I've had dreams like that before too. Dreams where I'm doing things that are totally out of character for what I would ever do in real life.

I personally don't believe that those dreams have 'meaning'. They're just stupid dreams. Period.

They don't have any underlying meaning.

That's what I believe in those cases.

I don't think that every dream we have has to mean something.

Sometimes we just dream absurd dreams.

well that is reassuring to hear. I dream absurd things all the time. Every now and then I'll get a good one in there tho

I think you are probably right. I also feel guilty for not making it all right for all the victims. And, for not standing up to the bad cops. And, for probably a hundred other things that I really had no control over. Thanks, James.

I think most of our dreams are meaningless and just ways our minds deal with fear and frustration. I think that's why many dreams are universal. We have all had similar dreams.

I don't know as I have never really tried this. I'm too scared. JB will most likely know and she'll probably be on later. She recommends an author by the name of Robert Monroe for astral projection.

I think dreams like that do have meaning. I think they are trying to show us something about oruselves that we don't recognize or consciously admit.

Our higher mind works that way to get us to know ourselves.

The ridiculous dream is an example that makes it obvious. While we would not normally act like that in waking life because we know it is ridiculous... but unconsciously we may be blaming others for things that go wrong in our lives.

At a meeting with my two best friends Friday night we did some card readings and got to discussing this. One of my friends made the statement that "nothing is fair." The other also tends to complain about the situation of her life and encourages me to join in.

I told them both that I believe "everything is fair." It may not seem to be fair, but it is. I told them that I take full responsibility for everything in my life including my situation on a day to day basis. I am not just "being responsible" because I agreed to do a particular job years ago...(concerning the care for my parents) ... but that I made that decision every day.

Every day I decide what I will do. Every day I take responsibility for my reality and every small thing that happens to me.

Yes I still grumble and complain but I know that I am responsible for everything. At any time and at any moment I can change my course and walk away from all of it. I choose not to. I am responsible for that decision.

jb

JB, I do understand what you are saying. You make a very good point. However, I can't bring myself to believe that EVERYTHING is fair. Tho I totally agree you are responsible for your actions and decisions, sometimes things happen to you that are out of your control. It doesn't happen because of something you did wrong. It happens because others aren't controling their own actions. Or they are controling it, but have chosen to just do wrong things. My point is you are only responsible for your actions. Not the actions of others and what others do to you. Your only control is how you react to it.

Sometimes, what other people have done to you, isn't fair at all.

I also agree that most of what happens to us is through our own doing. However, I agree with Jill that not everything is fair. Child abuse is not fair and is not the child's fault.

this was always the point I got stuck on under the notion that we create our own reality from day one and in every possible way. No infant or child desires to be raped or abused.

I think we create our own reality when we are able to do so. We aren't born with it... It's something we have to be able to acheive.

I think so Ruth.

There are probably a gazillion issues that you'd like to resolve that, in truth, were unresolvable anyway.

You're probably subconsciously thinking, "I could have done this! I should have done that! What if I would have done this other thing!'

Well, what if?

Futility at it's best.

You may be better off focusing on this issue consciously, or even in meditation.

Well, not focusing, 'on it', but rather focus on 'moving on' from it.

Convince yourself, via affirmation recitals or chants that you did what you could do, that's the past, now you're moving forward.

I'm sure Penczak covered this in the Inner Temple book somewhere. He talks about reprogramming the subconscious by using verbal affirmations.

You literally need to tell your brain over and over again that the past is over and you're doing this now. Whatever this might be!

That's another thing too. If you aren't truly focusing on new goals, that may also contribute to the mind lingering on old issues.

Focusing intently on new goals may help distract the mind from old issues as well.

But verbal affirmations are probably key too. Write up a verbal affirmation that states that you've done all you could do in the past, and it's over now, and now you are moving on toward,.... whatever.

The brain needs to actually HEAR this message, according to Penczak.

We have the ability to program our subconscious. In fact, we do it all the time anyways unknowingly.

The key is to program it knowingly and purposefully. Tell your brain that you've had enough of that old crap and you're moving forward with or without it.

It'll come along because it doesn't want to get left behind.

Truly, this is a bit part of what Penczak was talking about. I can't recall the exact places.

I just finished reading the Inner Temple "superficially". I'm going to go back over it now to re-organize it, and start doing actual lessons.

If I run across specifically places where he talks about 'reprogramming' the brain, owl let you know what pages and chapter.

I just now did a quick flip-through but nothing popped out. I know it's in there though because I remember reading about it.

Get your subconscious focused on other things via Affirmation recitals or chants, and that should definitely help.

Had I known about affirmation incantations back when I was having dreams about my mother I probably could have nipped them in the bud too by convincing my brain that I wasn't responsible.

Like I say, even at the time I knew what the dreams meant, I just didn't know how to stop them.

Affirmation incantations or 'recitals' might have been the ticket.

You can't really say that.

Sure, that would certainly be the truth if we take the view of the Christian philosophy that we came to be at birth.

Then clearly there is no way that a child could be responsible for being absused.

However, once the concept of reincarnation is accepted everything changes.

The apparently 'innocent' child could have been a child abuser in their last life, and now they are just getting a taste of their own medicine.

So to say that they clearly don't 'deserve it' no longer holds the same merit.

Maybe they do deserve it?

How could you know?

I have considered this. However, the conclusion is always then that if they deserve it than we don't need to stop it. If everyone's suffering is brought on by themselves than we should not interefere and "help".

I have a very hard time with this notion.

Most people abuse kids because they were abused as a kid. So if an abuser is reincarnated as a child getting abused, the cycle just continues...

That's true too.

It's certainly not an easy issue.

That's for sure.

And Jill brings up the good point that abused children often become absuers themselves which doesn't seem to fit that model either.

Rather than 'learning' a lesson, they seem to be 'learning' just the opposite.

I certainly wouldn't stand by and watch anyone being absused and just say, "Hmmm? They probably deserve it."

So I guess you have a valid point.

But at the same time, it is the basis of ideas of reincarnation that we bring a 'karma' into this life with us.

I'm not so sure I actually believe in that myself to be perfectly honest about it.

It could be more random than that.

Just like real life.

People go to an amusment park to have fun. Most people just enjoy the party and rides and have fun. But a few get hurt in accidents.

Maybe that's the way the life is.

We all come into life like an as if it's an amusement park for spirits.

Most people have fun. But some get hurt.

It just the risk you take when you play the game.

I certainly agree that there is no excuse for abuse of any kind, child abuse or adult abuse.

But nature herself is cruel. Even if we were to remove all human-caused abuse. Nature herself still absuses people via disease and natural accidents.

Of course, according to Jeanniebean's philosophy you even attract those things to yourself.

I'm not so sure that I'm prepared to accept that we necessarily attract everything.

I think some things truly are just a matter of pure random chance.

I think we just agree to the RISK before we come into this life.

~~~ Edited to add:

As spirits, we probably have a good understanding of just exactly what the risks are.

I've often wondered why life is so SHORT! I mean in even in comparison with geological time much less in comparison with the age of the entire universe.

But maybe life is so SHORT for the sake of those who come into it and suffer from birth horrid deformities, disease, or just plain horrid living conditions they never seem to be able to rise above.

Life is short as a way to get out of the game and try another roll of the dice.

Just a thought.

I dare to hope that an abuser would be reincarnated as a person that has to help other abused children. Somehow fate forces them to be put a position where they have to help a child deal with the pain of being abused. To me, that's the only true way to learn their lesson. One lifetime of abuse is enough. The thought of having to do many lifetimes of abuse is to much to handle.

Okay, I think you may be onto something here. Maybe it's not that we ask for certain horrible things, but I do think we are all here to grow and learn and evolve. So, maybe we are agreeing to live through certain atrocities in order to accomplish that.

So, whether you are the victim or the rescuer, you are evolving. Which means that the abuser is somehow learning and evolving, too. One thing I do know, is that the more I suffer the more I can feel empathy for others who suffer.

AND, when we do something bad in our lives and we recognize it as bad it can help us understand where another person is coming from who does the same bad thing and help them to see a better way. Maybe it's all about evolving to a higher level of living and spiritual being. Maybe.

I think you may be right about this.

It's too horrible to even imagine.