About This Dream I Had (Kissing the Wrong People)

      I found my dream on June 3rd to be delightfully weird: Dream Me gets to do some kissing, but with a gross element.

Enjoy.

      In this morning's dream, there was an event in an industrial building while I was volunteering with a bunch of small, fluffy animals. I don't remember my subconscious paying enough attention to the animals to give them a species, even though I held one at least once and the fur ball seemed comfortable in the crook of my arm, so I carried it around a while, having conversations with guests, etc.

Soon, I ran into Tom, the ex whom I once dreamed had a tree attached to his head as a hairstyle, and when I told my mother all that I could recall of the dream, she snorted in surprised laughter at the part where, during brief small talk, Tom said he was doing stand-up now and had some time slots booked, which in real life, would be bizarrely ill-fitting. He added that his family was doing well, he had a girlfriend - and soon, oddly enough, we were kissing. This, too, was brief, but holy shit, when we each leaned back, there were strings of clear, shiny spit between us! I couldn't think of a proper reference to make, having not seen many horror flicks, but maybe Slither and The Fly and sci-fi movies could bump elbows with that gross moment before crushing it beneath the girth of their gooey special effects. As is typical in dreams, neither of us freaked out and instead, I was invited to follow him into another room to meet his friend, who looked a lot like Josh Gad

dressed all in black, like Tom, and this guy kept shifting when I stood by him, as if trying to hide his amputation (his left arm ended just before the wrist). I talked with these fellas for a bit more, the friend showed me a website with a list of Tom's upcoming comedy shows, and Tom then called me over to him, since he was opposite me at a square or rectangular wooden table, and as I got close, he reached into what I think was a bucket and from it, retrieved -

hold on, I'm trying not to gag -

a glob

of Fettucine pasta

and body lotion

offering it, saying something like, "Imagine it's ___", which I've written with a blank because from the moment I woke up, I've drawn a blank on what he said. It may have been muddled because my subconscious didn't really care, wanting to focus on the ingredients and the fact that I tried it. I took that glob and ate it, dude. Disgusting. I followed that up with genuine agreement that it tasted like the simple pasta dish he named, one that in reality, couldn't possibly remind my real taste buds of noodles with lotion.

credit: Amazon.com

          Now dig this: soon enough, I shared a few kisses with reality star Kim Kardashian (why, brain, why????) and again came away with a thick quantity of spit like something out of a horror movie! Upon waking, it was such a crazy surprise, cataloguing what I could remember of this dream, not knowing exactly why my brain brought up this ex-boyfriend and this particular small-time celebrity respectively and attached our faces with a bizarre clear goo. I swear to you, reader, my conscious brain has standards! My soul has standards!

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      When analyzing the dream, I came across the following:

   To dream of kissing symbolizes approval, encouragement, or supportive behavior. If you are kissing someone it may symbolize a person or situation that you are supportive of. It may also reflect you encouraging yourself in some way. Kissing may also represents approval or respect of capabilities. Liking or encouraging talents or possibilities.

      Because early in the dream, I was handling small creatures, even carrying one almost like a baby, I looked up "animals". People who are experiencing healing often dream of baby animals. This is most likely reflecting the dreamers new sense of hope for the future or a new sense of believing in themselves...

     After searching Dream Bible and consulting with my Higher Self through Tarot, I've come to the conclusion that the theme of this morning's dream was hope. I've spoken at length about my hope and excitement for this next chapter of my life because as much as uncertainty contributes to stress, I'm sure you've known the positivity of uncertainty, as well: a feeling of newness, more learning, anticipation, some upgrades, shine and sparkle.

      In addition to being laughably weird, the inclusion of those particular make-out buddies was specifically a way of reflecting with less than previous judgment of Tom, myself and Mrs. Kardashian West. After all, one of my goals is to carry around fewer grudges and less judgment, to have a very different perspective and different choices in my love life, my creative work and my boring everyday adult stuff. I am no longer the immature, more insecure kid I was when my trust issue met and started dating Tom's about 12 years ago. Keeping my mouth shut too much, less confident and patient about my career, less informed and more judgmental.

      Also, I see Kim Kardashian differently these days than I did in the past due to simply changing my mind about the human experience. I've learned more about why we go through some of life's dramas, which has deepened my compassion, even for strangers who don't come across as particularly intelligent or philanthropic or even memorable without, Kardashian's case, resilience, a long-running reality show and an eventful love life. I obviously have some opinions, but...for the most part, I don't give a f*** what this total stranger is up to and I matter just as much as she does. I'd much rather focus on doin' my own thing while respecting her for forging a life in spite of paparazzi and loads of judgmental attention. I don't face nearly as much publicity.

       Recently, it was refreshing having a John Waters phase, watching a lot of interviews with him, listening to commencement speeches he gave in 2015 (which led to the book Make Trouble) and in 2020 respectively, as well as listening to the audio book of Role Models. Not only is he a very open-minded person interested in the true stories of others, but Mr. Waters doles out stories and inspirational, quotable statements that can energize someone's confidence and creative brain. When I come up with an idea, I can treat it as a fleeting thought, dismiss it as too weird or uninteresting, but seriously, Shannon. Whatever it is, there's an audience for it. Just try.

      Smoosh-ing gooey mouths with two people I would never want to kiss turned out to be a way of depicting a more compassionate reflection on the past through the eyes of a rather different brain - some different neural pathways, more wisdom - the POV of someone who is moving forward. This was a self-encouraging, self-appreciating dream that also grossed out a couple of my loved ones when I quickly sent each of them detailed text messages about it. I've gotta love that this internal memo of self-love played out in such a slimy way.