[ciampala] JOURNAL

Blather

I guess I can't shut up today, needed to just blather, even in a second entry. I made some caramel vanilla syrup, with caramel and water, and vanilla. It's partly artificial, the vanilla flavoring. Bleh. The pure real thing is kind of expensive. I started ordering from Walmart instead of Target, and wasn't used to all the choices, fell for the cheap stuff. Live and learn, I guess.

It's still pretty good. I do need to go pick up a few groceries, I'm out of coffee, eggs and bread, so I might walk over to the store and get those tomorrow. I made a large order for a lot of things, but need to transfer some $$$ to my grocery account. I never did online banking, wish I did that for several other things but did not have my own computer or a phone and didn't want to do it all at the library.

I'd earned a small gift certificate through my Target deliveries (necessitated by covid) and it took a month or two for it to transfer when it arrived in my email. So I thought oh, there's another problem. But somehow it went through finally.

I had actually been falling on my walks around, getting groceries, going to the library. Like 6 or 7 times in a year or so. I totally was in denial about it, just that it was so many times. It's a complicated explanation.

Anyway, most of the falls were harmless because somehow in the moment I adjusted my aim and went in the grass. But the final time, I instinctively put out my hand to break the fall, knowing it was not a good idea but it was a split second decision.

I tore my rotator cuff. That made me stop and think. I just couldn't risk it anymore. I STOPPED GOING OUT OF THE HOUSE FOR ONE AND A HALF YEARS. other crap was going on and I think Covid long haul was part of the falling. Exhaustion was also to blame, part of the Long Haul symptoms.

Some of the symptoms went away, which is good. But also, it gave me time to just think, rest and pray. And remember some of my repressed memories, and realized some other things.

Anyway, whew, it's hot where I am. And humid. The only exception was a couple nights ago when it got cold enough that I put a comforter over me. The next day it went to 99 or higher, though low humidity. I slept through a lot of it, luckily. It's just been so hot that it's even uncomfortable in the wee hours, as right now. Good thing for fans.
[ciampala] JOURNAL

Bah!

Just random stuff going through my mind, I lost a Bible, left it in the bus a few years ago. It was from a friend I made at the Methodist church, she was trying to recruit me. I didn't realize that until a third party told me. She was a lay pastor at a _________ church, older Protestant denomination. Despite them having a lot of new programs to help the poor in the community, they were a pretty dead church. They did not have the gifts of the Spirit, they did not "eagerly seek the gifts of the Spirit". They had another very smarmy lay pastor who seemed to be having an affair with the very handsome young assistant pastor. Maybe I'm wrong, but he was ALWAYS talking about how handsome "X" was, and how IN LOVE he was with his new wife, they were young.

I believed that he thought the guy was handsome, but the part about him being SO in love was purely for creating an impression that "X" was straight. No way.

Smarmy lay pastor found out I was on the outs with my family.So he figured he'd start making somewhat subtle passes at me. The first one I put up with, thinking I had to, the second made me purely pezzed off so I reported him through an administrator to the main pastor.

He was obviously told to leave me alone and he was angry and seemed to think it unfair. I went on somewhat longer there, but the first lady who gave me the Bible kept saying she would go to my church once, absolutely never did. Smarmy lay pastor never really stopped his smarm. And there were other problems with this church and then allowing people to just plain sin.

One of the nobodies like me who attended free meals and programs there* asked the main pastor a question about the Holy Spirit. The pastor's jaw worked, he clenched and unclenched his jaw muscles angrily. I thought what is he so angry about, it's a legit question. He said he'd answer later but never did. They had Holy Spirit oriented events about once every three years, at seminars for new lay pastors. That was it. The other church I had started going to because they gave away healthier food than the other churches (I thought), had Holy Spirit meetings pretty much every service. They didn't do the speaking in tongues thing where 2 or 3 people spoke in tongues, then there was an interpreter. A few times they spoke all at once in tongues, and when I asked, they were helpful about me get the gift.

I recently watched a service there online (they moved too far from me) and the Uber pastor there said something like churches that demand their people speak in tongues make it idolatry.

Well they never tried to tell me I had to, I just wanted it because I thought it would help me grow and also make life easier. Haha, I don't know about easier but I think it helps me. I also enjoy it.

I kept the Bible, the lady had gotten for me because I had said mine was so heavy to carry around with me (no car!). And the aforementioned fishing for new church members--who would give all their tithe money.

It was small, perfectly readable and had a wonderful leather look cover, flexible and it had a celtic knot pattern on it. Someone at my Spirit filled church complemented me on it but I could barely stand the compliment for some reason. In my head I was like, NO, it's bad... I don't know what it was that made me think that, but something fussy like it's paper instead of real leather.

Anyway, I put a label in it with my name and address, and I loved the font I used to print it out. I somehow left it on the bus, though sometimes I think maybe I have it somewhere in the house. Because duh, who loses a Bible. Well, all I can think is someone got a good opportunity to read it.

But I also think someone got may name and address and telephone number. There was some funny business for awhile but I've been praying about it. If someone gets something good from me, and they mess with me in return, um no.what they do to you will be done to them. If they don't repent.

Anyway, I still like that Bible. The people at the church went on to go all rainbow, as a denomination. They were all Freemasons I think. Years ago I would have thought that's okay, either one, but I think it also would have disturbed me. I'm older now and I realize that people I know who were absolutely hateful to me were in both categories. And I used to think it was wrong to be prejudiced about drug use, how would those hillbillies know? Now I know they've seen it all, and there's nothing new under the sun. Drugs mess people up, as does alcohol, very often, at any rate.

Its better not to mess with them, but you can definitely get saved if you get a bad habit. Some people get into this or that, overdo it, and then there are consequences. But, Jesus saves!

I have a number of new Bibles but the size and loveliness of that one, darn. But I didn't value it as I should, or it was tainted in the back of my mind, or I felt guilty for something? All, I suppose.
_____________________________
(*somewhat out of need but also out of boredom and actually wanting good teaching).
[by me] TRUSTSOM1

Whooh

I got very sick yesterday, had to watch an online meeting, which lifted my spirits.

I think I had too much salt, and that precipitated some scary symptoms which I will not describe. Mostly recovered today.

Some really bad attitude problems came to light, just in the area of doubt or unbelief. Like I just had some voices in the back of my head saying things like oh this is never going to get better. Like it's just that my head is a computer...

Attitudinally I feel much better, and I have been playing videos of Asbury revival singing, and in general it feels like some stuff got lifted off of me, or pulled out. It truly is soothing and I'm grateful. Grateful
[by me] TRUSTSOM1

Dream...

Years ago I had a dream that I was near the Holocaust Museum in Washington DC. There was a large lawn, with a "temporary installation", an art exhibit of pairs of childrens shoes, representing a large number of children who died in the Holocaust. In the larger picture, I now think it might have meant a large number of abortions around the world, rather than in the death camps.

But for a long time I wondered what the whole dream meant, because in it I kept walking toward the museum. It looked different in the dream than it does in real life. There was only the base of some steps, or the beginning of a walkway, in a style that reminds a bit of the Vietnam Memorial Wall. But there was steel and a sort of salmon pink granite, plus the concrete sidewalk.

As I was still looking at the rows and rows of shoes, it seemed a 50 foot tall woman was coming up behind me, absolutely furious and insane with anger. She actually made me think of Hitler, not in looks but in temperament, the hysterical screaming from the balcony. She did seem to have dark straight hair in a pageboy cut.

I tried to lie down between pairs of shoes; she was coming so fast and suddenly that I really didn't have time to think. I guess I thought I'd be so small compared to her, that she wouldn't notice me.

No such luck. The next thing you know I was in a room with three other people, two men and another woman. We each had what appeared to be colanders on our heads like helmets, but we were bound in wooden chairs like old fashioned office chairs from the 1940s.

Again the WWII theme sneaking in there, but they also reminded me a little of an electric chair, the death penalty type.The colanders had blue flames coming from inside them, our heads would get cooked instantly, though at that point-- I died, or has risen out of my body since I was looking down on the scene.

I then was suddenly on a structure that was white, but otherwise looked like a dome, like a giant white contact lens. I figured I was dead, and this was the afterlife.

I started running because it seemed to be we were supposed to be a game, there were games so we could learn the lessons we had not learned in life. I kept running and there were quite a few interesting things to pick up. I picked up a small suede bag that happened to have some money in it.

Around this time in real life, I went for a lot of walks, and was always finding interesting things. Not to mention the occasional bit of money usually just a little change. The handbag was rather nicer than anything I'd found, and the money was pretty good too, can't remember how much.

Just a little farther and I found much larger handbag. There was a meant behind me who was new to the games, and hadn't found anything yet. So I gave her the small bag. She seemed to be pretty glad to have it.

The whole time I was actually running in place, and it was the dome that was spinning, and I knew that. Suddenly I found I was at the top center of the dome, where there was a woman who looked like a woman who I worked with. The woman at work had a side gig as a ticket seller for a lot of large events, concerts and sporting events.

She was in a booth at the top of the dome, it looked just like a ticket window, she was sitting in it. Around the edges of her face were leopard spots, that faded as you got to the center of her face. I woke up at that point.

I have to say, that dark haired Hitler woman was so terrifying, it was such a terrifying experience to have her even notice me.

About the leopard spots, I originally thought they might have meant I was an out cast, or the lady in th ticket booth was--or the woman at work. But this year I realized it meant something else entirely. The ticket seller lady at work used this saying a lot: "a tiger doesn't change its stripes".

She said that a few times about some of the people who occasionally did business with us. One guy, for ibstance, son of a client, was just a ne'er-do-well. He seemed like he'd improve, but he never did.

She was 20 or more years older than I was, and just had a lot of experience with people. She'd seen it all before. I knew I was meant to hear her say that and know it was true. I had dated a guy and talked to her a little about him. I think she kind of knew him, and though she was not talking about him directly, I knew I was meant to hear that, anf that it was about him, even though it wasn't. I soon found out in an unpleasant way that she was right. Unfortunately.

The blue flames coming from the "colander" headpieces were about GASLIGHTING, which was definitely something someone in my family was doing to me at the time, maybe more than one person. This dream was possibly 30 years ago, maybe longer. But one I'll never forget.

The idea of me being frightened by someone who was more than 50 or so feet tall, is interesting. Last year I listened to someone talking about sorcery and witchcraft. He said when someone is actually doing that to you, one of the effects it has is making you hugely and disproportionately afraid of something very small and ordinary. He said usually if you see a spider on your nightstand, you grab a tissue and smash it, or even just use a finger or thumb. But witchcraft will make you think a spider is as tall as a skyscraper, you'll be terrified of it.

Also in the last year or so, I had an encounter on the internet with someone I at first trusted, then felt very intimidated by. She made a remark after I began to dislike her, not to me but someone else. She was just getting interested in a certain occult craft which is supposedly on par with witchcraft. Maybe intertwined. Actually she said, it sounds boring, but I thought I've heard other people say things like that and it was more or less denial. Well, I may never know.

The internet woman reminded me so much of the dream giantess, that I felt like the dream was sort of about her. The internet woman even has the same first name as my female relative. My relative looks not much like the dream villain, and I have no idea what the I ternet lady looks like.

But I think the idea of me being so scared of her reminds me of the dream. The colanders were like an aluminum one she used to have, so that's like the classic conspiracy theorist's tinfoil hat.

Well, that was an interesting dream, it was very vivid at the time, and I wrote about it in my paper journal and in this one, but I think not so extensively.

I wonder how in the first part of the dream I'm walking toward the museum, close to the entrance, but suddenly I'm back near the shoes again, trying to hide. It was a bit out of sequence, or ...darn, I'm not sure!

~~~~~~~~~~~~
I had been talking about lot for a while about a certain preacher I never named, and how dishonest he was, and uncaring. He's never really gotten the disrespect he deserved from a lot of his friends and followers. I think he's a complete hypocrite, BUT, he's gotten a lot of exposure for what he did. It seems like he just doesn't deserve to be disciplined or corrected, because he doesn't care, truly doesn't care.

In the last couple days I feel like I've gotten a heads up regarding condemnation of people. That I just need to stop. Doesn't Jesus say that we can only judge when we've gotten the beam out if our own eye? I just feel like this guy judged someone else, threw someone out of church when they obviously didn't deserve it, right in front of the whole church, Someone even has a camera on him, his voice recorded also. He'd been in ministry for years, should have handled the situation entirely differently. He's right out there as a minister of God, has written books, put out lots of video sermons.

It's one of those situations where people have done what is evil in the sight of God, right out in public. I don't know what to say about it if I'm not supposed to condemn the person. I guess let God worry about it and me move on to something constructive. Le sigh! I feel stuck in the mud of self, I guess.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
LEOPARDS DON'T CHANGE THEIR SPOTS, is what I meant to say about the last with leopard spots on her face. She had said in real life that tigers don't chang their stripes, and in the dream that translated to the same thing. LEOPARDS don't change their spots. I think the ticket booth is about a near death experience I had, and that I was at the end, buying another ticket to get back in the game.

The cats who don't change are the ones I want to avoid in this life. It never seems to come easy. I always want people to like me, but then I find someone who's a backstabber or mocker or user. Well, focus on the iges who aren't that...
JUST STUFF

Israel

Around a month ago, I got kicked out of my YouTube account, and for some reason let it stand. I guess because I spend so much time on YouTube that it isn't funny.

I thought it was because I started googling Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel. I don't know why, must have tripped over an article or something, about him.

Lol, I also had a strange thought come up about him first thing in the morning around the same time. The strange thought was this:

That he was somehow the inspiration for the character Zaphod Beeblebrox in The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy series of books.

It sort of fits, just the name,
Beeble from Bibi, his nickname. And he's like a president, which is what Beeblebrox is in the books. He's an international leader for the fact that there are many Jews in the nations still, and possibly a lot will simply pay attention to what he says. And well, Zaphod has two heads...heh, heh, as do we all.

Or not, what the heck. It's just a theory that came up in my head, and probably works better there than in the real universe.

And I started looking at Israel in Pinterest and saved some pins.

Overnight I got kicked out of my YouTube account. No problem, other than I put my little book of passwords somewhere, or it fell under the bed. I'm too damn lazy to look for it, so I've just been watching YT while not logged in.

But for some reason, that now has been in my head, that and reading a lot of Jewish people's posts at Quora, people who I never thought of as Jewish. But they are.

Not necessarily religious but they are sure intelligent, which I find to be what draws me to a lot of people. I spend a crazy amount of time at Quora too.

Well, Happy Birthday to Mr. Netanyahu. Oops, that was yesterday I think, the 20th October. I hope he's feeling better, the news says he keeled over at Yom Kippur services during a fast. Chest pains but he's better now.

I also thought of another famous science fiction character that may have partially been based on him, but I think I've stretched reality enough there, and won't mention it.

Happy Birthday also to Underlankers and Corporate Beach in the very unlikely event they are still watching their LiveJournals.