life saved is missing. Nonetheless, Swank's attention to her dreams is laudable and may well have a more positive outcome the next time around.
Read any of Moss's dream-related books and Swank's apparently supernatural ability may begin to seem ordinary. We all dream, and we all have the ability to heed the messages that arrive in dreams. When we do so, Moss convinces us, our lives become extraordinary too.
In the land of dreams there may be untold pleasures awaiting you on your arrival, or you may fly effortlessly above patchwork fields and through fluffy white clouds, but not all dreams are happy and fluffy. Most people can remember the panic and terror they felt after awakening from a nightmare, and the fear of falling asleep and finding yourself in the midst of the same dream once again. Nightmares can be some of the scariest situations we find ourselves in because of the very fact that they are created from our own personal registry of fears and anxieties. Nightmares often represent parts of ourselves we have disowned or are fearful of. Like the snake eating its own tail, we chase ourselves through dark alleys and derelict buildings until something shocks us awake. Then we sit bolt upright in our bed, alone in the dark, heart pounding and sweating profusely.
While nightmares show us what we are afraid of in our psychological lives, dreams can also show us what is causing illness in our physical bodies. Patricia Garfield, Ph.D, has written a book called The Healing Power of Dreams in which she explains how to use your dreams to help your body heal itself, based on scientific research and personal case histories. She addresses both nightmares and individual dream elements that represent specific body parts, and provides guidance in using visualization and a dream journal to help bring healing to mind and body.
The information we access in our dreams can be useful to ourselves and those who work with us to keep us healthy, such as holistic health practitioners, psychologists and medical doctors. It can be easy to let our dreams pass us by, evaporating like the morning dew as we get out of bed and brush our teeth, getting on with the mundane details of life but missing out on the ephemeral and divine. Dreams are a rich, fertile source of information, power and healing, so don't be too quick to discount something by saying, "it was only a dream." Instead, write that dream down and save it up like a seed in a seed bank. You never know when those seeds might germinate.
Just a reminder, today is Buy Nothing Day (see BND story). Don't worry if you're reading this a little late and have already hit the stores, the star of the just-released documentary What Would Jesus Buy?, Reverend Billy of The Church of Stop Shopping, is on hand to take your consumerism confessions via his online confessional. No Hail Mary's necessary, just a quick prayer to honor Winona Ryder, the Patron Saint of Buy Nothing Day, and absolution from shopping sin and eternal debt can be yours.
The WGA Strike: A Love Story Credits: Produced by Danny Zuker and Tim Kelleher. Directed by Tim Kelleher. Featuring Danny Zuker and Zack Rosenblatt.
(If player doesn't load, click HERE to view.)
I know. Many of us feel like we’re still digesting Thanksgiving dinner (and with all those leftovers, some of us likely are). We’ve been inundated with post-Thanksgiving sales, and the kitchen may very well still be a mess. At a glance, maybe it’s not the best time for further social gallivanting? Well, the Gemini Full Moon would like you to reconsider.
For Pagan and Wiccan traditions honoring both a Goddess and a God, the cycles of the moon served both as clock and representation of the more female, mystical elements. (The 13 yearly moon cycles contribute to the “magic” associated with this number.) The Full Moon represented the Goddess at her fullest and most powerful, and is therefore a day of potent magical energy and psychic attunement. A closer look at other astrological factors can elucidate where and how this energy is best directed.
Saturday, November 24th at 6:29am PST marks a Full Moon in Gemini – and a festive second kick-off to the winter’s holiday season. While your personal astrological sign impacts your individual horoscope, the following trends are applicable to us all:
A Gemini Moon is a perfect time to address communication, creativity, networking, and sociability. To make best use of these factors, maybe host a social gathering among friends as balance to what is often a family-heavy Thanksgiving holiday. You might expand your networking circle and fill the room with diverse perspectives, as the Gemini Full Moon is a fantastic time for study and philosophy, and that wonderful Gemini lightheartedness should keep disagreements at bay. Just be careful! While airy Gemini is great for celebration, this moon can also be a little unpredictable, a fact heightened by the opposing Sun in Sagittarius. So if the recent holidays have rattled you, or a large gathering feels like a stretch, embark instead on an evening of heartfelt bonding with trusted friends. Whatever the venue, socialization this Saturday is sure to satisfy.
Barbie 2007 Holiday Collector Doll: $37.88, 8 GB iPhone: $399.00, 60 GB PlayStation 3: $ 584.99, a debt-free life and peace of mind: priceless.
In their spirited new documentary producer Morgan Spurlock and director Rob VanAlkemade follow the self-proclaimed Reverend Billy as he takes his Church of Stop Shopping Gospel Choir and his Not Buying It Band on a cross-country crusade against the commercial supersizing of Christmas. A street performer with a mission, Rev Billy (aka Bill Talen) takes his mobile ministry from its humble roots on the streets of New York's Times Square to the ultimate temple of corporate America, The Mall of America, his journey culminating on Christmas Day at the street of false dreams where the Devil with big ears lives in Disneyland.
The Church of Stop Shopping's vocation is to get us to question our buy-now-pay-later society that damns most of us to a future of eternal debt. We spend about one hour per week doing spiritual activities and an average of 5 hours a week shopping. Our nation now has a savings deficit, meaning we're walking through life in the red. The mostly unnecessary stuff we buy takes us further into the darkness of debt, the momentary pleasure of acquisition often being at the cost of abusive labor practices in far off lands - and jobs at home.
Of course we can't completely cease to shop, we even see Rev. Billy sheepishly buying gas after his vegetable oil bio-fuel freezes overnight at a particularly cold stop on his tour, he's just asking us to pause before we purchase. And through the subjects interviewed in What Would Jesus Buy? we begin to understand why. We see a generation who knows the cost of everything but the value of nothing: a young male who's feelin' the Christmas spirit by buying a brand new set of rims, and a teenage girl who dreams of living in a mall.
By the end of the film Rev. Billy's crazy evangelical antics start to look sane against our own frenzied consumerism. You won't find peace of earth in a shopping mall, so take a break from buying, avoid the shopocalypse and give the gift of your time and your love this holiday season. Hallelujah, or change-a-lujah as the good Reverand would proclaim.
Michael Moore's documentary Sicko, about the unhealthy state of healthcare in the United States, has made the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' shortlist for an Oscar nomination for Best Documentary. Also on the list is another Daily Mantra favorite, The Price of Sugar, about the scandal that lies behind almost every spoonful of sugar. The final five nominations from this shortlist of fifteen will be announced on Jan 22nd, with the 80th annual Oscar ceremony taking place on February 24th.
Sicko was released on DVD earlier this month, with the Special Edition (available at Amazon.com and Blockbuster) featuring over 80 minutes of additional footage. Even if you've already seen the movie, it's well worth getting your hands on the DVD just for the extras.
One of the choice clips (click HERE to view) from Moore's excellent bonus material covers a foray to Norway, which Moore deemed to "scary" to include in his original film. The Daily Mantra has visited Norway, and can understand why; In Norway 97% of the wealth generated from the country's state controlled oil reserves goes into a fund for the welfare and betterment the people. The revenue pays for arts programs, a years-worth of maternity leave for mothers, and two week tropical vacations for those whose health is compromised by the country's long winters.
Rather than being (mis) managed by greedy corporate moneymen or corrupt politicians, this fund is looked after by a state appointed philosopher whom Moore interviews. "The idea is we don't spend this money now, we can spent the surplus, but the capital itself should be kept for future generations, because basically this has been built up over two to three million years, and we shouldn't spend it in fifty years," explains State Philosopher Hynrik Syse. "This is something I see cutting across the political spectrum, in that all emphasize this need to pull together, to take care of those that are weakest, and at the same time preserving a tolerance and respect for difference."
Wow. Imagine if America's oil wealth was used to fund our education, health, and social services. Imagine if our politicians planned for the future good of the people, rather than merely for short term political gain. Imagine if the ill could concentrate on getting better rather than how they're going to bear the financial burden of their sickness, and the old could look forward to a worry-free retirement after a lifetime in the workforce. Sicko shows it's possible. There are alternatives, if we could only stop fearing the unknown -- and two simple but scary words -- universal healthcare. An Oscar-worthy endeavor indeed.
You might find yourself frustrated at times because you haven't reached the goals you set for yourself once long ago. But maybe goals aren't always meant to be reached, but instead serve a purpose in getting us to move in the right direction. The universe may have better reasons for your desire to be a musician. Maybe it's to meet just the right people or to guide you to a more ideal career you would never have been able to imagine otherwise.
As we travel towards our dreams, we may discover avenues that we would never have noticed had we not started walking down one particular street. But once we can see them, we might discover that our true destiny lies down one of these side roads, a unique one made only for us.
Chellie Campbell in her book The Wealthy Spirit explains it this way: "As you pursue a goal, you accumulate knowledge and develop skills and abilities. Some of these are related to the goal you have chosen, but many are not. All of these new insights and abilities percolate inside you until, one day, you see another goal; something you couldn't have seen from the place you started when you picked the original goal. From this new vantage point, another goal becomes clear. Now that you see the new goal, it looks shinier and brighter than the original goal. And you change goals."
So be sure to take time to evaluate if the goal you are pursuing is still your heart's desire, and if it isn't, look around at the side lanes that have come into view, and choose a more appealing route for your journey through life.
A ghostly customer showed up at Marathon Gas in Parma, OH recently and was caught on the station's security tape (click HERE to view). A vivid blue image is seen floating around before flying off after about half-an-hour. Local customers who viewed the tape had a number of theories. Some thought the apparition was an angel, while others thought the eerie vision was a spirit from an old Indian reservation, though all agreed the price of gas today is enough to spook anyone.
Many of us wouldn't think of plunking down ten dollars of our money and two hours of our time to see a movie without first checking in with the critics. Given the amount of time, energy and, yes, even money that some spiritual teachers require, mightn't checking them out in advance be a good idea as well? Websites like RottenTomatoes.com make it easy for moviegoers to hedge their bets before heading out to the multiplex. Now, spiritual seekers can also benefit from a bit of outside input. Sarlo's Guru Rating Service provides a would-be devotee with fair warning or heartening encouragement - depending upon the reputation of the prospective master.
The often humorous, sometimes sardonic site does a wonderful job of bringing the lofty and exalted back down to earth. Ratings range from three Buddhas ("the greats, helping many") to half of one Buddha ("bogus, may have some value, who knows") to even, for the likes of Jim Jones, an empty set symbol ("worse than bogus, no redeeming value").
If one popular instruction for how to achieve enlightenment, "lighten the &%$# up," is valid, then the wisecracking Sarlo might even be considered a spiritual teacher of sorts. Or perhaps instead (especially if we take his many disclaimers at their word) we should liken him to a guidance counselor doing his best to steer readers in useful directions. (Of course - as Sarlo himself might caution - ideally, your inner guidance will serve as your ultimate authority regarding all your choices, spiritual and otherwise.)
Don't miss the page of inadvertently hilarious hate mail that Sarlo has received from defensive followers outraged on one or another guru's behalf. These folks (who take it upon themselves to warn Sarlo about the supposedly bad karma he is accruing) may still need a few lessons in detachment, tolerance, forgiveness and the like. After all, if their beloved teacher really is all that and a bunch of lotus blossoms, they can relax and stop worrying. The truth, and anyone who embodies it, needs no defense.
Curious to see how your favorite Buddhist teacher, New Age author or Hindu sage rates? You may well find him or her among the nearly 1,500 individuals listed and evaluated. Spend enough time and undoubtedly you will discover new teachers as well. The site, which links to the various spiritual websites, serves as a fun and fascinating portal to a variety of teachings, some of them quite useful. And for that, as well as for the many chuckles it has provided, we here at Daily Mantra give Sarlo's Guru Rating Service two thumbs up!
Da Vinci Code prequel Angels & Demons has become the first blockbuster casualty of the Writers' Guild strike. The film was scheduled go into production in February 2008, but Sony Studio bosses announced on Friday that the project, which was adapted from Dan Brown's book by Da Vinci Code screenwriter Akiva Goldsman, would be put on hold. "While the filmmakers and the studio feel the screenplay is very strong, we do not believe it is the fully-realized production draft required of this ambitious project," said Sony spokesman Steve Elzer. Tom Hanks and Ron Howard had been set to reprise their respective roles as star and director. The much anticipated movie, which was slated for a December 2008 release, is now expected to hit screens in the first quarter of 2009. In the meantime, with Tom Hanks' alter-ego Robert Langdon in shackles, who will defeat the Illuminati and their dastardly plan to blow up the Catholic Church's elite as they meet in the Vatican City to elect a new pope?
. It's about a Giant who collected good dreams and gave them to kids - as if any one of us could have one. (Side note: I'm not sure why a movie of this story has never been made, as it is in my opinion his best book - better than 
, 
, 
The Witches
and 
– all of which have been committed to film.)
is jam packed with fascinating accounts of everyday people who, through their dreams, demonstrated remarkable powers of precognition. No one he describes, however, outshines 
. Besides telling great stories, Moss also provides invaluable guidance. For instance, 
A church in Minnesota is taking some rather unusual action in response to the prohibition of gay marriage: It's considering refusing to marry straight people until the gay marriage ban is lifted. Intended to redress the current imbalance, the course of action was first put forward by a straight parishioner of the 
In response to the Communist Chinese government's 
Looking to procrastinate with a clear - even virtuous - conscience? Look no further than 
A bus company is offering discount bus travel in return for used cooking oil to power its bio-fueled fleet in a ground-breaking pilot scheme in the U.K.. Households along the Service 1 bus route in Kilmarnock, Scotland have been given free containers to collect their used oil in, which they can exchange for discount travel vouchers at their local recycling plant.
41-year old British humorist 
Hey, is that just photoshopped or did a lion really lie down with a lamb? Whichever the case, heartfelt thanks and a deep bow to Sadiq Alam whose blog, 
One of the most important roles a woman may choose to take on is motherhood. Those who don't adopt face the milestone of giving birth; a major and miraculous event with physical, emotional and spiritual components. While families and friends may be present and willing, not everyone is knowledgeable, experienced or even very good at care-giving when facing their own family-related issues. And that is where a doula can help.
Dream expert Robert Moss has written another inspiring book encouraging readers to pay closer attention to what they may otherwise overlook. A culture's values are reflected in its language, and the book's title, <
, cryptically highlights our own culture's lamentable tendency to disregard intangibles. Dreams, coincidences and imagination are the three oft-dismissed phenomena in question. Although "it's only an equation" and "it's only a contract" are never likely to become colloquialisms, without batting an eye, we have all used the phrases: "only a dream," "only a coincidence," and "only my imagination."
In the land of dreams there may be untold pleasures awaiting you on your arrival, or you may fly effortlessly above patchwork fields and through fluffy white clouds, but not all dreams are happy and fluffy. Most people can remember the panic and terror they felt after awakening from a nightmare, and the fear of falling asleep and finding yourself in the midst of the same dream once again. Nightmares can be some of the scariest situations we find ourselves in because of the very fact that they are created from our own personal registry of fears and anxieties. Nightmares often represent parts of ourselves we have disowned or are fearful of. Like the snake eating its own tail, we chase ourselves through dark alleys and derelict buildings until something shocks us awake. Then we sit bolt upright in our bed, alone in the dark, heart pounding and sweating profusely.
Just a reminder, today is Buy Nothing Day (
I know. Many of us feel like we’re still digesting Thanksgiving dinner (and with all those leftovers, some of us likely are). We’ve been inundated with post-Thanksgiving sales, and the kitchen may very well still be a mess. At a glance, maybe it’s not the best time for further social gallivanting? Well, the Gemini Full Moon would like you to reconsider.
Michael Moore's documentary 
You might find yourself frustrated at times because you haven't reached the goals you set for yourself once long ago. But maybe goals aren't always meant to be reached, but instead serve a purpose in getting us to move in the right direction. The universe may have better reasons for your desire to be a musician. Maybe it's to meet just the right people or to guide you to a more ideal career you would never have been able to imagine otherwise.
Many of us wouldn't think of plunking down ten dollars of our money and two hours of our time to see a movie without first checking in with the critics. Given the amount of time, energy and, yes, even money that some spiritual teachers require, mightn't checking them out in advance be a good idea as well? Websites like 
Don't miss the page of inadvertently hilarious 
Da Vinci Code prequel Angels & Demons has become the first blockbuster casualty of the Writers' Guild strike. The film was scheduled go into production in February 2008, but Sony Studio bosses announced on Friday that the project, which was adapted from