My wife thinks I am in to "crazy voodoo"

She doesn't really think that. But when I talk to her about what I want to do she thinks it just doesn't sound right.
Let's start from the beginning.
When I was in 8th grade I really wanted to learn how to play the drums. My dad helped me to get into band class by calling the teacher and convincing her I had potential. I learned how to play the snare drum and then the big bass drum. This was all in a symphony style band. That was fun but I wanted to play the real drums. The trap set. That is a chick magnet. My teacher showed me how to set them up and allowed me to stay late after school to try and learn. I had a solid understanding of basic music theory as it relates to the percussion section. I knew what an eighth note was and a quarter note and so on. The teacher told me the theory behind the "basic rock beat" on the drums.

"Hit eighth notes on the high hat with your right hand. Hit the snare drum with your left hand on beats 2 and 4 and hit the bass drum with your right foot on beats 1 and 3. Don't forget to hold the high hat pedal down with your left foot" That sounds easy enough. Until I tried to do it all together.

Limb separation. That is the terms drummers use. It is a very important part of drumming. Each limb has to act independent of the other ones, but at the same time they are acting as one.
I know that sounds like I am about to get serious with a deep metaphor, but don't panic. As you can see from my mad grammaticle (I made that up) skills, I am way to shallow for that.

I tried and tried to get that beat down. It seemed so easy to do but the actual execusion was so hard. I tried for weeks with no success. One night I fell asleep very frustrated. I couldn't get that beat out of my head. I knew I could play it but it wasn't working.

That night I dreamed about the drums. I sat down determind to do it. I picked up the sticks and started playing the bass and snare drums first. One and three with my right foot. Two and Four with my left hand. It was working fine, but that wasn't the hard part. It was adding the other limbs from there that jammed me up. So I concentrated really hard. My left foot closed the high hats. I closed my eyes. With my right hand I started to play the eight notes on the high hats.......IT WORKED. I was playing it. I was so excited that I woke up. It was at that time that something clicked in my head. I was sitting on my bed in my room thinking about my dream. But it was more than a dream. It seemed so real. Like I really did learn how. Whatever clicked in my dream clicked in real life. I just knew it.

That day at school I couldn't wait to get to the end of the day. I was going to play those drums. I knew I could. Low and behold...................I was right.

That was way back in Jr High. I am 30 years old now. Nothing like that has ever happened to me again.

Several months ago, I had a dream that seemed so real again. It was nothing out of the ordinary. I was at work. Doing the same thing I do in real life. One of my coworkers suggested we walk across the bridge to eat at a specific restaurant. I agreed and we started to walk. It was at that moment I realized I didn't work near a bridge. At least not the one we were walking across. The bridge I was walking on was the Morrison bridge in downtown Portland. The bridge crosses a river but on either side of the river there are buildings on each side of the bridge. So at one point the bridge is as high as the 6 story buildings on either side. I started to realize in my dream that something was not right. Just as I was thinking about it I noticed cars were driving off of the sides of the buildings. But they were not in danger. They were driving down the sides of the buildings and safely on the ground. "AH HA!" I said in my dream. "This is a dream! It isn't real!" I shouted at my coworker. Just then I realized I didn't work with her in real life. It all made sense. I was dreaming and I realized in in my dream.

At that moment an overwhelming feeling came over me. It was both the most nervous I have ever been and the most excited. I realized I could do anything I wanted. I looked over the edge of the bridge and I knew I could jump and simply fly away. There was nothing stopping me. I was obviously dreaming. It all made sense. I was rationalizing the whole scenario in my head WHILE ASLEEP! I went to the edge and prepared for my jump. But then a tiny piece of doubt entered my head. "what if you are not dreaming". I got worried, hung my head, and went and ate lunch with my fake coworker.

I woke up so mad at myself the next day. It bothered me so much I told everyone I ran into about it. How I held in my hand the power to fly and I didn't use it. I could only wonder now what it would feel like if I could fly. That realization would have been revealed to me if I didn't chicken out the night before.

I couldn't shake that frustration for weeks. But that changed about a month later.

I was dreaming again. This time I was in a big building. Very open. There was a stage area. There were people all around. Some in costumes and some with crazy props. I realized we were all preparing for a talent show. People were in there own little areas practicing. I needed to find my friend Mike. I went outside and looked around, but I couldn't find him anywhere. I asked someone and they said he was practicing for the show. I asked where and they simply pointed up. I looked up and there was Mike. Flying.

There it was again. That place where reality merges with my dream but I don't wake up. I was filled with excitement, but this time I was not nervous. There was no doubt. Just as quick I as realized I could I shot up in the air and FLEW. It was the most amazing feeling I have ever felt. I was so free. So powerful. I didn't do much with the power of flight. I saw some dudes on a roof top beating up a girl and I swooped down and saved her. I didn't know her. But hey, all the people I ever saw flying in my life saved ladies in distress. Why not me?

I woke up shortly after that. I felt amazing. That was just a few weeks ago. So where does the crazy voodoo kick in? Let's piece it together.

In Jr High I was able to teach myself how to play drums in my dream. What ever was stopping me from progressing in real life I was able to overcome in my dream. I held on to that reality into real life and it worked.

Later on in life I was able to identify my dream state and work my own reality into it. I refused to allow my dream to dictate where it would take me. Instead, I controlled the direction.

Are there life lessons that we struggle with in our day to day lives that can be learned in our dream state?

That my friend is the crazy voodoo. Although I don't think it is that crazy. I also don't think it is demonic. Remember in my first blog I wrote about over spiritualization (I think I made that word up)? That may apply here. My wife instantly took something that was presented to her that she couldn't explain and worried it was crazy voodoo.

Do I sound crazy?

My first entry: What the hell is wrong with these Christians?!?

For those of you that know me really well, you have heard me say "The meanest people I know are Christians". I really wish that were not true. It doesn't make sense when you consider who Christians are supposedly following. If you are reading this and are shocked by that statement maybe you are one of the mean ones. The truly nice people fully understand the truth that statement holds. So please, ponder it, digest it, and then consider changing how you treat others. But I digress. Believe it or not, this blog is about………POKER…..and religion.

For those that read this and do not like poker, please consider reading the rest. You may find it very interesting.

Recently"comedian" (note the quotes) Kathy Griffith has been in real heat with the "Christians" (note the quotes) of the world for some recent statements about Jesus. I could look up that quote but I don't feel like it right now. The jest of it is she won an award and while accepting it noted to the public that Jesus had NOTHING to do with her winning. I think she said "suck it Jesus" and held the award up and said "this is my god now". The point behind the statement is valid in my opinion. I understand what she was trying to say. She is not a Christian and feels Christ has better things to worry about than helping her get a crappy daytime Emmy. I would not have stated it the way she did, but the actual point is a good one. Why am I saying this now? I don't know. It may tie in later.

I have been following the WSOP main event as it airs on ESPN. There were 16 episodes that were 1 hour a piece. They were all typical poker episodes with no surprises. Nothing really notable in the first 14 episodes other than the most annoying person on earth acting like an idiot (Havad Kahn), and one of the most horrific blow ups by any seasoned poker pro I have ever witnessed(Scotty Nguyen). The really crazy stuff kicked in during episodes 15 and 16. The event was won by an amateur (again) named Jerry Yang. He seemed like a nice enough player. He stated that should he win he had big plans of helping those in need with the money. The statements seemed very real and very sincere. I can respect that. His spiritual beliefs were put out for the world to see. He was very open with his Christianity and former missionary work. His family was there to cheer him on and they were also very open. More on that in a minute.

One of the players at the final table was accomplished pro Lee Watkinson. He is a very talented pro. I am a fan. His girlfriend was in the audience cheering him on. She was obviously a Christian. How do I know that? She made it VERY clear. Here is how it went down: Lee ended up "all in" (all of his chips were at risk in one hand) against chip leader Jerry Yang. ESPN likes to catch the "cheering section" for each player on camara to help add drama to the hand for the home audience. Lee's girlfriend started quoting scripture and praying very loudly so all could hear. She was repeating "No weapon formed against him shall prosper. Make him a believer Lord." Over and over again. Lee sat there calmly and watched the hand as it played out. The best part was Jerry was also standing up praying to God at the same time and stating his faith that God had a plan for him to win and was making all sorts of promises to do good with the money, should God help him win this hand. Kind of the classic "if you do this for me God; I promise to do this in return". Everyone knows that God loves nothing more than a sweet deal. Blessings come with a "what's in it for me" apparently.

So here we have one side praying to God basically telling him that if Lee lost the hand he may be doomed to be an atheist forever and it would be God's fault. On the other side by simply helping Jerry win, thousands of needy people could be blessed with what I am sure would amount to 10% of the winnings (tithe joke). Wow what a dilemma for the Lord: Save Lee from eternal hell fire or help thousands in need with some sweet cash. I am glad I am not God!

What happened you ask? Obviously the Lord knows how hard it is to come by large amounts of cash nowadays because he helped Jerry not only win that hand, but the whole tournament for over $8mil.!

The whole thing seemed crazy to me. Every time they cut to a shot of Jerry's family they were shouting "Praise the Lord" or "Hallelujah". I can respect the fact they are not ashamed of their beliefs, but honestly it seemed a little "in your face". I am not sure why it bothered me. I know, on the other hand, why Lee's girlfriend bothered me, and why Jerry's religious deal making bothered me, but I am still on the fence about the side comments.

Over spiritualization of everything is something I have been thinking about lately. It seems that for years people have been pushing the "God cares about the littlest things in your life" approach to prayer. It seems weird to me that people are so easy to take out personal responsibility by pushing everything on prayer. It seems that when your average "Christian" has any type of decision to make like buying a car or finding a parking spot that is close they turn to the Lord for help. The "buying a car" topic and others like it are my favorites. These seem to be the easiest to get answers to. If I am driving a beat up car and I really want a new one, and I happen to have found a new one that I can get, it seems a no brainer. But in order to avoid being responsile for a bad decision, I pray about it and then low and behold I am overwhelmed with a feeling of peace. Therefore; the Lord approved.

I see this in relationships as well. On more than one occasion, I have seen people make horrible decisions when it comes to family and relationships simply because they "prayed about it and feel a genuine peace". OF COURCE YOU DO! Who wouldn't? It is such a dangerous path to go down. Can God communicate with you like this? Sure. But let's not throw out personal responsibility. Very few people can say they have no problem hearing God every time they ask a question. But when they know the answer they want, it seems easier to gain God's approval for it. That is something to think about.

But here I go digressing again. My original point mainly lies with Lee's (remember him?) girlfriend. "No weapon formed against him (Lee) shall prosper." That was such an awkward moment. Lee lost that hand and his girlfriend was left holding her faith like a deflated balloon for all of TV land to see. I guess a mustard seed is bigger than she thought.

If we are to give all the glory of victory to God, must we also blame God for our defeats?