I Told You So

Back in March, on the 5th actually, I posted twice, writing to you about a dream I had that morning and sharing a lovely synchronicity from later that day. Today I caught up to the media storm around Anne Rice quitting Christianity and all I can say is, I told you so.

What I mean is, isn't it marvelous the way dreams prepare us for future events? If you read what I said then in both posts of this blog thread and listen to what Ms Rice is saying publicly, I believe you'll see the future glimpsing dynamic of dreams in effect. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5Wb5CnYrmA

On a deeply personal level, I applaud her and thank her for her courageous, intelligent and articulate public statements. She's a remarkable woman opening a dialogue that has been long in coming.

I titled the dream I'm referring you to "Remember Who You Are." It's so important to stay true to my spiritual certainty in the face of organized, big business religion telling me I'm not worthy in "gods" eyes. My dreams assure me I'm worthy, as can yours. The spiritual connection to who we are at our deepest core is a dialogue within ourselves that leads us to our true Self. It is a dialogue with our Soul; we don't need the intervention of others, nor should we project our life interpretation on to others. In Active Dreaming,Robert teaches that we should be careful not to project our interpretations on others' dreams; we can play with understanding others'dreams by making them our own, a rule of Lightning Dreamwork. We can understand another soul by walking in their mocassins, not by sitting in judgment.

To give over spiritual authority to some "ordained"leader who does not consider himself or herself just as vulnerable, human and subject to error as me, to hear someone interpret the word of god for me is like hearing someone tell me what my dream means.

William Blake, that great metaphysical poet described religion as "mind forged manacles." Nothing binds like a paradigm. It's ideology that leads to what Blake lamented in his brilliant poem, "London," "and the hapless soldier's sigh, runs in blood down palace walls." That the ideology of religions world wide at the moment are leading to wars, to just such bloodshed, should be our first clue. I guess, as my dreams have taught me, giving up religion does not mean giving up your Christ. As Jesus himself encouraged, love is the answer and living it is your religion. When some shyster money lender is fleecing you in the temple or causing you undo anguish and guilt, throw the sot out. Jesus took the bull whip to organized religion; what an irony for him that he became it's shill.

I know many, many beautiful people who call themselves Christians and live as they believe Jesus would have them do. Hurray for them. I chose to leave the organized religious scene all together because I didn't want to use my talents to promote an organization I believe manipulates the basic human spiritual instinct and enslaves the human spirit. You don't need to be told how to love Jesus or how to arrive at your truth; you can find out on your own and share it without trying to convert anyone.

I think Anne Rice has done us an amazing public service by speaking out. I'm thankful that my dreams helped me arrive at the same decision a while ago, but she's chosen to use the bully pulpit of her fame at this crucial time in history to raise this issue; it makes her a hero in my eyes, a person risking all that public backlash to speak her controversial truth rather than shut up. Another great metaphysical poet, William Butler Yeats wrote in his poem, The Second Coming, "the best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity." The airwaves are full of hate mongering rhetoric condemning people who don't fit the sanctioned paradigms of organized religions; thank goodness the voice of a good Christian questioning the madness is also being heard.

I'm happy to add my two cents and my two recent dreams. If we all dream together a future of possibilities and then take steps to act our dreams out, then maybe we can change the hateful paradigms that forge malignant ideologies that shackle us and create a world that would make Jesus proud.