DREAM SAGA 4

Of dreams, there are three basic kinds . . . S.L.

I have written of dreams before:

DREAM SAGA 1

DREAM SAGA 2

DREAM SAGA 3

Most dreams are simply the brain cleansing itself of the previous days myriad of thoughts and impressions. It only makes sense that this is why they dissolve and go away, leaving behind no memory.

Other dreams have deep psychological meaning, or represent problems in life and may include clues toward their solution. Last night I dreamt such a dream.


COOL DREAM . . . VERY SURREAL . . .

It was a military situation . . . of course in the dream-world, its not like any military situation I've ever been in. We're involved with these very large military vehicles, almost the size of combine harvesters.

End of mission, return to base . . .

For some reason somebody was fussing about gas masks - or as we call them in the Army "pro masks" (for 'protective masks'). Some admin guy, some kind of headquarters puke, wanted us to make sure our gas masks fit . . . change out the filter, clean the things . . . they kept going on and on about gas masks . . .

I'm thinking, "Eff a bunch of gas masks!" NBC - Nuclear-Biological-Chemical - stands for "NoBody Cares" - right?

So we're going down the road . . . I'm sitting some kind of deck portion of the gigantic armored personnel carrier, enjoying the sunshine with my M4 across my lap.

We're moving through a semi-rural area, buildings of bare cement in various states of decay on either side of us. It reminds me of West Africa.

Then, the way things move fast in dreams, the street is filled with clouds and clouds of tear gas, thicker than fog. Then all of a sudden, there are these assholes emerging from the clouds of gas!

They're wearing gas masks of course and - get this: business suits - and they're armed with 12-gauge pump shotguns.

Suddenly the whole gas mask issue is very important!

I get my mask on faster than anybody in the entire history of NBC. The seal isn't right around my chin so I catch a whiff of gas. I go ahead and do the overpressure and suction test and the mask is on nice and tight.

Then I'm at my position at the railing of the giant fighting vehicle I'm on and we're shooting down these assholes in business suits. Shotgun balls are flying everywhere but at this range our rifles have the advantage and we're slaying them. Shooting them down like dogs in the street!

Then I woke up. This was obviously one of those symbolic psychological dreams . . . gunning down shotgun-toting guys in business suits wearing gas masks . . . talk about SYMBOLOGY!

What did it mean? Me versus Wall Street? Me versus Corporate America?

Doesn't make sense- those are my benefactors. I'm a corporate soldier, after all.

. . . me versus the IRS would be more like it . . .

Woke up, got out of bed . . .

I got into work and they blindsided me with three hair-on-fire issues. I fielded them. Then when I finally had a minute for a cup of coffee, another member of the security team, Tom - an ex-New Jersey State Trooper - sat down across the table. I don't know why but for some odd reason I told him that if he knew what was going on inside my head he'd probably refer me to the shrink on the aberrant behavior plan. Our organization's security plan includes a very comprehensive plan against the insider-gone-bad risk.

Instead, Tom didn't even bat an eyelid. "Watcha got, Snake Eater?"

So I told him my dream.

Tom's analysis was very insightful. He began by saying there are 2 types of dreams, and he mentioned aspects of the dream phenomenon which I've discussed before. He described a common theme in cop dreams is the sidearm they carry. They may fire it but the bullets go very slow as if underwater, and fall to the ground in front of them. Or they shoot their adversary and the bullets have no effect. Or perhaps they cannot even draw it; their gun is stuck and will not become free of the holster. The gun looms large in the cop subconscious; they always carry it, and with it they have the power to take a life.

Tom pointed out the gas masks seem to be a focal point in the dream. He said that whatever the problem is, it manifests itself as a BIGGER problem represented in the dream by the assholes in the business suits.

This immediately made perfect sense to me, because I have side projects going that I'm not focusing on - like the gas mask I blow off in beginning of the dream. It is telling that the gas mask is carried in it's carrier on the side, opposite of whatever side you carry your sidearm. Anyway the dream interpretation makes absolute sense, right on down to the business suits - my projects are business-related. I guess I'd better pay attention to those nagging little voices in my head - represented here by the gas mask issue . . . in the War Business we have a saying:

"The enemy diversion you're ignoring is their main attack."

These days the trouble is I'm focusing so hard on my main operation, my other business projects are falling by the wayside. This is not good, of course. Trying to make time for everything is tricky; regular work is keeping me so damn busy!! My subconscious is sending me a message:

. . . time long overdue to give Skullhead, Ann-of-A-Thousand-Days and the Bavarian a call . . . follow up on a few things . . .

STORMBRINGER SENDS