> I like the part about the church doors. If I were going to interpret this I'd say it refers to the religious discussions going on here, and how not everyone likes them (the doors are halfway cemented), but Sam is willing to allow them to go on (he is the one able to pry them open). Could that be close?
>

This RinkDream isn't exactly a 'weird' irrelevant dream. Perhaps it's the most interesting one I've ever read.

I'm inclined to agree with koalamom that your dream reflects the events we've seen in the Forum. But given that your dream first started in RinkChat, it probably should be interpreted on two levels.

1. The World View: Draws from our recent religious discussions on RinkWorks. Hannah's dream shifts the focus from the forum to an outside locale in Illinois. As koalamom observes, it's still the exact same imagery of "cemented doors" on the meeting place of the church. But it's applied -- on a far larger scale -- as a metaphor for the popularly-conceived insularity of the world Church. Ironically it works both ways here: the "vandalism" blocking the doors could simultaneously have been put down by: (a) people of other religious or secular beliefs who are pounding away at the doors; or by (b) Christians themselves, in a desperate attempt to keep vocal non-believers out of "the Church". Among Christians, I think you can recognize the basic predicament in our case. Grishny stated the problem clearly: "if the Book we base our entire faith on is true, then ours is the only way to heaven. A Christian who believes and follows the fundamental principles and doctrines of the Bible *has* to be 'intolerant' from the world's point of view." Yes, and here's the kicker: granted, 'intolerance' of belief in Christ is unavoidable -- BUT at the same time, the biblical "love thy neighbour" commands us NOT to be 'intolerant' to other people themselves! We're put into a terrible dilemma, one that will demand drastic measures to solve (this measure is suggested by the chainsaw, and by having Sam say "I was thinking about getting new doors.") However, Hannah's dream then realizes that chopping down the barriers is not enough. Resolving this universal problem for the Church will require sensitivity, and humility, which is why the dream-Sam shows her how to do this when he "gets down on his hands and knees and ... opens the door with his teeth and crawls in."

Er... In this interpretation, that's a LOT of loaded meaning to heap on Sam's role. Whew! Unless I've read way too much into it, I think her dream shows that ThePhan might be a fairly creative problem solver when she's awake. :-)

And now, the second more prosaic interpretation:


2. The Introspective View: Travholt's observations about the forum itself. The "vandalism," i.e. the cement getting poured in front of the doors, is the work of more ephemeral visitors who drop by... then get irritated by the tongue-in-cheek nature of our inside jokes... and then post multiple nasty and disruptive complaints which make the forum unpleasant to enter. Traditionally the only way to keep the disruptions in check is through "Rampant post deletions," in other words the chainsaw. The "papers with pink roses and written in calligraphy" are another representation of the internal humour of this site, which we find cute and amusing, but which visitors may find thorny and baffling -- especially since it's hard for an outsider to conceive that mock persecution (or "picketting") of one of our own is somehow "funny". I quote Travholt's discerning comments here since I think they provided the impetus for Hannah's imagery:

"Seeing how many people take offence of what's going on around [you-know-who] these days, I wonder: Has RinkWorks become too internal? Is it time to go from internal to introspective, and have a look at what's going on between us all in this remarkable society and how it affects the 'passers-by'?"

(Incidentally, I'm not saying that RW humour is so totally flawed that it has to be entirely scrapped. I'm just saying Hannah's dream suggests that its insularity makes it hard for a newcomer to follow, and we might want to keep that in mind.)

Okay. As for the rest of the dream involving jump ropes, German translations, mouseholes, grace/grass, and Ticia Mousie Darien Brunnen-G and "Save him or HE'LL TURN INTO ICE," I don't know if anyone can interpret all that because the symbolic associations are too personal. You've got ice in both your dreams, though. Hannah, you're the best one to understand them for yourself. Perhaps you watched a movie or show recently with some of those elements?

Wolf "to sleep, perchance to REM" spirit

P.S. Maybe you'll keep posting your dreams? That was much more entertaining than 99% of what's on TV. :-)