Have you ever...

Another simple game where you answer the question above and then post your own.

Have you ever been to nyc?

 

[rmcrae]

I've never read Dr. Raymond Moody's book, but I have read a few books on the subject (both involving heaven and hell) and yes, I do think NDEs are real. I've heard some say that it could be the mind running through images that have been stored in the brain and even if that's the case if it brings comfort to the person by believing it was real I don't see the harm in it.

Have you ever feared death?

 

[Araucaria]

Yes. From the ages of 10-13 I was terrified that I was going to die. My family was going to a Southern Baptist church, and at that point I was convinced that I would go to hell if I died then. So much so, that I couldn't be happy and enjoy life.

From age 14 on, I was convinced that I was OK, and surprisingly, I didn't think too much about death. I guess it pretty much seemed a remote eventuality for me.

These days, I'm thinking quite a bit about death, but I don't think I especially fear it. I do believe in an afterlife, and there is some anticipation of relief at no longer having to confront all the work and disappointments of life. My parents and many friends have passed on, so I know it's coming. I'm in reasonably good health for my age, so there's no reason to think my death is imminent, but you never know. I don't know if I'd feel a sudden fear of death if someone held a gun to my head, say, or the doctor told me I had only six months to live. But for now I don't seem to be especially afraid.

Have you ever played card games or board games you enjoyed, but no longer have much interest?

 

[PalacePaul]

I used to play cards and board games a lot growing up. Nowadays board games are popular again but they are kind of expensive, difficult and mostly geek stuff. But I'd like to play the simpler games I remember, if the ocasion arose.

Have you ever played this?

 

[Theunderdog1]

No, I could never figure out how to do that!

Have you ever Lear to play a musical instrument?

 

[Araucaria]

Yes, I learned to play trumpet in junior high, and I was in my high school band. But I was only a mediocre player, so I quit when I graduated from high school. I always wanted to learn to play piano and the guitar, but it never happened. I did sing in church choirs as a child and a teen, but I've always imagined that I'd like to be a popular singer.

Have you ever wanted to become a member of any kind of clergy?

 

[MusicMan321]

No

Have you ever been on TV show in the audience?

 

[Araucaria]

Yes. Back in the '90s I was in the audience of a broadcast Christian television station in the Tampa Bay Area, believe it or not. They actually invited us to be there for some live homosexuality and Christianity program. I don't know what they were expecting, but I don't think it went the way they were hoping. We were confident and proud. I didn't say anything, but a friend got up and talked about him and his husband.

Have you ever been afraid of snakes or spiders or other creepy crawly things?

 

[MusicMan321]

Yes I am

Have you ever ate a whole pizza by yourself?

 

[Araucaria]

Yes I have, but I don't think I've ever done it in one sitting.

Have you ever read a book (or couldn't finish it) that was recommended, but you didn't like or couldn't get into?

 

[rmcrae]

Yes, but I can't remember the title or what the book was about. Lol.

Have you ever been truly exhausted but you can't fall asleep for the life of you?

 

[Araucaria]

Yes. It has happened before, where I need my rest but cannot fall asleep, but there's no identifiable reason. More often it's because I'm worried sick about a test, presentation, or interview that I've been stressing over, or just having to face something that I fear could go wrong. Fortunately that hasn't happened to me much lately. What I'd do is go to bed exhausted by the stress, but I lie awake for hours. If I'm lucky, I'll be able to periodically dip into short, light sleeps before I wake up again. But I wouldn't be able to get the deep, restful sleep I would need to face the situation the next day.

Have you ever taken daytime or afternoon naps, even though you really didn't have the time for them?

 

[rmcrae]

I did once when I was working and going to college. I had a really long shift at work and there was about 30 minutes before classes and I meant to get a quick 15 minute power nap in. I woke up almost 2 hours later and scrambled around like a crazy person. No more daytime naps for a long time for me. Lol.

Have you ever worked more than two jobs at once?

 

[Araucaria]

Wow, I don't think I could handle working more than ONE job at once! The closest I came to working two jobs was when I was taking college courses and delivering a newspaper route at once. I hated the newspaper route. I had to get up at 3 AM, I was always tired, and it disrupted my sleep schedule.

Have you ever had a period of extended unemployment?

 

[PalacePaul]

Officially yes, but in reality it's quite the opposite. This is a problem in the music world.

Have you ever accepted a job that payed bad for other reasons than the money?

 

[Araucaria]

No. I had several crap jobs in my life, but I think I would've quit every one of them the moment I didn't have to worry about money.

Have you ever been a teacher?

 

[cityboy-stl]

Not that I got paid for.

Have you ever stayed awake for 24 hours, or more?

 

[Araucaria]

Yes. There was one time when I was in a youth church choir at age 16, and we went on a bus trip from South Florida to Washington DC. We left at 5 PM, so much of the trip was at night. I foolishly forced myself to stay awake to watch the scenery as we traveled through all the states up the east coast. I realize now that my time would have been more wisely spent if I had snoozed through it. After all, you don't get much out of looking out the window into the South Carolina dark at 3:00 AM when there's not much to see there anyway. Anyway, the next night I had a hard time focusing and staying awake when we had our choir practice, and at times I felt like I was on the verge of tears, emotionally.

There were other times when I was in college, studying for a test or typing a paper due the next day. But I think I almost always went to bed very late, and got an hour or two of sleep. And I've had to work jobs at night, and I had a paper route once. But I would always crash as soon as I got home, even if it was 3 or 4 AM, or I'd go to sleep at my normal hour, and set my alarm for 3 AM for the paper route.

Have you ever felt so strongly about someone, a friend or someone you were interested in who didn't return the interest, that you find yourself thinking about them.a lot, even though they may have been gone from your life for many years?

 

[PalacePaul]

Maybe not many years, but yes, I often need a long time to forget someone

Have you ever had a dream about a deceased family member? I remeber when I was around 25 I had a few dreams about my grandmother (she died when I was 13)

 

[Araucaria]

I've had a few dreams about my Mother since she passed away. Sometimes I wonder why I don't have more dreams of her, since we were close.

Sometimes I have had dreams about my parents having been divorced. In real life, they remained married until my Father died, but it was a troubled marriage. When I awake, I feel that my psyche is picking up on the true spiritual state of affairs.

Right after my Mother died I was in grief, just barely able to hold myself together. These weren't dreams, but I seemed to get messages about a couple of deceased relatives. I got a message that a cousin who died was praying for me, and that my great grandfather-- a patriarch of the family who died many years before I was born-- was arguing with God on my behalf. I may have been going crazy, but I prefer to think they were looking out for me.

Have you ever had a dream, message or vision that you were convinced was supernatural, either comforting or disturbing?

 

[PalacePaul]

I think so.

Have you ever had a lucid dream?