And what if the dream guide replied, "But Jane, their nightmares aren't caused by what happened to them over in Iraq. Their nightmares are caused by them returning home and being forced to fit into a meaningless consumer society that revolves around credit card debt, the boob tube and the media's false worship of George W. Bush." That lying scum? Hmmm.....
I need to consult with some of my Marine friends on that one. Yahoo News hinted strongly recently that young people join the Marines to be able to kill people legally. I don't think that's true of the Marines. They're pretty good guys. But I do believe that being able to kill people legally is the real reason that Cheney and Bush stole the White House. But I digress.
Then I talked with my plant guru again. "I'm not going to do this dream stuff if it isn't meaningful. I'm no going to ask for anything for myself."
"Who says that asking for something for yourself can't be meaningful?" he replied. Today I went down and toured a new condo high-rise by the beach. The three-bedroom, three-bathroom upper-story units were selling for 1.2 million dollars apiece. But my goodness they were nice. I could ask the dream guide how to score one of those ones for me. That would be helping out humanity, right? But then someone just e-mailed me a video about how meaningless consumption was BAD (http://www.storyofstuff.com/). Did you know that of the world's top 100 economies, 51 of them are corporations? That 100 billion pounds of toxic chemicals are released into the air each year? That 30% of the world's resources are gone and that only 1% of everything bought in the USA would not be thrown in the trash within SIX MONTHS? And that America's national happiness level PEAKED in the 1950s when planned obsolescence was invented -- and has been going downhill ever since? I was so shocked and appalled that I decided to go back to Plan A -- other people's nightmares. No condo for me.
Okay. I'm gonna do it. I'll take the darn drug. I'll do it for God and country. But don't expect me to have a good time.
11 pm: Rick brewed up some green leaves of a plant called heimia salicifolia. The Axtecs called it "Sun Opener". It tasted like wheat grass juice. "You can tell if you've overdosed if you start seeing purple," he warned me. "Oh, and sometimes it doesn't work." Am I brave enough to finish this whole cup? Nah. I'm lying here in bed reading Alex Farr's book Undertow and the pages are starting to look purple to me!
December 7: I may have chickened out on finishing drinking the dream guide brew, but at least I got a good sleep.
And as to how to help Iraq war vets to overcome nightmares? That's easy. I don't need to take drugs to figure out that -- or maybe the dream guide DID whisper the correct answer into my ear while I was asleep. In any case, here it is: "Let's just get these vets involved in the War at Home -- the War on Greed. We still need fighters over here."
"You have been taught discipline by the military, guys," the dream guide may or may not have said. "You know how to get things done. You're not just a bunch of mindless former grunts. You've got skills. Use them to organize politically. Motivate people. Run for office." Live simply. Save the freaking planet. There is your real war.
So. What should I do today in Puerto Vallarta? Visit the local health clinic? Check out the education system? Buy Baby New Year one of those frilly pink Mexican dresses? BNY, my new granddaughter, is due in just 25 days!
And speaking of BNY, I just thought of something else that the freaking vets could do to avoid nighmares. They could go back to school. Become teachers. Help children. The fate of the world lies in the hands of our next generation of kids.
****
Rick's website: http://XPlanta.com
I need to consult with some of my Marine friends on that one. Yahoo News hinted strongly recently that young people join the Marines to be able to kill people legally. I don't think that's true of the Marines. They're pretty good guys. But I do believe that being able to kill people legally is the real reason that Cheney and Bush stole the White House. But I digress.
Then I talked with my plant guru again. "I'm not going to do this dream stuff if it isn't meaningful. I'm no going to ask for anything for myself."
"Who says that asking for something for yourself can't be meaningful?" he replied. Today I went down and toured a new condo high-rise by the beach. The three-bedroom, three-bathroom upper-story units were selling for 1.2 million dollars apiece. But my goodness they were nice. I could ask the dream guide how to score one of those ones for me. That would be helping out humanity, right? But then someone just e-mailed me a video about how meaningless consumption was BAD (http://www.storyofstuff.com/). Did you know that of the world's top 100 economies, 51 of them are corporations? That 100 billion pounds of toxic chemicals are released into the air each year? That 30% of the world's resources are gone and that only 1% of everything bought in the USA would not be thrown in the trash within SIX MONTHS? And that America's national happiness level PEAKED in the 1950s when planned obsolescence was invented -- and has been going downhill ever since? I was so shocked and appalled that I decided to go back to Plan A -- other people's nightmares. No condo for me.
11 pm: Rick brewed up some green leaves of a plant called heimia salicifolia. The Axtecs called it "Sun Opener". It tasted like wheat grass juice. "You can tell if you've overdosed if you start seeing purple," he warned me. "Oh, and sometimes it doesn't work." Am I brave enough to finish this whole cup? Nah. I'm lying here in bed reading Alex Farr's book Undertow and the pages are starting to look purple to me!
December 7: I may have chickened out on finishing drinking the dream guide brew, but at least I got a good sleep.
And as to how to help Iraq war vets to overcome nightmares? That's easy. I don't need to take drugs to figure out that -- or maybe the dream guide DID whisper the correct answer into my ear while I was asleep. In any case, here it is: "Let's just get these vets involved in the War at Home -- the War on Greed. We still need fighters over here."
"You have been taught discipline by the military, guys," the dream guide may or may not have said. "You know how to get things done. You're not just a bunch of mindless former grunts. You've got skills. Use them to organize politically. Motivate people. Run for office." Live simply. Save the freaking planet. There is your real war.
So. What should I do today in Puerto Vallarta? Visit the local health clinic? Check out the education system? Buy Baby New Year one of those frilly pink Mexican dresses? BNY, my new granddaughter, is due in just 25 days!
And speaking of BNY, I just thought of something else that the freaking vets could do to avoid nighmares. They could go back to school. Become teachers. Help children. The fate of the world lies in the hands of our next generation of kids.
****
Rick's website: http://XPlanta.com
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