I N C E P T I O N

Movie producer and director, Christopher Nolan (Insomnia, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight), explores

the idea of dream inception (a dream within a dream) in the science fiction heist thriller, "Inception" (2010), The film stars a large "dream team" cast that includes Leonardo DiCaprio (Titanic), Ellen Page, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cottilard , Ken Watanabe,Tom Hardy, Dileep Rao, Cillian Murphy, Tom Berenger, and Michael Caine. DiCaprio plays Dominic Cobb, a professional thief who commits corporate espionage by infiltrating the subconscious and the dreams of his targets  This is one of the most complex and complicated movies in the history of Hollywood. It is as complex as reality is and as complicated as a dream. This has also been argued by some that one of the reasons why "Inception" did not win the movie of the year could be because the movie was so complicated, that even the Academy did not understand it.  In the movie "Inception" there are two intersections. The first is the intersection where dreams intersect with reality. And the second intersection is where dreams intersect with dreams. Though "Inception" was just a science fiction thriller, the idea of inception or that of a dream within a dream is no fiction. Everyone experiences it at one time or another. The idea of dreams inception is that of layers of dreams within a dream which at one point though you are still in deep sleep you have become conscious that you are really dreaming, except for the part that there is something just so involved about it you just don’t want to wake up and had to slip into another layer of a dream to prolong the excitement or in the case of "Inception" the movie, meet the challenge. It could be holding a $100 bill, kissing your favorite actor or actress, or being behind the wheel of that $500,000 Ferrari (well that's mine). Well, whatever yours is, we all do experience inceptions at one point or another in our dreams. Just like in "Inception", many of us are refusing to wake up to the reality of our situation, our circumstances, and maybe even to the reality of who we really are. And in order to preserve what we had in our dream that we thought we couldn't have in reality, we slip into another dream, another dream, and yet another dream. But no matter how hard we try at keeping on dreaming, there [would always be that wake-up call. And when we finally wake up, then we wake up in limbo with no clue of who we are, where we are, and where we are going.  And no matter how hard we try to hide, something always gives us away. Here is a list of questions for us to seriously engage. Why should Jesus open our eyes when we do not even think we are blind? Why should He straighten our lame legs when we think we can run? Why should God offers us deliverance when we think we are already free? Why should the Lord strengthen us when are yet to acknowledge that we are weak? And Jesus said, "For judgment, I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind." And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, "Are we blind also"? Jesus said unto them, "If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remains." [John 9:39-41]. Has it ever crossed your mind that God is looking for imperfect people rather than perfect ones? Do you know he is seeking weak sinners rather than strong saints? These are some hard but at the same time very serious questions that each of us needs to confront. Though dreams are part of our reality, we are not created to live in the realm of dreams. Paul said "This is a statement that can be trusted and deserves complete acceptance. That Jesus Christ came to save sinners, of which I am the foremost" [I Timothy 1: 15]. Jesus Christ did not come to save dreamers but he came to save sinners. We should allow God to show us who we really are, so He could transform us into who we really need to become. We should allow God to show us who we really are, so He could take us to where we really need to be. It is not until then, and really not until then that we could really have a clear understanding of what we are going through and then clearly see the solutions which God has prepared for us. And none of us could ever get to where God wants to take us if we think we're already there and neither could we become who God wants us to become if we think we are already it. Well, of course maybe in our dreams. Nolan's "Inception" might be science fiction but the idea is so real for many people that are caught at the intersection between dream and reality and can no longer differentiate between what is real and what is not. I almost forgot about Nolan's "Inception" for a moment. By the way, it was mostly a dream. This has been a page from my Inspirational Files, I'm Richard James.