Maybe I've been reading too much of the Elric series recently, but sometimes I wonder just how much Fate controls our lives and just how much we control our Fates. Do certain events occur as the sum result of our actions? Or were they inevitable from the very beginning?
Twice in my life, the same thing has happened to me. Not just once, but twice. Almost the same exact words were said both times. Just today, someone told me that it was Fate that things kept happening that eventually resulted in the second event.
Are we merely playthings of Fate? Or is Fate merely a form of self-created torment?
Sunday, July 10, 2005
Sunday, July 03, 2005
Dreams:
Somewhere Over the Rainbow or Way Over Yonder
Dreams- The random chaos of our subconscious? Or foretellings from some higher power? Supposedly everyone dreams when they reach the depths of REM sleep. Some people remember every single detail of every dream they have. Others don't remember dreaming at all unless they are awoken during the middle of it. Then usually the memories of the dream fade over the course of the day and only the barest details are remembered if the dream had any significance. Otherwise it will be quickly and completely forgotten.
But what about those dreams that do have significance? Are they simply the chaos of our subconscious randomly reorganized by sleep? Or do they mean more?
One day while I was in college, I had a dejavu back to a dream I had in high school. In the dream I was sitting in my high school Spanish class, except it was set up differently (as things tend to be in dreams). And the teacher had just told a joke before passing out something to the class. I was also failing the class in the dream.
About 3 years later...or maybe 4, I was sitting in my college Spanish class. My professor was standing at the podium and had just told a joke before passing out something to the class. I had tested out of the basic Spanish class, but it had been 2 years since I had done anything Spanish related, so I had forgotten a lot and was pretty lost (being dropped into the 2nd part of the class without the 1st part). I think I had a low C in the class at the time, but I was really struggling to even be there (and my high school self would have considered that failing if I had gotten a grade like that in high school). Then suddenly I had the dejavu memory of the "failing Spanish" dream I had back in high school. Strange how memories of such dreams only resurface *when* you are in the situation of the dream, not before.
I've had friends have dreams which could easily fit the reality of their everyday lives. Sometimes events occurred to make the situations in those dreams occur. They thought the dreams were warnings or predictions, but perchance did the person's own subconscious fear that the dream would actually happen bring the fear to life?
Belief is a very fragile state, but when people reinforce it with only what they want to see, they become blinded to everything else. They only see what they want to see because they have convinced themselves that it is the only truth. I know someone who called in sick to work the other day because she just didn't feel like going in. The next day when she got to work, her supervisors sent her home because they thought she still looked sick. They had so thoroughly convinced themselves that she was really sick, that's what they saw when they looked at her.
The same thing happens with relationships. People convince themselves that the person they are currently with is the "right" person until someone more interesting comes along. Then they forget all of the reasons they believed the first person was the "right" person and only see the differences and conflicts with the first person, while they only "see" the similarities and possibilities of the "next" person. That is because they convince themselves to see only what they want to see; to believe only that which fits their desired idea of life.
Then there are the people who attribute everything to God. A freak summer thunderstorm in the middle of a long drive on a relatively clear afternoon is a sign. When the weekend suddenly turns bad the sign turns into a warning. Always seen for only what the person wants to believe will happen.
"God has given me another chance in this," says the person who doesn't know what to believe and only prays as a last resort. And when things go poorly, it is God who has cursed them, who is playing with their life. But perchance did they only see what they wanted to see and blinded themselves to any evidence which would prove otherwise from their desired outcome? And do those dreams we have late at night have any significance at all until we try to add meaning to them and perchance make them into something they are not.....?
But what about those dreams that do have significance? Are they simply the chaos of our subconscious randomly reorganized by sleep? Or do they mean more?
One day while I was in college, I had a dejavu back to a dream I had in high school. In the dream I was sitting in my high school Spanish class, except it was set up differently (as things tend to be in dreams). And the teacher had just told a joke before passing out something to the class. I was also failing the class in the dream.
About 3 years later...or maybe 4, I was sitting in my college Spanish class. My professor was standing at the podium and had just told a joke before passing out something to the class. I had tested out of the basic Spanish class, but it had been 2 years since I had done anything Spanish related, so I had forgotten a lot and was pretty lost (being dropped into the 2nd part of the class without the 1st part). I think I had a low C in the class at the time, but I was really struggling to even be there (and my high school self would have considered that failing if I had gotten a grade like that in high school). Then suddenly I had the dejavu memory of the "failing Spanish" dream I had back in high school. Strange how memories of such dreams only resurface *when* you are in the situation of the dream, not before.
I've had friends have dreams which could easily fit the reality of their everyday lives. Sometimes events occurred to make the situations in those dreams occur. They thought the dreams were warnings or predictions, but perchance did the person's own subconscious fear that the dream would actually happen bring the fear to life?
Belief is a very fragile state, but when people reinforce it with only what they want to see, they become blinded to everything else. They only see what they want to see because they have convinced themselves that it is the only truth. I know someone who called in sick to work the other day because she just didn't feel like going in. The next day when she got to work, her supervisors sent her home because they thought she still looked sick. They had so thoroughly convinced themselves that she was really sick, that's what they saw when they looked at her.
The same thing happens with relationships. People convince themselves that the person they are currently with is the "right" person until someone more interesting comes along. Then they forget all of the reasons they believed the first person was the "right" person and only see the differences and conflicts with the first person, while they only "see" the similarities and possibilities of the "next" person. That is because they convince themselves to see only what they want to see; to believe only that which fits their desired idea of life.
Then there are the people who attribute everything to God. A freak summer thunderstorm in the middle of a long drive on a relatively clear afternoon is a sign. When the weekend suddenly turns bad the sign turns into a warning. Always seen for only what the person wants to believe will happen.
"God has given me another chance in this," says the person who doesn't know what to believe and only prays as a last resort. And when things go poorly, it is God who has cursed them, who is playing with their life. But perchance did they only see what they wanted to see and blinded themselves to any evidence which would prove otherwise from their desired outcome? And do those dreams we have late at night have any significance at all until we try to add meaning to them and perchance make them into something they are not.....?
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