What Are You Dreaming About?

My Teeth!

My Teeth!


Most of us have experienced one of these dreams in our life; they focus on themes universal to most everyone. Do dreams have a message, or are they just flashes of thoughts we’ve had in our past? Can working with the inner messages in common dreams help you maximize your confidence, creativity, and effectiveness in your daily life?

My Teeth are Falling Out!
If your teeth are dirty, diseased, disintegrating, or falling out in your dreams, you’re probably worrying about how pleasing and attractive you are to others and to sexual and romantic partners. You may be afraid of getting old. Teeth also relate to self-expression and effective communication, so losing teeth can mean you’re embarrassed about something you’ve said, or you’re having trouble saying what you really mean.
The real essence of teeth is their ability to bite through, to cut, tear, and grind. As human animals, you retain a vestige of snarling — showing teeth as a “stay back” warning — in our disarming smile. If your teeth fall out, you lose personal power and your ability to be assertive, decisive, and self-protective.
Questions: Where do I lack confidence or feel powerless? With whom do I feel self-conscious or insecure? How am I angry or frustrated? Where should I take action to “bite through” something, or chew something thoroughly so I understand it?
I have been having this kind of dream lately! And I am definitely having issues with self-esteem and image lately… possibly linked to getting older. But what about all those years I had the same dreams and felt like I was king of the world?

I’m naked in public!
You’re going about your business and suddenly realize you’re naked or in your underwear at work or at the grocery store. Exposure dreams bring to light the things you don’t want others to know about you and places where you feel vulnerable. Suddenly everyone sees through you. Being naked in front of others also implies being caught off guard or being unprepared, uninformed, uneducated, or unpracticed.
Questions: What have I been hiding? Where do I feel like a phony? What’s wrong with being seen for whom I really am? Where do I feel invisible? Can I tolerate, or even love, my imperfections? Who am I afraid will reject me? What am I telling myself I need to be prepared for — for my own sake?
Nope – not a single dream where I am naked in public!

A monster is chasing me!
You’re running, trying to outpace or outwit your pursuer, and he/she/it’s gaining on you! Suddenly your legs are paralyzed! Chase dreams often represent fears of facing up to something you’ve judged negatively, like your own rage, shame, or irresponsibility, for example.
Or, you may feel threatened by someone or by a possible failure. If you become paralyzed, you probably need to stand still and meet your pursuer to receive an important message. Or, you may be experiencing the normal “paralysis” that occurs in the REM (rapid eye movement) sleep state.
Questions: What do I feel threatened by? What am I avoiding? Who have I given my power to? Where have I surrendered my right to “take up space”? Where do I feel helpless or unsupported? How do I deal with conflict?
The only monsters that have chased me are snakes, which are not really monsters, in fact I’ve owned a red-tail boa constrictor and I’m not afraid of them at all. But I do have the occasional dream where a snake is biting at my feet…

I lost my wallet and keys!
Dreams of loss point to areas where you are too attached to something; you are telling yourself, “Let go and see what comes next when you don’t have it all locked down.” Losing your wallet can indicate it’s time to reexamine your identity. Losing your car may mean you need to look at your need for movement, freedom, and independence as you’ve defined it. Losing keys points to a fear of losing authority or access to an opportunity. Losing money can mean you’re letting go of what’s been valuable to you so you can revalue your core self.
Questions: How have I outgrown ideas of who I am? Where do I need to let go and trust the unknown part of myself to provide for me? Where do I need to experience space and emptiness instead of clutter?
Sometimes people who interpret dreams are just plain crazy! When I dream about losing my wallet or keys, it has nothing to do with “reexamining my identity” but everything to do with, “how the hell am I going to replace all the *&%t in my wallet.”

Conclusion: We’ll never know, I suppose, what dreams mean. I suppose they have a different meaning to each of us. I’d like to think people like Stephen King have dreams that light up his imagination though, I mean – how does he possibly come up with all of that stuff?
I’d love to hear about other people’s dreams! And whether or not they have meaning!

Pray for Kansas City

By John M. Ricci
October 27, 2014

Let’s All Pray for the Kansas City Royals!

I’m hoping anyone who reads this will take a moment and pray for the Kansas City Royals in their bid to become World Champions in 2014, by defeating the San Francisco Giants. The Giants took a 3 games to 2 lead Sunday evening, October 26. This means Kansas City needs to win the remaining two games when they return home and play Tuesday and, hopefully, Wednesday nights.
San Francisco has won plenty of times in the last few years. They have won the World Series twice since 2010. Enough already!
Pray for KC! And I’d like to think my lovely wife, Sarah, is watching from above and doing what she can to lobby for her favorite team.

Ready to Spend? Apple Pay Will Make it SO Easy!

Apple Pay

Apple Pay

Apple Pay is here; it is Apple’s way of trading in plastic credit cards with those magnetic strips of information for a digital solution stored on your iPhone… and soon, your Apple Watch.
Major League Baseball has apparently agreed with Apple, in an effort to get this technology in all baseball stadiums, to use it during the current 2014 World Series where the Kansas City Royals are facing the San Francisco Giants (Go Royals!). The goal: to make it easier for everybody to buy everything!
So far, of the individual vendors at the two stadiums offering the new technology, Apple Pay seems to be working just fine. It will soon be even easier to depart with your money… through mid-air, like magic. Purchases under $25.00 don’t even require a signature! Swoosh!
Apple’s goal, of course, is to have these machines everywhere. An Apple world for an Apple planet, paid for in Apple’s… well, not exactly. And Apple is hopeful that it will shorten long lines, making everyone happier (and more eager to spend?) while shopping.
It will be quite some time before Apple Pay is actually everywhere. So far, it is in 220,000 stores in the U.S. – big chains including McDonalds, Subway, Walgreen’s, and Apple’s own retail stores. Other retailers are also developing there own mobile payment services, including Best Buy and 7-Eleven, hoping to get into this arena early. As usual, it appears that Apple will come in first with Apple Pay, while others struggle to catch up or even survive.

Why Do AIDS Deaths Go Unnoticed Amongst EBOLA Panic?

Ebola Virus

Ebola Virus

It is interesting to watch the media and public (necessarily) panic over EBOLA. While one (1) person has died in the United States from EBOLA, due to the incompetence of a Texas hospital, 1.5 MILLION people died (world-wide) from AIDS in 2012(i) . Why is it that AIDS no longer dominates the national discussion? Is it because it is no longer the “death sentence” it was, at least here in the United States? Or is it the “MSM” category that AIDS falls into, that is, “men who have sex with men” which unfortunately continues to brand this disease as the “gay disease.”

When AIDS first came to public awareness in the early 1980’s, I was working in Massachusetts General Hospital’s blood chemistry analysis laboratory. Hospital administration decided to have any patients they “suspected” of having AIDS, labeled as such – both in their charts and their tubes of blood received a yellow warning tape wrapped around the top. It took those geniuses at the top four months to figure out the flaw in this system… people like me handing these test tubes, opening them up to conduct chemical analysis, would be more careful with the yellow tubes than those not marked with the warning. If a doctor let an AIDS patient slip by (perhaps he didn’t appear gay enough?) and his tube of blood had no yellow maker, well I might be in the lab tossing it up in mid-air between tests. So, after six months of insanity, MGH, one of the top hospitals in the world, changed the protocol and from then on, every tube of blood was to be handled as if it had AIDS in it.

There is a point to all of this. Back then, people really were scared and they had reason to be. This virus was brand new, nothing about it was known with certainty in the beginning. Nobody knew for sure exactly how it was transmitted, although it appeared not to be airborne. I was very worried, working in the chem lab, and this worry increased ten-fold when I accidentally stuck myself with a needle that didn’t even have blood anywhere near it. I had to be tested for AIDS every other week for three months, and every other month for another six before I was ruled safe. That was a frightening experience. With Ebola, which has been around since first appearing in 1976, we KNOW how to deal with it. Yet the media insists on creating as much fear and panic as possible. I have friends that are preparing Ebola survival kits. Are you kidding me? My reaction to their insanity is, “Are you insane?” The number one response is, “Hey, it’s better to be safe than sorry.” Really? Why not walk around in a bubble to be extra safe then?

Now New York and New Jersey has begun to enforce a mandatory quarantine for anyone who has had any contact with someone else who has Ebola. This is regardless of whether they have any symptoms… for anything. Fox News responded, not questioning the quarantine, but rather whether the quarantine will be long enough. “How do we really know how long a period is safe?” Wow! Ebola first presented itself in 1976(ii) ! WE KNOW.

People do need to get a grip, as President Obama suggests. Ebola is under control and anyone who suggests otherwise is either ignorant, afraid, or both. What we need to do is focus on the source of Ebola, help those in Africa, and continue to push for AIDS treatment and research. AIDS is killing MILLIONS of people every year. If a few straight Americans died from AIDS, everyone would be up in arms, but sadly it is transmitted through drug use and homosexually active men – in a far majority of cases… so most in the U.S. will not ever care. People living with HIV continues to spiral out of control; in 1990, 7 million people were infected, by 2012, this number has jumped to 34 million(iii).

(i) http://1.usa.gov/1zwXTbf

(ii) http://bit.ly/10rVwqS

(iii) http://bit.ly/1rH91t0

New York City Confirms First Case of Ebola

I think it’s important to keep in mind that 1.5 MILLION PEOPLE DIED from AIDS in 2012.
Why is it that this astronomical number is virtually unknown to most people? Let me know what you think!

Boston John

New York City has its first confirmed case of Ebola in a doctor who had recently been traveling in West Africa to treat patients suffering from the deadly disease. Craig Spencer, 33, was taken to Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan earlier today after experiencing a 103 degree fever and other symptoms, reports The New York Times. An initial test has since confirmed that Spencer contracted the disease, which has killed 4,877 people and infected nearly 10,000 across Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. Spencer’s now in isolation, though was reportedly bowling and taking Uber for transportation on Wednesday night, raising questions about whether others may have been in close contact.

In a statement, Bellevue Hospital said it “designated for the isolation, identification and treatment of potential Ebola patients by the City and State,” and that New York City was taking “all necessary precautions” to keep others from getting the disease.

This is…

View original post 105 more words

WHO Says Millions of Candidate Ebola Vaccine Doses Ready for 2015

Millions of doses of a candidate Ebola vaccine are expected to be available next year, with efficacy trials beginning in certain West African countries this December, the World Health Organization said this morning. There are currently two candidate vaccines for Ebola that are ready to begin human trials, and five others are expected to get started during the first several months of next year. The vaccines must be determined to be safe and effective before a mass vaccination begins, however. The WHO says that there are no plans to begin a mass vaccination program until at least June 2015, and then only if the growth of the epidemic justifies it.

Ebola Virus

Ebola Virus

The WHO cautioned that even a working vaccine would not be a “magic bullet” for stopping the spread of Ebola, according to the BBC. Rather, the WHO says that the vaccine could be a “very important tool” should the current response not be enough. “And even if the epidemic would be already receding by the time we have vaccine available, the modeling seems to say vaccine may still have an impact on controlling the epidemic,” WHO assistant director-general Marie-Paule Kieny says, according to the BBC. The WHO says that by the end of the first half of 2015, a few hundred thousand doses of candidate vaccine will be available.

Obama says it is ‘Probably Useful’ for US to Review Police Militarization after Ferguson

President Obama today gave his longest and most detailed statements about the week long clashes between protesters and heavily armed police in Ferguson, Missouri, saying he was open to the idea of reviewing the collection of federal programs that supply local police departments with surplus military gear. “I think it’s probably useful for us to review how the funding has gone, how local law enforcement has used grant dollars, to make sure that what they’re purchasing is stuff they actually need,” a visibly tired Obama said at a White House press conference this afternoon, after cutting his vacation short to return to Washington, DC.

The president also sought to defend the police response to some extent, saying “it’s clear that the vast majority of people are peacefully protesting. What’s also clear is that a small minority of individuals are not,” in reference to looting of several stores in Ferguson and reports that Molotov cocktails were thrown at police.

Obama further announced that his top law enforcement official, US Attorney General Eric Holder, would be traveling to Ferguson on Wednesday to meet with protesters and FBI agents spearheading a civil rights investigation into the killing of Michael Brown, an unarmed 18-year-old African American man who was shot six times by a local police officer.

Brown’s killing on August 9th galvanized the mostly African-American community of Ferguson, a suburb of St. Louis, to take to the streets in protest over the eight days, only to be met with a harsh crackdown by the mostly white local police force in armored vehicles, tear gas, and high-powered weaponry. The collection of local and state police agencies in Ferguson have been widely criticized for their response to the protests, including the arrest and intimidation of several journalists. After further clashes last night, Missouri Governor Jay Nixon ordered the National Guard be deployed today to reinforce and help protect police in Ferguson.

Apple: Beats Music Part of iTunes Next Year

Apple plans to relaunch Beats Music as part of iTunes next year, integrating the recently purchased streaming service into its hugely popular music store, according to The Wall Street Journal. The Journal notes that it’s only heard this information from a single source, but Apple bringing Beats Music into iTunes has always seemed like a fairly obvious route for this acquisition to go — it seemed more like a question of when it will happen than if it will happen. It’s not known what the integration will look like, but Apple CEO Tim Cook has frequently espoused the benefits of Beats’ hand-curated playlists, so it’s likely that the service’s general format won’t be going away.

“Music sales reportedly fell at least 13 percent this year”

News of the coming integration follows earlier reports that the Beats Music brand may disappear in favor of iTunes. TechCrunch also reported that a major music announcement could come in the first half of 2015.

Apple’s work with Beats comes as digital music purchases begin to decline. Last year marked the first time that sales in the iTunes store dropped — with subscription services pinned as the culprit — and this year things are said to be looking even worse. The Journal reports that digital music sales in the iTunes store have fallen between 13 to 14 percent this year, compared to a single digit decline last year. Even so, that isn’t necessarily reason for Apple to panic: overall revenue from sales of music, apps, ebooks, and other digital services was up quite a bit this quarter, and even then, it still represents only a sliver of Apple’s business.

New York City Confirms First Case of Ebola

New York City has its first confirmed case of Ebola in a doctor who had recently been traveling in West Africa to treat patients suffering from the deadly disease. Craig Spencer, 33, was taken to Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan earlier today after experiencing a 103 degree fever and other symptoms, reports The New York Times. An initial test has since confirmed that Spencer contracted the disease, which has killed 4,877 people and infected nearly 10,000 across Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. Spencer’s now in isolation, though was reportedly bowling and taking Uber for transportation on Wednesday night, raising questions about whether others may have been in close contact.

In a statement, Bellevue Hospital said it “designated for the isolation, identification and treatment of potential Ebola patients by the City and State,” and that New York City was taking “all necessary precautions” to keep others from getting the disease.

This is not the first person with Ebola in the US, though it’s the first for New York, which has more than 8.4 million residents. Thomas Duncan, 42, was the first patient to develop symptoms of the virus in the US after traveling in Liberia, and died from it earlier this month. Two Texas healthcare workers then contracted the virus from Duncan, though both recovered from the virus. Since then, the US has funneled travelers coming from Ebola-stricken countries to just five US airports where they’ve undergone enhanced screening. The country’s also appointed an “Ebola Czar” to coordinate the government’s efforts to combat the virus.