Dreamways

Bella, sent off to finish high school in the state of Washington, “catches the eye of a gorgeous boy in her biology class named Edward. He turns out to be a member of a commune of vampires, who have banded together to fight their inclination to drink human blood." So begins Gail Collins’ synopsis of “The Twilight Saga,” a series of extraordinarily popular books by Stephenie Meyer (“A Virginal Goth Girl,” The New York Times, 12 Jul 08).

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The newspaper photo captures everything that Americans wanted to believe about the Iraq war in the earliest days of the invasion in 2003. A U.S. Army medic, Pfc. Joseph Dwyer, whose unit was fighting its way up the Euphrates to Baghdad, cradles a wounded Iraqi boy. The child is half-naked and helpless, but trusting. Private Dwyer’s face is strained but calm. The text accompanying the photo describes the power of this image. “If there are better images of the strength and selflessness of the American soldier, I can’t think of any.  read more »

“Kentucky pastor charged in poisonous snake trade.” This intriguing headline appeared in The Denver Post (12 Jul 08). The article it led to once again illustrates that waking life can be every bit as strange as any sleep dream. “The pastor of a Kentucky church that handles snakes in religious rites was among 10 people arrested by wildlife officers in a crackdown on the venomous snake trade. More than 100 snakes were confiscated in the undercover sting after Thursday’s arrests, said Col.  read more »

"A New Zealand man who assaulted a teen by hitting him with a spine-covered hedgehog has been fined by a court and ordered to pay most of his fine to his victim. Whakatane District Court was told … that William Singalargh picked up the hedgehog, a small prickly-backed animal similar to the porcupine, and threw it several yards at a 15-year-old boy on Feb. 9. Police said the teen was hit in the leg, causing a large, red welt and several puncture marks.  read more »

For those of us who still harboring doubts as to the value and need for sleep dreams, reporter Robert Moss informs us: "Current research indicates that dreaming has a real, practical function but also that it can spark our imaginations in unexpected ways. Best of all, one doesn’t have to be especially 'adept‘ at dreaming: The power of dreams is accessible to everyone.“ ("Waking Up to Our Dreams“, Parade Magazine, 29 Oct 07) Sleep dreams are not only physiologically necessary, but they also are a source of creativity that is accessible to all of us.  read more »

‘The Song of Deborah and Barak’ from the Old Testament is re-told by Mark Twain in his 1869 best-selling book, The Innocents Abroad, a travelogue Twain penned describing his journey to Europe and The Holy Land with a group of religiously minded American tourists as part of the first-ever luxury cruise. “Somewhere in this part of the country – I do not know exactly where – Israel fought another bloody battle a hundred hears later. Deborah, the prophetess, told Barak to take ten thousand men and sally forth against another king Jabin who had been doing something.  read more »

“Vilnius is a city of dreams.” This compelling assertion appears in an article about the capital city of Lithuania (“Vilnius: Dreaming with Eyes Wide Open,” Baltic Outlook, October/November 2007). Indeed, both Lithuania and its capital have had a number of major dreams come true, with significant goals realized and long-held ideals made manifest.  read more »

"One of the most thrilling trailers for a ‘Superman‘ movie featured no blue tights or red cape. It was just the blue sky. Clouds skimming past. Like you were flying.“ This classic image straight out of sleep dreams is conjured up in a recent Denver Post article entitled "Dreams of Flying Solo … On a wing and a Prayer.“ The article explores human flight without sitting in a machine, which is a common and powerful Sleep Dream experience.  read more »