I notice I have a lot of posts about dreams. I am a frequent and vivid dreamer, and the contents often entertain me. So here is another one.

First, I would just like to say that I have disproven the entire premise of the movie 'Dreamscape': you do not die in real life if you die in your dreams.

Underneath the church building I attended as a child there are dirt-floored tunnels which I believe were used as access to the pipes and such under the building. As a child these were fun to explore. In this dream, I was back at that church building with some guy who was the host of a TV show (though there were no camera crews with us at the time. And I don't recall if he was a real person or an invention of my dream). So I told him we should go explore these tunnels. He seemed hesitant, thinking perhaps I was luring him to his doom, as he didn't know me very well, and so I went first. The tunnel was filled with storage, and I commented on this, telling him none of that stuff had been there before. On my left was a shelf were some bags, and behind one there was a noise and movement. I thought perhaps it was a rat or something. I paused a moment before proceeding forward.

Soon I saw a girl standing in front of some curtains. At first I was confused why she was in the tunnel. I knew her-she had been a student of mine when I was an ESL teacher. She led me around the corner and there, sitting on and around a car in front of some nice townhouses,  sat every Mexican I have ever met. My first thought was, 'Are they living down here?' (I did not think it strange there was a street of clearly-outdoor townhouses in the tunnel). I thought maybe they had all decided to slip back in Canada illegally and hide under the church. But I soon found out that I was in fact dead, and they were there to escort me into the afterlife.

I didn't know what had killed me. It could have been the TV host, and it could have been whatever I saw moving behind the bag on the shelf. It could have been something else. I didn't know. But I knew I was dead. Actually I felt pretty good. I noticed right away that my body was more energized and wouldn't be subject to things like hunger or fatigue. And the street of townhouses was pretty new and clean and sunny, so it was a nice place. So I got to chatting with the Mexicans as we walked down the street. And then I woke up.

Final thought: There is a lot of fuss about illegal immigrants from Mexico. We all seem pretty afraid they'll take our jobs and drain our social welfare programs. But here's the thing: maybe, just maybe, the Mexicans get to decide who gets into Heaven, so you should think twice before turning them around at the gate or they might do the same to you when it REALLY counts.

I had a couple interesting dreams about God many years ago which I don't know if I've ever shared with anyone. I have no reason to believe there is truth to them, but they did cause me to look at God in an interesting new way.

Both dreams occurred while I was serving a mission for the LDS church. In the first dream, I found myself settled down next to a large building which looked like a temple. There was nothing remarkable about the place at this point, though I looked around with a lot of curiosity, wondering if I could see any angels or other interesting heavenly beings. (I had not been told by anyone that this was heaven, but I felt it instinctively). There was a time lapse, as is common in dreams, and I found myself in a room inside that temple with a few friends from my childhood. We were engaged in activities that I knew would be frowned upon in heaven. Though we were already in heaven, we didn't dare leave the room for fear of the condescension or punishment that might be inflicted we leave our room. But soon I realized I would be stuck in that small room forever, and whatever it was we were doing was making me somewhat miserable and I wanted out. I overcame my fear and left the room, though my friends did not come with me. I immediately felt a sense of wonder and peace, and there was no condescension or discipline at all from the beings outside the room. It was merely my own fear and previous unwillingness to follow the rules that had kept me trapped in that little room.

I soon found a woman cooking sausages in a small kitchen. I knew instantly this was my Heavenly Mother (for those of you unfamiliar with LDS teachings, we believe God the Father has an actual body, he is a different personage than the Son, and it is generally accepted that he is married, and we refer to his wife as Heavenly Mother, though she is seldom referred to in doctrinal literature). Anyways she was absolutely the most beautiful person I had ever seen in my life. She wasn't glowing or anything as we often imagine heavenly beings. In fact she looked remarkably human, except her physical perfection far surpassed anyone I'd ever seen. She had dark curly hair and was wearing casual clothing. She had perfect skin and an ageless look-youthful but wise. I can't recall her face clearly now, but during the dream I was amazed at seeing how perfect she looked. She was cooking for a 'small gathering' of 1500 of her and the Father's closest friends. I saw the tables that had been set up and remember thinking how large a setup it seemed, but to her this was really a quiet, intimate gathering of a few close friends. I soon saw God the Father speaking to some people. I wanted to talk to him but he was quite engaged with some other people making preparations for the dinner. Therefore in this dream I only spoke with Heavenly Mother. But I remember how perfect Heavenly Father looked, and that it was nothing like people imagine in pictures and movies. He was clean shaven, and had blond, well-kempt hair. He was extremely muscular-more so than anyone I have ever seen, but not all veiny and gross like some body builders. In fact it was quite a becoming look.  He too was an image of perfection, while simultaneously looking more normal and human than I would have thought.

The only other part of this dream that I recall was near the end, where I was talking to Heavenly Mother and a trampoline was pulled out as Heavenly Father liked trampolines. Yes, that seems odd. The importance I felt was that God did in fact have his own individuality and interests. I wanted to talk to him, but he was down below where I was sitting with Heavenly Mother. She told me to fly down there and talk to him, which I was surprised to learn I could do, but then I woke up.


The second dream was a bit shorter but also interesting. I saw Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother building a small house next to a large castle. The house was a unique design but nothing special. Heavenly Father was cutting 2 X 4's on a pair of sawhorses, and Heavenly Mother was just sitting on a sawhorse and kind of hanging out with him. I was surprised at how perfect God's work was, and that he was doing it by hand. He could saw through the wood in a single thrust and leave no imperfections or marks along the cut. And all his angles were perfect. It amazed me again that here was an all powerful being doing manual labor, but in such a perfect way that it was kind of more amazing than if he had simply commanded the elements to make a house for him. I asked why they were building such a small house when they had that big castle. God had built that castle before, but now it was full of servants and other people and they just wanted a little place for themselves. He said he could in fact simply command the house to be built, but there was some sort of reward of doing it by hand.

Anyways I have no reason to believe that these dreams were accurate indications of God or Heaven, but I do believe in the symbolism that was portrayed. I believe God is a real person like us, but in a perfected state. I believe he is a unique being with his own personality and interests. And I believe he has a wife and family (of which we are part), not merely a bunch of creatures created and designed to worship him, and also that he is not alone, nor would he be God if he were alone. Exaltation-Godhood-is a family affai

I had a lucid dream last night. One of those ones that was so clear that even for a moment after I woke up, I thought it had been real. Very strange considering the content, which I'll explain later. The sad thing was it was very disappointing to realize that it was not real. I don't think dreams should be allowed to be more interesting than real life. It's sort of a cruel trick of nature that makes us wake up in the morning and think about how much suckier life is. (Now before you get all up in my grill for saying this, I'm not saying my life is sucky. It's pretty good. Just sucky in comparison).

So here's the dream. I went to apply for a job at CIC (Citizenship and Immigration Canada). They were in a small but very nice mausoleum or Greek temple-y sort of building. The workers were mostly in a beautiful garden out back doing something that wasn't related to work. They commented about how backed up they were but just laughed about it. I think there was one person inside actually working. At any rate, it was an idyllic workplace in that it was pretty laid back, quiet, and a beautiful building and grounds. I was pretty excited to drop off my resume.

The next day I went back. I didn't have an interview yet, but I wanted to follow up on my submission. When I got there, I saw a centaur sparring with some Greek guy in front of the building. Now, even in my dream, I knew centaurs weren't supposed to exist, and so I thought that this was indeed going to be a very interesting workplace. I felt like I had just signed on with the fantasy equivalent of Men in Black. It was cool. Well, the Centaur (who I instinctively felt was Chiron) started sparring with me, and I did ok. The Greek man he had been sparring with prior was Telemachus, whose name I recognized but didn't remember who it was until after I woke up (Odysseus' son).

Anyway, I had a little chat with Chiron and found out he already knew who I was and that he had known my parents back in Alberta. I felt my appearance at the CIC at this time was somehow guided by either Providence or Chiron himself, and that I was to be assured the position. I was so happy to have found all this, and wanted to see what new things other than centaurs I might discover. Sadly, I woke up, and have not seen a centaur since.

The lesson: I have to make my life so incredibly awesome that never again will I wake up disappointed after a dream.