I had a dream last night that I laid underneath a chestnut grand piano, submersed in water, knowing and surrendering to the fact that I was dying, as my heartbeat slowly danced its way to a complete stop, until I was surrounded by light. The dying part of dream was actually quite beautiful, being submersed in water was therapeutic and the awareness of my heartbeat slowing down with each breath was as welcoming as a sunrise after a long stretch of rainy days. There was however a disturbing aspect of the dream. I was O.K. with the dying part, O.K. with the fact that my body lay in a pool of water and I was O.K. with the knowing that I no longer would exist in this world, as I knew it. What bothered me in this lucid dream is that as I lay slowly dying, I was surrounded by many friends and family members that were completely sidetracked and oblivious to my deconstructing still being. They were distracted by talking on the phone, text messaging one another, sending out endless emails and surfing the net. Not one of my friends or family members noticed or cared about my last moments of existence as I prepared for my unknown journey into the spirit world. In the end, the white glowing light blanketed my friends, family and the chestnut grand piano and I awoke.

My sweetness of a chocolate lab lay still by my bedside and my overweight loving tabby cat purred his tune, as he laid cloaked in bedcovers. I slipped out of bed and prepared myself an extra dark cup of java to ward off my dreams of death. Something is different, I thought to myself. Things are just not right. I ran myself a warm shower hoping to cleanse my body and mind from my disturbing thoughts and found myself in a complete, utterly full-fledged argument with absolutely no one besides, me, myself and I.

“I am a generation X baby,” I yelled at the top of my lungs in distress. According to the Wikipedia, Encyclopedia, Generation X babies are those who were born from the mid 1960’s through the late 1970’s. The Generation X’s are the technology guru’s of the world. According to the National Institute of Health, records show that 57.7 million adults suffer from depression, anxiety, and stress disorders. That is a whopping one out of four adults. The Generation X babies of America also have record numbers of premature deaths due to heart failure, have low conception rates, divorce and are the leading single people of the world. Like David Gilmour of Pink Floyd would say, “Is anybody out there?” Oh, that’s right, our new global mantra by Verizon is “Can you hear me now? Can you hear me now?” No wonder everybody is depressed and anxious and mind you, according to the January 2007 10-Q tax form for telephone & data, Verizon the No. 2 mobile phone service of the U.S. exceeded $10.1 billion dollars in six months, while the leading monster AT&T added 2.4 million customers in the same time period. The Generation X babies have been caught in the change of technology where simple living is defined by ease in communicating with one another with digital devices and high speed internet. It’s an epidemic! We are so connected with one another digitally that we forgot how to communicate amongst one another on a one-to-one basis. I mean think about it… Thousands of people are evolving into robots as they communicate through match.com, eharmony.com, Facebook,  MySpace, YourSpace, EverybodysSpace; What about normal communication? Does it exist anymore? Does anyone attribute these health concerns that we endure to the fact that we as a nation believe that we are so connected with one another digitally that we are completely disconnected spiritually? WHAT ABOUT LOVE?

I heard on the news that President Obama gave Queen Elizabeth an iPod as a gift. I almost threw up when I heard that. What does a high-end iPod cost, filled with tunes, around $700.00? I’d rather have a lifetime supply of Charmin Toilet paper to wipe myself clean of all the crap that’s going around. For a moment, just imagine that there is a major circuit breaker that if you pulled the plug all the cell phones, all the computers, satellite radio, DS’s, GPS’s, iPods, Digital TV, everything down. I know, I know…what you’re thinking, that’s impossible, the stock market would crash. Well it already did, so just imagine. Whatever happened to John Lennon? He imagined; oh that’s right, he got shot for that. Anyway, back to pulling the technology plug. Do you think people would immerse from their homes only to meet their neighbors for the first time? Most of us do have neighbors you know. Do you think people as they sat in the dark would see that shooting star that screamed across the sky that they would not have seen if they were looking for their perfect match online? Do you think people would reach out and lend a hand to an elderly person as they struggled with their groceries bags? I do. We spend so much time feeding the horse of technology that the horse is growing so large that its hoofs are stomping on our humanity and feeding off our souls. Technology is dehumanizing humanity.

Did you know that the nurturing touch of another human being is as healing as a wild animal licking a wound clean? Did you know that a loving gesture or a positive affirmation is as nurturing as a mother holding a newborn underneath a starlit sky? Did you know that a hug, a gentle kiss and a gaze into a one’s eyes could ward off stresses and tensions that had been endured that day? Did you know that none of these things could happen through text messaging, emails, cell phones and the Internet?

I can’t say that I’m completely an All Natural Girl…. I am guilty of text messaging a few selective people I have emailed before and I sometimes can be a cell phone slut however, I do know that as a child I fantasized about having a loving husband. My childhood fantasy included solitude and comfort in hanging out linens to dry on the clothesline as warm breeze flowed through the air and my little girl with long brown ringlet hair danced her way through childhood laughing the whole way. What I did not see in my childhood fantasy was the cell phone ringing on the picnic table drowning out the sounds of the birds and the crackling of the branches as they rubbed against one another. What I did not see, is that I would be barraged by numerous amounts of junk emails only to find out that I have no time for a husband, no time for children and no time to hang the laundry out, so I throw the clothes in the dryer as my imaginary child hypnotizes herself into her DS. What I did not see is that I would be amongst the thousands of individuals stuck in a world of connected disconnect.

This brings me back to my dream of my death as I laid underneath a chestnut grand piano, submersed in water as my heartbeat slowly laid down to rest. A piano in a dream indicates that some aspect in your life is in discord and that you are in need of devoting time towards relationships and family to create harmony in your life. Being submersed in water signifies purification, as death in a dream ignites a powerful spiritual awareness that you are about to endure. I am not aware what the cell phones and Internet signified, for the dream dictionary does not include modern technology. However I do know that in my dream I was disturbed by the actions that my loved ones chose as I entered the forgiving white light. So the next time you are thinking about texting a friend, shooting an email over or posting a picture on facebook, maybe you should try the old-fashioned way of writing a letter, reaching out and hold one’s hand or offer a friend or family member in need a warm embrace. For the healing touch of another human being can heal old wounds, release stress, anxiety, depression and the loneliness the generation that has been Rated X endures.

Carlene (freelance writer) enjoys writing non-fiction stories that open the mind and inspire the soul. All writings come from real life happenings. She hopes to reach out to others to encourage inner strength, balance and harmony. Carlene is the founder of Symmetree Yoga, which specializes in teaching yoga and health. If you would like more information about Symmetree Yoga you are welcome log on to www.symmetreeyoga.com or call Carlene at (603) 662-8664.