Psychology for Dummies

Regarding the dream i mentioned in my last Blog, I have given it some thought, off and on over the last couple of days. Not that I'm neurotic or anything. "I'm not mad, just angry" (bonus points if anyone knows the film I paraphrased that from). Like most dreams you can't take things literally so the sides in conflict were not important just the fact that there was conflict. Two waring factions representing the myriad of conflicts around the world. I think it weas significant that I was in the middle between them and my family was the target. First of all, I am a fairly easy going sensible, thoughtful person with no particular political bias. I am prepared to see all sides of an argument and weigh up facts and perspectives before taking a stance. I will support and condem a "side" with equal measure depending on actions and outcomes. No issue is Black and White because perspectives change perception. What i want is a safe, peacefull and equitable world for all to live in. Not unreasonable if not realistic. Usually such a person, community, country will find themselves in between waring factions or conflicting sides. Secondly, my family is the most important thing to me and therefore losing them is my greatest fear. A world in conflict puts them at risk. Particularly children. Children should be neutral since they cannot chose sides. Children should be off limits. Children should not be casualties or soldiers. So, in my dream, I represented sanity and my family represented the risk and victims. I suppose the waring sides could have been anyone if it were not for the current events in the middle east. At no time in recorded history has there ben a period where there was no conflict in the world. Crazy when you think about it. The crumbling stadium is interesting. I feel it represents the world. It is the amphitheatre of our lives. It is also crumbling and decaying. The Roman empire at it's peak, when all were conquered and absorbed into the empire, it was probably the most peaceful time in greater europe at least. Obviously there were still minor conflicts but perhaps this was the golden time? But the stadium where the conflict took place is long past it's best and decaying rapidly. Could it be that in past time conflict was localised because technological levels limited the spread but now conflict anywhere has a global impact and global risk. The modern world, if it remains on track, is in decay and decline mainly through conflict brought about by political means. Not religious, because fanatical leaders, christian and muslim alike, twist the message of their religion to suit their own political ends. Christianity is divided within itself as is Islam but overall Islam and Christianity have more in common than many would care to admit. like catholics and protestants are christians who worship the same god in different ways so too are Christians and Muslims worshiping the same God in different ways. The main difference being the choice of prophet and the importance of the prophet. I have only read extracts of the Qur'an and I have limited knolwedge of the text but from what I know is that many of the important characters in the Bible are also important in the Qur'an, the angel Gabriel and Jesus (an important prohpet if not the son of God) and His mother Mary. It is unbelievable that we argue over the right way to worship the same God. Can we not celebrate our similarities and let God decide who has the correct interpretation of His message? It's like children squabbling over who mummy loves most when any parent knows that you love your children the same even though each is different. Lets just agree to differ and let God judge us when we die (if you believe in God). I do not beleive God wants us to go on holy crusades but just to communicate, to talk and to listen, to each other.

I guess to sum up, my dream was a manifestation of my desire for a peacful and respectful world when all around me I see only the threat to human life and I am powerless to do anything other than rage against it all. It was a long winded way to get to the summary but I felt the need to order my thoughts so if you reached this far down then good on you. You probably wont get anything out of this and I'm not sure I did either. Oh well, c'est la vie.