Messages From the Hypnopompic World

There are two states of consciousness I love and pay attention to. One is the hypnagogic state, the transitional state from wakefulness to sleep. The other state is the hypnopompic state which is the opposite, the transitional state from sleep to wakefulness. During each of these "threshold consciousness" states several mental phenomena such as hallucination, lucid thought, lucid dreaming, sleep paralysis, and even auditory hallucinations can occur. For me both states are very important to pay attention to. Some of my most clear and profound thinking comes during the hypnagogic state, and even more so during the hypnopompic. 

That said, this morning around 4.15am while deep in the hypnopompic a simple statement entered my mind. "Live your truth." Of course I know there wasn't anyone beside the bed whispering in my ear. Nor was there anyone from some kind of spirit world planting notions in my brain. The mental clutter from yesterday and the clutter of today had yet to muddy the mental waters, so clear and simple thinking was able to come to the fore. I realized in that hypnopompic moment the simplicity and profundity of that statement and how many levels it moves in. There is the overall truth. The basic character and code of beliefs by which I strive to live each day. There is also the "temporary" truth, the one by which I live moment to moment as situations present themselves and the overall "code of conduct" applies itself. Examples of that could be holding the door open for an elderly person entering the store, being patient with my dog, Rufus, if he happens to pee on the kitchen floor, etc, etc. 

I hadn't considered the micro applications of living one's truth until this morning's hypnopompic revelation, only the macro ones. I've always been aware of the big picture but I've never realized these principles can exsit on a micro, minute-to-minute, second-to-second levels as well. As I drifted back into REM sleep I realized how fully I am living my truth.

Moral of the story: Pay attention to things that go on in the hypnagogic and hypnopompic states. There is much to learn there.  

COVID Dreams and Crumbled Empires

I had my first COVID dream last night. I was going from pharmacy to pharmacy looking for at-home test kits. Every time someone grabbed the last one right as I was reaching for it. 

The employees in each pharmacy all had a "what does it matter now" attitude. The entire dream had a very dystopian feel to it, like I was living in the rubble of a crumbled empire. Go figure. 

The Marvel of Produce

In August of last year I decided to start eliminating meat from my diet. I won't go into all the reasons here. I'll save all the details for another posting. In short, I looked at my dog and realized what I was doing to other creatures, and family history of various maladies. These things were my motivators. That said...

One thing I'm finding becoming vegetarian/vegan (I'm still deciding which one works best for me) is the incredible range of colors, textures, and tastes there are. The grocery where I shop has a massive fruit and produce section, almost a third of the store! Sometimes I just stand there and marvel at all the beautiful variety and richness. One of my favorite things to do is buy vegetables or fruit I've not had before. Bringing it home and trying some new recipe with it is a wonderful adventure. 

And then I pass the meat section and it's all one color. Red. And sometimes you can see the blood in the tray the meat is sitting in. I realized the other day that beef basically has one flavor. One can jazz it up with different flavorings or cooking techniques, but in the end it's still just beef. Same with chicken. There's just not enough variety to marvel at or stimulate my senses in the way all the different vegetables and fruit do.