Susan Joyce – Page 15

2014/03/062014/03/06

Why Dream?

In traditional cultures, people tend to believe dreams reveal hidden truths about themselves and the world around them: when the body sleeps, the soul is free to wander the universe and collect information. I like that idea.

Scientists, searching for ways to explain and define dreams report that dreaming is just another way of thinking, on a different level. Thinking in the sleep state. Something I’ve known since childhood because my dreams always seem so real and full of meaning. Hours after dreaming, I can recall detailed images, voices, and symbols. Typically, I don’t recognize the meaning of the dream immediately, but I sense if it contains something significant. It often seems like a secret message sent to me in code from another dimension. A code only I can decipher through careful observation, and a willingness to welcome and embrace the hidden truth of the dream.

As a child, I sometimes felt like Cinderella waking up in the middle of a dream and finding myself in an exciting, glamorous, improbable life. And then I would wonder, does one use a dream to rehearse life, or live to rehearse a dream? Or, am I perhaps awakening to a life I dreamed of having that actually came true?

As a kid, one of my greatest role models was my great-aunt Gladys. A retired school teacher, she married a banker and they traveled the world. Once a teacher, always a teacher—she sent picture postcards to her family and friends. For me, it was so exciting to receive a postcard from destinations far away—places I dreamed of visiting one day. I used to sleep with those postcards on my heart and imagine they were magic carpets that could fly me to the exotic place shown on the postcard photo.

Susan Joyce in 1990 with a cutout photo of her inspirational Aunt Gladys riding a camel — In 1990 at a booksellers’ convention, with a cutout photo of my inspirational Aunt Gladys riding a camel

Guess what? Years later, I have visited most of the places Aunt Gladys traveled to and even wrote a children’s book to honor her, and her positive influence in my life. Her postcards encouraged me to explore the great big wonderful world. I believe that my far fetched dreams over the years are the reason I live a most extraordinary and exciting life.

Do you pay attention to your dreams? Do you keep a dream journal? If so, I’d love to hear from you.

2014/02/232014/03/05

Shorthand Slang

My mom was an expert at writing shorthand. Before marrying my father, she worked as a clerk of court—took letters from her boss and recorded testimonies of court witnesses in the abbreviated symbolic method. After marriage, she no longer worked outside the home. She was too busy raising eight children. But she practiced her shorthand often by recording my father’s sermons (he was a preacher) in the brief form. I sat in awe watching her swiftly scribble symbols for words.

Word abbreviations and acronyms are not a modern invention. In ancient times, to reduce the time-consuming workload of the scribe, they were used to engrave coins, etch Greek vases, and mark religious icons. The Jesus Fish or Ichthys (Greek word for fish, shown above) was a secret symbol of early Christianity.

Thanks to the spread of literacy in our modern world, spoken and written acronyms based on slang sayings have become the popular form of shorthand.

I remember witnessing the birth of the acronym “TGIF!” The phrase “Thank God It’s Friday” was first introduced in my corporate days in LA, in the mid 60s, and quickly became the abbreviated version. The first “TGI Fridays” restaurant opened in New York City in December of 1965 and now boasts a worldwide chain of popular restaurants where workers meet to celebrate the end of the workweek. Great name!

And now with the advent of texting, another wave of bizarre jargon is changing our spoken English language into a more abbreviated form. People from CA now write and say, “COO” for cool. “WUT” means “what” for people in a hurry, who can’t find the “h” and “a” keys fast enough. OMG expresses alarm. Four becomes 4. Too becomes 2. “IDK” should be used even more frequently because most people really don’t know.

Young people wanting to confuse parents have created their own form of language using a combination of shortened words with creative spelling and punctuation. Reads like babble to me, but it’s fun to try and decipher the meanings, while trying to learn this new lingo.

DWBH means “Don’t worry, be happy.” EOW means “End Of Watch.” LHM is “Lord Have Mercy” or “Lord Help Me.” YCALWB means “You’ve Come A Long Way Baby.” And I have. I’m learning a new language. WDUT? TX for listening.

2014/02/102014/03/05

Born To Be Me

On 11 August 1965, a 21-year-old black man, was arrested for drunk driving near the Los Angeles’ Watts neighborhood. The ensuing and violent struggle during his arrest sparked off 6 days of rioting, resulting in over 1,000 injuries, nearly 4,000 arrests, 34 deaths, and the destruction of property valued at $40 million.

One morning, during the riots, on my way to downtown LA for a meeting the police stopped my car. Two other telephone company business representatives were riding with me–a white woman (married to a black man) and a young black woman. The police yanked the black passenger from my car, pinned her against it, handcuffed her, and repeatedly banged her head against the rooftop. I screamed at them to stop. Continue reading “Born To Be Me”

2014/02/022014/03/05

Being Present

I can still hear my 6th grade teacher clear her throat, then ask, “Susan, where are you? The rest of us are on page 26.”

My mind snapped into place as Mrs. Easley asked me to continue reading where the previous student had left off. I paused, giggled at the thought of students and teacher physically sitting on page 26, did a quick mental rewind of the last words I heard, then focused on the inked page, and started reading.

After class, my friend Shelley congratulated me on my quick come-back. “Day-dreaming again?” she asked, tapping me on my shoulder.

“Floating, but I was here.”

“How do you do that?” Shelley asked.

Today I’m reminded of how “being present while floating” has guided me through the maze of my amazing life. Paying close attention to details of each breathing, living moment, my gut instincts, clairvoyant thoughts, and telling dreams, I focus on the present and allow my senses to go with the flow and collect important information.

While living in Israel in 1968, I visited the zoo in Haifa. Noticing a sign outside the elephant house, I stopped and studied it. It looked like the head of an elephant with a big ear, an eye, and a trunk. Great image, I thought, drawing the pictograph in my travel journal. A student of Hebrew, I knew that the sign was in fact three Hebrew letters forming the word for elephant in Hebrew—-Peel. Marveling at the elephant house sign, I said to myself, “If I ever write a book about an elephant, I’m going to name him Peel.”

Living in Frankfurt, Germany in the late 70s, at a low point in my life, a singing elephant appeared at the foot of my bed singing a song of encouragement in a dream.

I sat up in bed, rubbed my sleepy eyes and listened.

An elephant won’t forget you when you’re happy.
An elephant won’t forget you when you’re sad.
‘Cause an elephant knows the secret is remembering it all—
Learning from the good times, and the bad.

Suffering from pneumonia and feeling drained emotionally, I was indeed sad. The next day, I couldn’t get the song out of my head. I sang it aloud often. And every time I sang it, I felt better and stronger. So I wrote it down, music and words,

A few weeks later, the singing elephant appeared again and we started conversing, always in rhyme, about learning from life adventures. I made notes in my dream journal and soon realized I had something important to share.

Years after the elephant appeared in my dreams, and after some wonderful synchronicities, “Peel, the Extraordinary Elephant,” my first children’s book, was published in 1985. It’s still in print today.

Being present is being in touch with ourselves, focusing on each moment (happy or sad), and going with the magical flow of life.

2014/01/24

Cyprus Ghost-town Rebirth

DERYNEIA, Cyprus — Time virtually stopped in 1974 for the Mediterranean tourist playground of Varosha. When Turkey invaded Cyprus in the wake of a coup by supporters of union with Greece, thousands of residents fled, and chain-link fences enclosed a glamorous resort that it’s said once played host to Hollywood royalty like Elizabeth Taylor.

The town’s crumbling, war-scarred beachfront hotels have become an emblem of the country’s division between Turks and Greeks. In 40 years, few have set foot inside the town, which remains heavily guarded by the Turkish army and twists of barbed wire.

But that grim scene could present a rare opportunity

2014/01/232014/03/05

Once Upon A Dream

Dreams have fascinated me since childhood. My dreams always seemed so real and full of meaning. Hours after dreaming, I could recall in detail the images, voices, and symbols. Most often I didn’t know the meaning immediately, but I sensed it was important information that I needed to figure out. As if a secret message in code needed to be deciphered through careful observation with a willingness to embrace the hidden truth about myself and the world around me.

Sometimes I felt like Cinderella waking up in the middle of a dream… finding myself in an exciting, glamorous, improbable, far-fetched life. And then I would wonder, Continue reading “Once Upon A Dream”

2014/01/192014/03/05

Donnie’s Drawing

A few weeks after my memoir The Lullaby Illusion was released, I heard from several friends who lived in Cyprus during the Cyprus War of 1974—people who, like me, witnessed the atrocities firsthand. One man (Don)who contacted me was a boy of five when the war happened.

I first met Donnie when he was living with his family in Kyrenia, Cyprus in the early 70s. A few years later Donnie and his family were with me and a group of other civilians stuck in a UN Camp in the hills above Kyrenia during the war in July 1974.

On our third day in the camp a sudden and loud burst of close range gunfire pinned us to the ground as Greek and Turkish soldiers surrounded us and began firing shots at each other. “Move!” I screamed. “We’re under attack.” Noticing a small boy asleep on the ground, face up and alone a few feet away, I crawled over to him and covered his body with mine until the firing soldiers moved on. Then I picked him up and ran with others down the hill toward a ravine. Continue reading “Donnie’s Drawing”

2014/01/112014/03/05

Citizen of the World by Susan Joyce

In 1968, at age 23, I left Los Angeles with my husband. Although I had attended college part-time for a few semesters while working full-time, I had many more semesters to go. And I didn’t really know what I wanted to be when I “grew up.” I decided to quit my job, take a year off, see the world, and then decide on a career. Felt sort of like dancing to the theme song from The Wizard of Oz. “Off to see the wizard,” I sang as I prepared for my adventure. Off to see the unknown. Why? Because, because. Why not? Best decision I ever made.

We sold our possessions, purchased tickets and several sheaths of American Express Travelers Cheques, packed clothes, books, and cameras. I stashed my passport and travel journal in my purse, and said tearful goodbyes to family and friends. Continue reading “Citizen of the World by Susan Joyce”

2013/12/24

Sinful Review

Another review, this one from “The Sinful Review” book blog, with an except from “The Lullaby Illusion”:

http://sinfulreview.wordpress.com/2013/11/14/lullaby-illusion-by-susan-joyce/

Thanks Teresa Jimenez for the great review!

2013/12/072014/03/05

Peace for Cyprus

“Help us reach our aim of achieving peace on our divided island, Cyprus! #peace http://thndr.it/1bqeqQl”

Cyprus divided, the red showing the Turkish zone. — The country divided, the red showing the Turkish zone.

I lived in Cyprus in 1974 and personally witnessed the war that split this beautiful island. Help these determined young people make the world aware of their goal to achieve peace on their divided island.