7 Random and Weird Things about Me
Patricia Singleton has tagged me with a request to share personal, quirky, eccentric facts about myself that you might not know from reading Shift Your Spirits. I hesitate to be so self-indulgent, but then I truly enjoyed reading all the other participating posts.
There are literally hundreds of random things that come to mind when I consider my entire life and go digging in the past, so for the sake of whittling down the list, I’ve limited the following to random, “weird” things about me that are either currently true — or, if from my past, are still true to this day:
I sleep with books
I physically sleep with a book. When I was three or four years old — before I could technically read, but was old enough to be read to — I believed that if I fell asleep while holding a book (or kept it near enough for me to continue touching while I slept) that it would act as a magical dream gateway to the world of the book. I believed that I could program my consciousness to fall into the world of the book and visit it during my dream state.
I was aware that most people used a stuffed animal as a similar prop, and although I tried to willfully transition to sleeping with a soft, cushy, lovable teddy bear instead of a hard-cornered object — this substitution was a no-go.
While I don’t recall this technique’s ever being particularly effective, I never really ceased to believe it was possible on some level and that I just needed to work harder at it — keep trying.
I no longer attempt this; but, to this day, I must read until my eyes close on their own. The only way I can fall asleep is while reading, and the book must stay beside me, like a sleep anchor.
I am rarely ever aware of my dreams
I do not dream. I’m sure that I (clinically) enter R.E.M. states and all that… I am barely exaggerating when I state that I can count on both hands how many times in my entire life that I’ve had dreams that I’m consciously aware of having, remember upon waking, etc.
I’m deeply envious of people who live an entire second life, filled with fantastic creativity, special effects… Yes, I’m aware of all kinds of techniques and strategies for working with dream states — I’ve tried them all at some point. It’s an absolute bust (for me).
More recently, on the rare occasion that I consciously remember or awake with an awareness of my dreams, I am disturbed to discover that I’ve dreamed someone else’s life — like I’ve been doing a reading for someone in my sleep.
I can’t be hypnotized and I meditate in a completely non-traditional way. More than one psychotherapist has suggested that because I cultivate, train, and practice transcendental states in my waking life that the required shift in consciousness happens, but goes undetected — I don’t recognize it.
I sleep on top of the covers and fully clothed
This may be the weirdest thing about me of all. This sleeping habit began in 2003, and corresponds exactly with the point at which my spirit guides began to communicate with me on a whole new level — loudly, clearly, and daily.
Since that morning, I have never been able to sleep beneath bed covers. I feel like I’m smothering, drowning, suffocating, forcefully held down, or tangled up in something.
You know how you will lie down on top of the bed when you nap during the afternoon, without really getting into bed in the same way you would at night or undressing or putting on pajamas? You just pull a small throw on top of your legs and doze off for an hour or two.
I still make my bed religiously; and I change the sheets as often as anyone — even though I never even touch them. My sleep resembles an 8 hour nightly nap.
I do not use an alarm clock
I can not sleep with a clock in my bedroom. I can’t stand the sight of one and the thought of waking up to an alarm makes me shudder.
I have an uncanny internal clock. I always know what time it is. If you woke me up in the middle of the night and said “Quick! What time is it?” I could probably tell you with a margin of error of 5 minutes in either direction.
I wake up at exactly the same time every morning — 12 minutes after the hour.
I wear a magic ring
I love jewelry, but I despise wearing it, with one major exception.
One of the last “real jobs” I had was as a jewelry buyer for a private metaphysical retail boutique/gallery. But I have never in my life been able to wear a single piece other than the ring you see in my picture above. You can’t tell from the photograph, but it’s an enormous, chunky carved piece of silver in the form of a horned owl (my totem) with his wings wrapped around the entire first digit of my index finger.
If I point my finger at you, his eyes are staring straight at you. He’s absolutely obnoxious as rings go, but he’s very significantly charged. I am always in either a Receptive or Projective state, magically, and I switch the owl from one hand to the other accordingly.
For example, when I’m typing or working on the computer, he weights the “mouse” finger of my right hand. Writing is a Right-hand Projective state.
When I am listening to someone, feel I need to be protected during dangerous circumstances such as driving, asking for divine guidance, or in some kind of prayerful state, I wear the ring on my left hand. Left-hand Receptive state.
All circumstances in which I find myself, without exception, require one or the other state of consciousness.
I also wear red shoes when I am feeling particularly powerful or when I need to feel more powerful. I am conservative and classic in my taste in clothes — meaning, I aspire to the fewest amount of basic, classic, timeless articles of clothing one can own.
For instance, I bought a new winter coat this fall — I LOVE it. It’s a basic black cashmere top coat. I could’ve worn it a hundred years ago, I could wear it a hundred years from now.
I aspire to own the “one perfect” representative of any article of clothing. A friend once told me I have my own personal “uniform.”
I never wear any pattern of any kind. I rarely wear any colors that aren’t neutral with one major exception — red.
In my personal fashion philosophy, the perfect pair of jeans, the perfect T-shirt, and the perfect hoodie sweatshirt is a staple uniform. Slap on a Red Shoe, and it’s the only ingredient you need to turn Plain Ol’ Whatever into a Meaningful Statement.
I could ramble on about the magical power of Red Shoes at great length (but I realize you may not really care to know the ins and outs of my personal wardrobe spellcraft.)
I read very, very — very — few New Age books. Go figure…
This is a major confession — and perhaps the #1 thing you would never even suspect about me from reading this blog — I have a low tolerance for reading New Age material.
Don’t get me wrong, I have read (past tense) an entire bookstore’s worth of texts that would be shelved as Religion, New Age, Metaphysical, Personal Development, Self-Help, and Spirituality. I have degrees in English Literature and Holistic Ministry…
Trust me, I have done my time studying other writers in this genre or publishing niche. I have a long list of favorites, and I continue to keep my eye on the industry.
My spirit guides explained to me exactly two years ago, January 2006, that studying, reading, and researching this type of subject matter is not the same thing as contributing to it. I could choose to keep reading and studying other authors in this field or I could become one.
The launch of Shift Your Spirits marked a fork in my path — or, honestly, a breaking point. If you put a brand-new, current New Age book in front of me my eyes will absolutely glaze over.
There are, of course, precious exceptions — the work of my contemporary blogging peers, my clients, and my colleagues. You can easily tell from my posts and my comments whom I read, adore, encourage, and support.
This confession may sound incredibly snobby to you — to me, it represents a change much more like addictive behavior modification. I am not unlike the food addict who becomes a culinary artist or food critic as a way to transcend and transform a shadow purpose into a productive mission.
I simply can’t do both. I was given a choice between reading and writing — I chose to write. When I need intellectual inspiration these days, I turn to hard-core natural science, cosmology, and social politics.
Living Weird and Feeling Truly Random,
image credit — author photo by Andrea Waters
Now for the tagging:
Thanks to Patricia for including/inviting me to write this post. Everyone I might remotely choose to tag seems to have already participated in this blogging exercise. Please note that I have a history of breaking tagging rules — so here’s my spin on this one…
Consider yourself tagged:
If you’re reading this, you have a blog, and you would like to share 7 Random and Weird Things about yourself, please feel free to post your link in the comments below. I want you to feel invited and included, because of your authentic impulse to participate.
Check out a few of the other bloggers who have participated in this meme:
Patricia Singleton
Andrea Hess
Sarah Peters
Paula Kawal
Deb Estep
Vitor Bosshard
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20 Responses to “7 Random and Weird Things about Me”
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Slade, your list was well worth the wait. I love the story about going to sleep with a book. I usually read until I can’t keep my eyes open any longer before I lay down to go to sleep at night. The book calms my mind, stills the racing thoughts so that I can sleep.
I go for long periods of time when I don’t remember my dreams or am aware that I am dreaming. Then I have short periods of time where I may dream 1-3 dreams in one night. I used to write them down. Mostly I don’t now. If it is important or I need help interpreting it, I have 2 friends that I will share the dream with. I took a wonderfully insightful dream class about 5 years ago that told me we are the only ones that can truly know what the symbols in our dreams mean to us. Dream books are only to be used as a guide. I have found that for me, some of the books are totally useless for interpreting my dreams.
Thanks for being vulnerable enough to share your list with us. It gives us another depth of understanding of you. Have a glorious day.
Patricia,
Thanks for wanting to know more about me!
:-)
Slade, excellent stuff. I knew most of your sleep things, but I did NOT know about your magic ring! Very cool! My first thought was, ‘I gotta get me one of those!’
When I visited New Mexico the first time in 1995, I picked up a fabulous ring of Navajo silver etched with air symbols. Within a year, though, I lost it. I still look back on that ring nostalgically — for me, it was a palpable connection with the West. When I finally got back to New Mexico in 1997, I went back to the same store, but I couldn’t get the same ring again; I ended up with a silver ring embedded with turquoise — a beautiful thing, but not as meaningful as the original. I’m wearing it right now. One day I’ll find a true replacement, one that’ll really speak to me.
I love it! I’m so glad Patricia tagged you!
I’m with you on the reading, too. I have to read before I fall asleep. It’s like the transition from my day into my time to rest. And it’s NOT a book about spirituality or new-agey stuff. Like you, the more I write, the less of that stuff I read.
Okay, so far the three of us need to read in order to sleep, and watch ANTM …
I have to say that ever since I started studying with Dr. Gibson (www.tybro.com) through his spiritual development course, the amount of dreaming I do is unreal. I went from barely ever dreaming to now having such vivid and extensive dreams that sometimes the only way I realize that I’ve been asleep is that it’s now five hours later. It’s kind of fun. I don’t do much analysis of my dreams, though. I’m often aware of studying or learning something, but I know that whatever it is will be available to me when I need it … I don’t need conscious recall.
Thanks for sharing, Slade!
Blessings,
Andrea
have I told you lately you’re completely adorable? And weird?
(I love weird!)
Jeff!
It seems like it’s been so long… Wonderful to see your comment here today.
Rough to hear about your ring though… (Interesting to note which “weird, random” factoid each of you responds to…)
Remind me to share my spell for programming magic jewelry…
Andrea,
I’m glad you left the link for Dr. Gibson here, as someone will likely need that piece of information and will be so happy to have your recommendation.
But, you know, I realized something — I’m really “okay” with how I’ve scraped together my various states of consciousness.
I wrote that I’m “envious” of people who dream vividly, but then I think there are probably people who would desire to experience what I do. You know what I mean?
It’s a surprising process of Gratitude, when you realize that the things that are “wrong” with you have become strengths. (I call it The Grace of Horns.)
I don’t know that I was really aware of that until I read your comment.
Thank you!
Lola,
That means a lot coming from someone as divinely sassy as you! Thank you for saying so… How many times have I needed to hear that one simple sweet sentence.
shucks
:-)
I guess I have so many friends that others would call “weird” that I don’t even notice it as a characteristic. Maybe it is the Saggittarian chart, I like different. I like people who are strong and different than me. I know that some people think of me in terms of being weird. I don’t care. It even tickles some part of me that other people may see me as weird. I know a lot of people think my ideas and beliefs are weird. I say that is what makes each of us interesting. Hope everyone is having a glorious day.
Slade,
I agree with Lola, you and your list are adorable! I’ve posted my 7 weird and radom things, with a link attached to my name above.
Thanks for sharing, and for giving all of us an opportunity, too.
-Sarah
Hi Slade: Love the book story. I too sleep with books, have since my high school days when I would lay them under my pillow and my angels would hold them over my bed (in my dreams) and instruct me on what I needed to know the next day for class. This kind of got me in trouble in my college logic class when we had to write how we arrived at our answers. My paper read something like….I read the questions, I put them under my pillow, I woke up, I wrote the answer down. (Didn’t think my professor would go for reading about the angelic help!) I did pass but only because the professors wife did the same thing at night. Bless her. I am sure she was a lovely women!
Hi Slade, what an interesting list. For a long time I complained that I didn’t dream and, like you, was envious of those that got those insights. However, lately, I’m dreaming up a storm. Every time I sleep I have a dream these days, even daydreaming. It’s so cool. I seem to fall into phase with people or see alternate paths for my life. I think what got me to the point dreaming consistently is honoring them by writing them down.
I’m also with you on the New Age books. I don’t read a lot of New Age, New Thought, or spiritual books. A lot of the insights I have come from within. They are so strong, though, I can’t deny them.
I’m with Patricia, thanks for sharing openly and honestly.
Happy New Year,
Nneka
Hi Slade!
I just love the magickal jewelry and of course it is something we have in common as I am sure you remember the amber bee from your reading with me! I have a fabulous amethyst pendant that is over 100 years old that really aids me and most recently I’ve been led to a fabulously energetic piece that resonates with the Archangel Michael. In fact, I see my spiritual self using it all the time…even though I haven’t yet purchased it!
Something is currently going on with Michael and I am paying close attention
I too fall asleep with books…my husband is forever removing them from the bed after I’ve fallen asleep!
Loved this one…so glad you decided to share!
Living weird describes us does it not?
Love,
PK
Slade:
I think it was Patricia who first told me about you. Once I visited your blog, I instantly became a subscriber for reasons that are not clear other than the fact that I continue to be fascinated with those who are capable of giving readings and communicate with spirit guides.
I found this post rather fascinating - I’ve seen these memes floating around the Internet and in fact participated in one long before Patricia invited me. Yours is positively the most intriguing responses to this meme!
Like many who commented above, I also like to read with a book in bed, to help me fall asleep. There’s something about the level of security and comfort when reading in bed. Can’t put my finger on it.
Anyhow, very nice post. Thanks for being vulnerable and transparent. I appreciate that from other bloggers. I believe in the value of authencity and revealing yourself a bit to a world of strangers who never met you but have been given the chance to get to know you a little through blogging with transparency. Thanks for sharing!
Hey Slade,
THE RING - jumped right out at me as soon
as I opened the page.
Wonderful to read your 7.
Patricia tagged me too and my random and weird
can be found at the link of my name here.
xo xo
Debs
Patricia,
Astrologically, the characteristics you describe are very much Sagittarian. (Throughout my life, most of my best female friends have had Sagittarius sun signs — I love you people!)
Cathy,
Love your Angel Tutoring Process — brilliant!
Logic was so much harder than I thought it would be. As a linguistics/language student my freshman year, Logic counted as a Math credit; I thought “Math of Words — perfect!” But I struggled a bit with that one…
Happy New Year, Nneka, you dreaming show-off, you!
:-)
Daydreams and contemplative states — I can rock those! What you said about
I have had several people whom I’ve coached on manifesting techniques and developing intuition describe it just this way.
Paula,
The amber bees is your reading — that’s right! The amethyst makes a lot of sense, considering your healing work… Weird is definitely relative, but I embrace it too.
Stephen,
Thanks for the wonderful affirmation on the post. I often question the boundary between writing the Personal stuff and publishing something more Universal/Practical — pretty cool how that sometimes turns out to be the same thing…
Deb,
Thanks for linking to your version of the meme — I think I’ll pull out the links from the comments and move them to the bottom of my post… Kind of a “retro-engineered tagging.”
Slade,
I’ve been called “eccentric” more often than I can count. Which is probably a kind way of saying I’m a weirdo or freak. Of course, me being me, I actually embrace my freakiness!!
Anyway, I wanted to drop by with this little story because I think you’re gonna get a kick out of it:
My mom gave me a really big book of fairy tales (the real ones, not the cleaned-up versions) when I was about five or six years old. I loved it so much I slept with it at the corner of my bed, just next to my head, separated by a small pillow. It’s still there! Granted, the top hard cover is gone now, and the binding has definitely seen better days, but I don’t know what I would do without it there. Early on I contributed a lot of my ability to dream to that crazy book sitting there. It has definitely taken on magical qualities to me over the years.
Superstition? Maybe. Magic? Absolutely! But here’s the kicker: as a child, I actually DID enter the fairytale world in my sleep! (Jealous yet? Just kidding!) I don’t remember all of the “dreams” I had, but I do remember that Rumpelstiltskin became my friend. Whenever my mom would read me that particular story I would insist that Rumpelstiltskin wasn’t evil, he was just misunderstood. Then there was Rapunzel, whose hair I would climb & brush for her. I don’t remember much else, but my mom tells me I talked about those people “from fairy land” during my waking hours as if they were real. Ahhhhh the uninhibited mind of a child….
Just thought you might get a kick out of that story. I had forgotten most of it until I read this post! Thank you so much for sharing personal information. As I’ve said before, it’s always easier to connect with The Universal when it is presented on The Personal level.
Love & Light,
Jewels
Slade,
I really liked that you in particular did this post. Somehow I really thought you’d pass, like you said, it could be construed as a bit self indulgent. Something I don’t perceive about you. Glad you saw it alternately.
As I read your random and weird things, I didn’t see them as that at all. They were simply expressions and extensions of who you are right now. There are so many people that conform to cookie cutter life choices. Those are definitely not the folks I am drawn to because I miss “them” behind their perfectly set up lives. It’s then, only if one looks closely enough, the gem inside can be viewed.
I think as you share here, whether this article or any other, you allow us unrestricted access to the person who is Slade.
I guess what I said about your post holds true for each author participating in this bit of fun, which turned out to be much more than just fun, it was truly a gift. Thanks, Slade. And the same to each of you that opened a bit of your life for us to see.
[…] I will be skipping 4 and 5, considering that I’m quite late to join and there’s no one left I’d like to tag, thanks to Slade and his “7″ people […]
I must say I have to agree with Stephen - your interpretation of this meme is the most intriguing I’ve read - ever. Notice I did not say ‘weird’. This is probably going to sound really corny, but I can completely describe how reading this post made me feel with a quote:
“And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
Thanks Slade.
It is snowing. I am home. stumbling. I found your interesting site. I signed up for the email. I love red shoes, too
Pam
Pam,
I’m glad you found me. Thank you for the kind words and the comment. It’s very encouraging and much appreciated.