I’m remembering a dream I awoke with this morning. I have dreams every night, but thank God they’re less often nightmares these days and seem to become more often simple reflections of change. There is so much that’s written about dreams and I’ve read some of the opinionated theories that are out there. Science can no more prove why we dream what we do than it can prove how what exists came into being; but yet we’ve got to fill both voids with something and that’s the purpose opinions and faith serve. We should all share (with assertion — not aggression) our opinions and beliefs but only with honesty and courage, especially when our thoughts are different. Older aspies are well aware of this, but the youngsters need to be careful to not allow society to undervalue the benefits that “being in your own world” can contribute to those who are busy being lost in the world.
What do I mean by being “lost in the world?” Who are those people that are helplessly orbiting the inner space of this planet? It’s everyone who is busy trying to fit in. A great example are kids under peer pressure. In fact, that was the part of the dream where I woke up in today. I was walking along a road and came around a turn. I rarely have people in my dreams, but this time there were actually three characters standing around ahead of me. They were chatting among themselves and watching me approach. As I got closer, I could tell they were adolescent in age. It was obvious they were trying to be impressive to each other. I don’t remember their derogatory comments they blurted out, but I do remember the attitude I felt coming from them. It was an attitude of superiority. They enjoyed having what they thought was a target (me) to ridicule because of my odd impression I was immediately giving forth. I sensed that I wasn’t dressed appropriately for their standards of someone my age, and maybe there was more that they were repelled by, but that’s besides the point here.
Being awake now, I realize that I reacted (in this dream) to their lead with my own arrogant attitude. I was angry . . . very angry! Why did their immature foolish behavior trigger me to yell at them how stupid they are? What did I surrender of myself to give them the control of being able to determine how I’d feel? . . . to react instead of act? Well, this is an excellent example of a lesson on traveling upon the road of life.
I don’t ever remember having a dream where I continued to go towards the direction of known trouble. Either I’d be alone in a dream just wandering around or else I’d be running to escape something I felt fearful of. Where does fear come from? From feeling out of control and not knowing what will become of self since that’s the effect that helplessness has on a person (or animal). Psychologists have a term for the worst form of this phenomenon and it’s called learned helplessness. Almost always the victims of this psychological childhood abuse end up being mistakenly perceived as being lazy and/or stupid. So why has no one considered that as being a possible reason for some who have recurring nightmares throughout their life?
People who escape the mental trap of learned helplessness are those who fight rather than run. They not only fight their enemies, they also tend to compete for the things they want. Those people don’t end up being their own enemies and they probably also have a lot less nightmares than those who haven’t discovered yet the power that self can control.
Most of us are already aware of the term fight or flight when encountering threatening situations. Even ignoring trouble and/or disturbed people is a form of fighting because you’re standing your ground. Standing is an action; not a reaction. Actions like being immovable (both physically and/or mentally) can be daring and intimidating to an aggressor. However, the way someone takes a stand can be either pro-active or reactive. Animals react. People react, but there are a rare few who pro-act. Who are they? I’ll tell you who they’re not. They’re not the ones who are obsessively trying to fit in with the world and be accepted and/or liked by others. This is why peer pressure exists. It’s also why fashion exists. And greed. In fact, it’s why almost all behavior that is ultimately unacceptable exists (unacceptable by the definition of those who are sincerely pro-active — not reactive, because reactive people are people who only think they have self-control but in reality deceive themselves).
I know I’m getting confusing now, but this topic isn’t one which people who swim in shallow water can stand. To get strong, one must venture out into the deep. The devil is the author of confusion and it’s no wonder God uses the sea as a symbol for where sin accumulates.¹ Hence, the reason for the figure of speech walk on water (as opposed to drowning if one does not keep his eyes on Jesus). Okay, back to my point . . .
I’ll use an infamous person as an example of what I mean by self-deluded power . . . someone who seemed pro-active, but yet in reality was reactive. Take Hitler. Yes, he did have the power to kill people. Why? Because he had the power to enforce the Pygmalion Effect (self-fulfilling prophecy). It’s the same principle the devil uses. The power to control can come from deception. Truth also can control and it will ALWAYS ultimately overpower anything that’s a lie . . . even the lie that truth is relative (hint: consider the source of who says such things). Confusion is like doubting the truth in that they both are destructive forces. It’s why the most deadly form of self-destruction is pride. Hitler had plenty of that. He was like a vortex that sucked all those who succumbed to his illusion of strength; using the same tactics that famous magicians use — get people to focus on that which is not. When a person is his own god, someone who mistakenly believes s/he has the ability to know good versus evil, then that person is in her/his own self-destructive orbit. The problem is there are too many people who don’t have enough of their own gravitational pull (whether it’s genuine self-control or deluded) to remain pro-active rather than behaving reactively. It’s like the case of chickens in a hen house . . . one squawks and then all the others react. That’s what I mean by being “lost in the world.”
Those on the autism spectrum actually have an advantage over neurotypicals, but unfortunately the neurotypicals are desperately fighting hard to get people (the younger, the better) who “live in their own world” (aspies/autistics) to come out of their space and fit into the NT’s world.
This morning’s dream I had taught me that I’m finally going in the right direction. I don’t run away anymore. I stand, but I have yet to learn how to stand stronger pro-actively. That can only come by the grace of God and increase of faith. Writing a post like this one here in this blog today is teaching me a lesson about life that I think we all could benefit from.
¹Bible readers, haven’t you noticed that God does not include the seas in His description of heaven? Plus, why the demon possessed swine in Matthew 8:32 ran violently down a steep place and perished in the waters?
