I keep having dreams about Byzantine Christianity.

[StarryNightshade]

The brain is a really neat little thing. If you're reading about this stuff, thinking about it constantly, spend time figuring out how to feel about it and generally just let the feelings and sensations and thoughts fill up your mind, why wouldn't you keep dreaming about it? I mean, isn't that the simplest answer?

I probably should have mentioned that I didn't start reading about the Saints until after I had the first dream.

 

[StarryNightshade]

You may not be aware of how much Christian symbolism, ideas, or even entities (gods?) might still be a part of you. If you were raised in it from an early age, it's likely in your blood. It doesn't necessarily mean you should be a Christian of any sort, traditional or heretical, but it's something to pay attention to.

Hmm, that is something to consider. :yes:

Like I previously said, I have no interest in converting; but there is no harm in at least trying to better understand the religion of my past and culture.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

Well why did God toast Sodom/Gomorrah, for jaywalking?

Yahweh says in Ezekiel 16 that he destroyed them because they were inhospitable, arrogant, wealthy and did not help the poor and needy. He was condemning Israel in that chapter and saying that Israel was even worse than them at that point. It said nothing about homosexuality or even rape.

Don't forget there are all sorts of gays and bisexuals ranging from the nice friendly sort to the S/G nasty sort.

I don't know what "S/G" means.

 

[Phil25]

Let me preface this by saying that, while I don't dislike or hate Christianity (a semi-shocker for this site at times), I'm not a Christian in practice or faith. I was raised Christian, but fell away from it and have since been following a Dharmic path these past few years. I do think Jesus had more than a few good things to say (as well as being historically real), and Pslams and Ecclesiastes are among my favorite books in the Bible, but I do not believe Jesus is God. Nor do I believe that the Bible is the Word of God (inspired or literal).

With all of this being said, I find myself having dreams about Eastern Christianity.

A few weeks ago, I had a dream that I was in a Byzantine Catholic church during a high mass. My senses were actually working in said dream. Meaning I could hear the chanting, feel the Rosary in my hand, and smell the incense.

A few nights ago, it happened again, but this time I was in an Orthodox church. The same scenario occurred as well, where my senses could detect my surroundings, but it included another: taste. I could taste the communion bread and wine.

Dreams aside, I find myself reading about the lives of the Saints. Truly inspiring stuff.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not going to convert anytime soon, but these dreams and thoughts have been invasive for the past few weeks. As aforementioned, in addition to not believing that Christ was God or in the Divine authorship of the Bible, my homosexuality would put me at odds with the church. Me being pro-choice (not pro-abortion) would also put me at odds with the moral and social hierarchy within these churches.

Thoughts? Could these dreams mean anything? Or just my brain flushing out unneeded information and data?

I am a Syrian Orthodox Christian. If you have any questions about Oriental Orthodoxy, feel free to ask me!

 

[jonathan180iq]

I probably should have mentioned that I didn't start reading about the Saints until after I had the first dream.

That's a good bit of info too.

It could still explain why you continue to be surrounded with all of these thoughts and dreams though.

I've had some very intense and realistic dreams before too, about flying past rows and rows of white marble columns over black marble floors, but I didn't interpret those dreams as being a sign that I should start to study stoneworking, ancient architecture, geology, or anything else for that matter. (And yes, I realize that your dream is a bit more specific.) But how many dreams in your life have you had that you dismissed? Why do these series of dreams hold more significance than all of the others?

If it's your first lucid dream, then I understand how powerful it can be. My first one involved kissing a girlfriend I had back in the 7th grade. For 3 or 4 days I was spellbound by the sensations. It's all I could think about. It was so real that I even wrote her an email and we talked a little bit, just to catch up on life. But that was it.... Life continued to roll on - I processed old feelings that my dream decided that it needed to process and that was that.

I've since had a many number of deeply "powerful" dreams and woke up in awe of what the sleeping mind can create. I've even gotten to the point where I know what position I need to sleep in in order to have certain types of dreams. The material and speed I can't control. But the intensity I can, depending on how I lay my head and turn my neck.

Once you come to realize what your brain is doing, and how you can consciously interact with it, you'll be more inclined to appreciate your mind and less inclined to assume that a powerful dream is a sign from the supernatural.

 

[EverChanging]

That's a good bit of info too.

It could still explain why you continue to be surrounded with all of these thoughts and dreams though.

I've had some very intense and realistic dreams before too, about flying past rows and rows of white marble columns over black marble floors, but I didn't interpret those dreams as being a sign that I should start to study stoneworking, ancient architecture, geology, or anything else for that matter. (And yes, I realize that your dream is a bit more specific.) But how many dreams in your life have you had that you dismissed? Why do these series of dreams hold more significance than all of the others?

If it's your first lucid dream, then I understand how powerful it can be. My first one involved kissing a girlfriend I had back in the 7th grade. For 3 or 4 days I was spellbound by the sensations. It's all I could think about. It was so real that I even wrote her an email and we talked a little bit, just to catch up on life. But that was it.... Life continued to roll on - I processed old feelings that my dream decided that it needed to process and that was that.

I've since had a many number of deeply "powerful" dreams and woke up in awe of what the sleeping mind can create. I've even gotten to the point where I know what position I need to sleep in in order to have certain types of dreams. The material and speed I can't control. But the intensity I can, depending on how I lay my head and turn my neck.

Once you come to realize what your brain is doing, and how you can consciously interact with it, you'll be more inclined to appreciate your mind and less inclined to assume that a powerful dream is a sign from the supernatural.

Dreams need not be a sign from the supernatural to give an indication, at least sometimes, of what's going on in the mind and emotions, though. I pay attention to my powerful dreams for this reason, but I don't believe in anything supernatural.