Dreams and visions
I may have a limited perspective on this subject, but I believe I have very vivid dreams. They often have long, complicated plots. While all dreams have juxtaposed, surreal elements, mine tend to be coherent narratives.
The other night I dreamed that I left teaching--gave it up. I was taking a job with an insurance company making six figures, and very pleased with myself, although I was conscious in the dream of how much I would miss teaching and that kind of life. Then I saw the actual title of my new position: Executive Vice President in charge of assessment of Cremains (cremation remains).
Assessment is a big term in higher education today, so I guess that's where that came from. But cremation? I had been having some discussions about it. And people in this part of the world think of one thing when you say cremation--Noble, Georgia, the little community where the man who was supposed to cremate bodies from the local funeral homes did not, for several years. This was a disturbing incident because so many people around here were defrauded and so many people believed their loved ones' bodies to be desecrated. So cremation pulls forth a deep reaction in me (that's not to say I am against it in all cases, just that I don't see it clinically).
In my dream, I accepted the new job. I wanted to, but could not, go back to my college position. I had to move on, at least making a lot of money. I could earn enough in a few years to enjoy it.
This is a silly incident, but I do not believe dreams should be discarded. They mean a great deal about what is bothering us, for example. Even more, there are thousands of reports from the Muslim world that dreams of Jesus are leading to conversions. We cannot dismiss those as superstition, even if some of that is involved.
The other night I dreamed that I left teaching--gave it up. I was taking a job with an insurance company making six figures, and very pleased with myself, although I was conscious in the dream of how much I would miss teaching and that kind of life. Then I saw the actual title of my new position: Executive Vice President in charge of assessment of Cremains (cremation remains).
Assessment is a big term in higher education today, so I guess that's where that came from. But cremation? I had been having some discussions about it. And people in this part of the world think of one thing when you say cremation--Noble, Georgia, the little community where the man who was supposed to cremate bodies from the local funeral homes did not, for several years. This was a disturbing incident because so many people around here were defrauded and so many people believed their loved ones' bodies to be desecrated. So cremation pulls forth a deep reaction in me (that's not to say I am against it in all cases, just that I don't see it clinically).
In my dream, I accepted the new job. I wanted to, but could not, go back to my college position. I had to move on, at least making a lot of money. I could earn enough in a few years to enjoy it.
This is a silly incident, but I do not believe dreams should be discarded. They mean a great deal about what is bothering us, for example. Even more, there are thousands of reports from the Muslim world that dreams of Jesus are leading to conversions. We cannot dismiss those as superstition, even if some of that is involved.
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