Power Dreaming

I used to have nightmares.  Terrifying dreams, that would ruin my sleep and leave me clammy in the middle of the night.  So as I got older, I went about systematically squishing down the dreams and pushing them into more manageable forms.

One of the first things we did as young married folk, was explore the concept of lucid dreaming.  That is a dream that you know that you are dreaming inside the dream.   Lucid dreaming cuts down on nightmares.

We would put on music and talk about a theme for dreaming and we would try to 'look at our hands' in the dream.  Our goal was to have the same or similar dreams and to be authors and controllers of them.   Looking at your hands in a dream is a trigger that helps you realize you are dreaming.  It could be anything, I suppose, but that's what we did.  :)

Dan had an out of body experience in a dream or in a near dream like state.   He said he was floating from his body and could see the room, the ceiling, the sky the solar system and was well on his way to leaving the universe when he says, I woke up momentarily, and in my sleepy voice, said. "Danny come back."  He woke up instantly hearing my voice both in his head in the dream and then in real life.   And he felt his soul wind back into his body.   Spooky,  we stopped reading Carlos Castanedas and experimenting with altered Reality for a while.

I have a reoccurring dream that I've had for decades, about a large extremely complicated house set in an amusement park, or a farm, on a hill, round a bay, down the road. and often in a Mediterranean type of setting.  It's filled to the brim, every room with curios and dusty old things, and random possessions of the former occupants.  Even in hotel rooms in my dreams, there are labyrinths and doors to open and explore.   I recognize that I am having the familiar dream, in my dream.  It's like an old friend that visits me.

I used to have endless elevator and metal stairs and lost in the city dreams.  I would lose track of Dan and he would be delayed, then I wouldn't be able to find my way home from there.  I put a stop to that type of dream by deciding that anytime I would get lost, I would call a cab using the money I has put in my shoe.  No more trudging in the alleyways till my feet were blistered for me.

i never forget a face

when i was about 7 i had these.. weird.. freaky.. recurring dreams.  i had this dream for at least a year.. not every night.. but quite frequently.

it was always halloween.
and next door i would go trick or treating.. for some reason only to that house.  and i was always alone.
i would walk slowly up the steps, ring the doorbell, and wait.

now it gets kinda strange.. mind you, i was a kid..

frankenstein's monster and igor.. answer the door.  and i see their faces clear as day.  even now.  i never forget a face.  the monster looked like a tall gaunt older man.. sallow skin, sunken cheeks and blackish bags under his eyes.  igor was, yeah.. short.  but had straight black hair in a bowl cut.. same sallow skin, same blackish circles under the piercing evil eyes.  and he is a.. kid.

they grab me and drag me screaming into the house.

they drag me into the basement and torture me.

the next day.  i am out on the street, wandering in full daylight.  and no one is to be found.

and i wake.  completely freaked.  every time.

FAST FORWARD

im maybe 12 and we get new neighbors.  well.. the nice little old lady next door has a son who's moving back home with his kid. the kid is 13.  mom says steer clear, they are trouble.  we steered clear.  i never once set foot in that house, though my brother and sister and i had many altercations with that kid over the time they lived there. 

i will never forget the day they moved in. 
i remember their faces from my dream.

disrespect

rehearsal was going.. as well as could be expected.  ronnie runs his rehearsals with a lot of chit-chat, guffaws, and gum chewing unprofessionalism.  one afternoon rehearsal with soloists and orchestra, dinner, then right straight into the performance at 7pm.

this was the third time in 9 years jc sang the magnificat with this choir and orchestra.  he was confident, but nervous as always.  two new replacement soloists added to the intensity of the moment.  young kids just out of college, all fluttery and ready to sing.  like puppies you just want to pat on the head and instruct to sit and stay.

small talk began during the choral numbers.  he hated small talk.  especially the kind that included name dropping and 'my teacher this..' and 'my teacher that..'.  and then the inevitable.. 'well, you are a veteran..' rolled right off the tenor's tongue and jc wanted to punch this guy.  instead, he grinned, put on his old geezer glasses, crossed his leg, pulled out his score, and ignored the kid.

the first solo was for the young tenor.  he had a nice, typical conservatory sound.  resonant, heavy, and pushed.  just exactly the sound that gets tenors roles but finishes their careers fairly early. 

and then, it was time for jc to sing.
he stood up. 
and as he stood.. there was a collective gasp behind him.

the tenor was standing too.

why the hell was the tenor standing?

for a brief moment, all eyes were on jc.  shock and embarrassment and then rage coursed through him within seconds.  time seemed to stand still.  everyone was frozen.  the orchestra staring, the choir silent behind him,  ronnie even stopped chewing his gum in his bewilderment.  no one moved a muscle or rustled a page. 

and then he spoke..

ahem.  ronnie, who will be singing this solo?

oh.  i dont really care which of you sings it.  you two duke it out.  ronnie blurted offhandedly.

WHAT? 
-followed by dead silence.

you need to make a decision.

the tenor piped in his two cents.  'doesnt matter to me, old man.'  but didnt take a seat.

ronnie, are you going to make a decision.?

ronnie just stared.. unsure yet unbudging.

jc took a very long, relaxed breath and looked around the room.  all eyes were still riveted to him.  he glanced back at the choir, smiled casually, and took a seat.

rehearsal resumed.  afterward, the tenor leaned in and explained in a somewhat panicky tone, 'ronnie called me and told me to learn the solo.'  jc shrugged.  poor kid was caught in the middle.  let him have his moment.


it would be a long time before he ever sang with this organization again.

BRAVO for the visuals