subliminal

While chatting, or something more akin to discussing, with some friends last night, we came upon the topic of dreams. The recurring theme of flying in (almost) all human dreams. The subliminal in dreams. Dreams during the time body is taken by fevers and sickness. Strange dreams versus normal dreams. Dejavu. Sleep paralysis. This got me thinking. My brother once pointed out that when people start talking about dreams, everyone has something to say about it. I feel as if dreams, in a sense, are so strange and the causes of them so unknown, that they have become seen as something close to supernatural. Many societies believe there is a dream place or "Dreamtime" in native Australian belief systems.

"Aboriginals believe in two forms of time; two parallel streams of activity. One is the daily objective activity, the other is an infinite spiritual cycle called the 'dreamtime', more real than reality itself. Whatever happens in the dreamtime establishes the values, symbols, and laws of Aboriginal society. It was believed that some people of unusual spiritual powers had contact with the dreamtime."' -The Last Wave (1977), an Australian film

There is also the aspect of lucid dreaming. And those "dream masters" who learn how to navigate their lucid dreams. Being able to play in this landscape of sleep. Even supposedly visit others in their own slumber. A man once visited my religion class to talk on this subject. Saying that he was able to do anything he wanted: fly, jump, run, be anywhere, in his sleep. Although he had not yet mastered the art of visiting others. Whether I know this to be true or not, I do know that there is such a thing as lucid dreams as I've had them before. I will realize suddenly that everything around me is as if clear and real. I've tried to fly or manipulate the dream then, but then the dream gets muddle and my feelings become scared and strange. I once had a lucid dream where I stumbled across many people, around five, meeting in a finely furnished room. They all looked at me strange and said to one another, "Is she supposed to be here?" Then the dream ended.

I personally believe that our deepest emotions are expoused in our dreams. Even though we may deny it, the subliminal thoughts within us our able to be glimpsed within. I feel slightly awkward when people tell me their dreams. Dreams are so personal. What I can infer from them is much more than the person thinks to be telling. Yet in our society they are treated as slightly strange, silly things. Be careful when you tell others your dreams.

I've also now decided to start a dream journal.

hottest

Who would have thought that the hottest place in the country would be at the northern end....

95 degrees in wintery Minneapolis.

instruments

From MSN.com here are the...

The 5 Fittest Cities in America
Washington, D.C.
Boston, Mass.
Minneapolis, Minn.
Seattle, Wash.
Portland, Ore.

My hometown being the third makes me very proud.

Also, from MSNBC...

"Exhibit A: Portland, Oregon, just displaced Copenhagen as the No. 2 most bike-friendly city in the world.
Exhibit B: In Davis, California, more people cycle to work than drive.
Exhibit C: A growing number of Minneapolis residents continue to commute by bike through the winter."

Another point of pride, my father is included in Exhibit C, biking to work in downtown Minneapolis even in the winter. The number and accessibility of the trails in Minneapolis astounds me.

This of course, must help Minneapolis's health rating. U.S.'s health problem sicken me at times (no pun intended).
When we actually thought about what we are putting into our bodies...grabbing handfuls of sugar and putting then into our mouth when we eat that cotton candy, and syphoning a pound of grease down our throat for the amount of McDonalds we eat in a week...it's extremely ridiculous.

Our bodies are finely tuned instruments of life and we constantly run them down with the horrible things we put in them and the stress we put on ourselves. It's hard to eat healthy, but we as Americans CAN do it. We are a wealthy country with many resources and are blessed to be able to get the quality food that we have available to us. Another cool fact is that eating healthy increases HAPPINESS physiologically in our minds.

tear

Just wanted to share some videos that never fail to make me shed a tear, but only in a good way!

VENT

VENT MAGAZINE
Check it out.

An opportunity recently came to me to become part of a team to start a new magazine. This magazine is called VENT. We are just in the process of starting but I can already tell this is a real opportunity. It is something new, fresh. A fresh perspective. A pioneer. Replete with this colorful underground of the emerging, we will be focusing on people who are doing new thing, great things, bold things. We are about the culture around us and the culture of people who are on the brink of something greater. I find that people always know about the big names but not much about the people who are working hard, and creating and living beautiful, quality art. We want to showcase these people and these things. Raising awareness of the beautiful.

Check out our Blog.
Fan it Here on Facebook.
Or follow us on Twitter.

applaud

I fully, fully applaud this commercial for the OLYMPUS PEN E-PL1 camera. Seriously. Way to market that camera. As my major's concentration in school is Entrepreneurship, it really struck me that this product is so well placed! It's the camera niche between point-and-shoot and nicer large cameras! Plus with this video they really got behind their camera, and proved that it's great quality. There is so many commercials where it's ALL talk and no walk, and even the talk is questionable so this commercial is a BREATH OF FRESH air to me! Thank goodness.

powerful

Living in South Carolina for most months out of the year, when I visit Minnesota from the summer, I am always blown away by the beauty. The Greens. The grass and trees. The Blues. The ponds and lakes. The constant chirping of the birds. The clouds that seem you could reach up and touch them. Charleston, SC is at such a low elevation the sky seems so far away. The clouds seem to be never at the horizon, but in Minnesota they litter the sky. Beautifully. Some trees have purple leaves.
To many, you can say "Oh yeah, yeah, I guess that's just the way it is," but it stuns me how much it affects my life. How much the greens and blues and the softness of nature in this region soothes me. It is strangely life changing.

Even in Iowa, which normally I view as a great expanse of cornfields, holds simple but immensely powerful beauty.

snob

I realized that recently I've become such a hanger snob. This might come from working in retail but I absolutely need to use these:


Essential. Not wire hangers, not wooden hangers. Not those hangers without the little indents at the top. No.

gems

I recently looked through many of my keepsakes from my childhood in an effort to de-horde and I found a few gems. Here they are:

One of my favorite little dresses when I was five. Sweet:


Lady-Gaga-ing it up with my old dance outfit. Showy:


My future daughter is required to wear this under a leather jacket when she goes through her bad-ass stage as a teenager. Grunge:

Favorite dress-up piece ever. Glam:


My frilly Christmas outfit. Sissy:


And last but not least, the staple barbie nighty. Classic: