Friday, February 13, 2009

Dreaming and recall

When I was young, I would occasionally remember my dreams rather vividly. There are some that I can relive clearly in my mind's eye even to this day.

As an adult, I haven't been able to recall many of my dreams when I wake each morning. However, over the past few weeks, I've been remembering snippets of dreams. Visual splinters that I hope to piece together to make sense of them and reawaken my consciousness. I've realized that as I've gotten older I've become hyper-rational, overly analytical, and much more "grounded". I've become a prisoner to the physical plane of existence.

It's always been hard for me to tap into my arcane spiritual side. But the few times I've breached that wall, I would lament not being to tap into it as easily as others around me have. I suspect my own personal psychological barriers were created during my childhood (all part of my memory suppression).

I don't really know why I haven't tried to return to that state of curiosity, of exploration, and of open-mindedness that I had when I was a teen and young adult... but I can always try again. Now that I'm remembering my dreams, even if they come to me in fragments, I'm craving more. I try and go to bed with the thought of being able to recall my dreams in the morning. Though, I can't say with any certainty that this is the reason why I'm recalling more dreams and dream fragments, I am happy that it is happening now.

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Last night's 'clip':
I was driving in my car down a straight road in the day time. I think there was a passenger next to me but I'm not sure. While driving I saw roadkill - I'm certain it was a raccoon - in middle of my lane. I swerved slightly to the right avoid it.

That was all I remembered but apparently, after looking up the elements of the dream, there is a lot that I can take out of this. Below is the breakdown from each component of the dream.

Roadkill
To see roadkill in your dream, represents unavoidable death. The death may be a symbolic death representing an end to a habit, behavior or idea. It is time to let go of old habits and put those ideas to rest, as you are only prolonging the inevitable. Alternatively, it suggests that there is some issue in your past that is hindering your pursuit of your goals.

Animals
To see animals in your dream, represents your own physical characteristic, primitive desires, and sexual nature, depending on the qualities of the particular animal. Animals symbolizes the untamed and uncivilized aspects of yourself. Refer to the specific animal in your dream.

To dream that you are saving the life of an animal, suggests that you are successfully acknowledging certain emotions and characteristics represented by the animal.

Raccoon
To see a raccoon in your dream, signifies deceit, thievery, and of false friends secretly conspiring against you.

Driving
To dream that you are driving a vehicle, signifies your life's journey and your path in life. The dream is telling of how you are moving and navigating through life. Alternatively, driving a car in your dream, is analogous to your sex life and sexual performance. Consider how you are driving and what kind of car you are driving and how it relates to your waking sex life.

Car/Automobile
To dream that you are driving a car denotes your ambition, your drive and your ability to navigate from one stage of your life to another. Consider how smooth or rough the car ride is. If you are driving the car, then you are taking an active role in the way your life is going. Overall, this dream symbol is an indication of your dependence and degree of control you have on your life.

To dream that you are riding in an automobile, signifies that even in pleasant situations, you will still be restless and uneasy.

Day
To dream of a sunny day, symbolizes clarity and/or pleasantness. You are seeing things clearly.

Street/Road
To see a street in your dream, symbolizes your life's path. The condition of the street reflects how much control you have over the direction of your life.

To see a road in your dream indicates your sense of direction and pursuit of your goals. If the road is straight and narrow, then it means that your path to success is going according as planned.

Right
To dream of the right, represents conscious reality, deliberate action and rational thoughts. It may also be a pun on the rightness of an idea, decision, or plan. The dream is offering encouragement and telling you that you are doing the right thing or that you are on the right path. Alternatively, perhaps you need to stand up for your "rights". Or it may also represent your right leaning political views.
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Food for thought...

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On a completely tangential side note... I'm about a week away from consistently being below 200 pounds!! WOOHOO!!!
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Until next time, faithful reader...

Thursday, February 12, 2009

The Formula for Baby Nicknames + Another MCB

[Note: This entry was inspired by a close friend and his adorable offspring]


Welcome back friend,

(Verb)-y (verb)-er = Cute baby nicknames

Yes.

Believe it or not, that fairly simple and straightforward formula works pretty well for creating instant nicknames for infants and toddlers. It seems to be best used with monosyllabic verbs but that rule is not etched in stone so feel free to use it any way you'd like.

Here's an example of how the formula has been used: Over the past several months, my friend's daughter (who is now around 14 months old) has taken to grabbing things around the house. Hence, if we use the verb 'grab', she is now a "grabby grabber".

I'm sure once she starts drinking out of cups instead of a bottle, she'll be a "sippy sipper". She may only have a handful of teeth now but she is def a "smiley smiler". I can go on and on with this.

Clearly, this formula isn't quite as cute when used for the later stages of a child's development.
- Poopy pooper
- Screamy screamer
- Date-y dater (uh oh..)
- Kissy kisser (father's worst nightmare?)

And the list goes on and on, boys and girls.

Are there any other nicknames (cute or otherwise) that you've come up with using this formula? Share it in a comment below.

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Today's Musical Coffee Break (02-12-09) is a laid back collection from known and not-so-known artists. On tap, we've got full songs from John Mayer, QotSA, Rosi Golan, Erin McCarley and song clips from Alicia Keys and Jazmine Sullivan.

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I think I'm going to stop promising to post. When I announce an upcoming post, I do it with the intention of posting a new entry in the indicated time. However, it's just been so difficult to make time to actually do it.

I'm still adapting to my new work schedule. I quickly learned that the time a professor spends teaching isn't simply inside the classroom but also includes countless hours spent preparing lessons, creating assignments/exams, and grading assignments/exams. I knew this already going into the gig but the reality of it has finally hit me. This, coupled with the occasional night out (for those keeping track, it is no longer a nightly occurrence... lol), leaves me with little time to write up a blog entry.

I will likely limit myself to short entries, like the one you just read, for the foreseeable future until I adapt to this crazy time in my life.

Until next time, faithful reader...