Just the other day I went to see a fascinating movie with my son, Trey. We see a lot of movies together and many of them quickly fade from memory. However, the movie we saw this time, Inception, raised lots of questions and proved to be one of those movies that lingers in the mind long after moving out of the darkened theatre and into the sunlight.

If you’ve not seen the movie, the premise is that there are people who can slip into our dreams to change the way we think and thereby influence choices we make in our every day lives. Dreams are very private and personal and the mere suggestion that someone could invade our dreams is, in and of itself, very troubling.

There is little explanation of how they do it, but when they enter a person’s dreams the real fun begins. Dream reality seems “real” and it is often hard for participants to know if they are awake or in a dream. Ultimately, this experience sets up the hook for the movie. How do we ever know what is real in our experience?

It seems to me that we live in an increasingly less tangible world. While all the technology and gadgets that abound in our lives seem to be the stuff “dreams are made of” ever more they remove us from real relationships with each other and with real interactions in our world. We have the capacity to create versions of our world that we prefer and that do not require physical contact with others.

This excellent film challenges us to think about what is real in our lives and how we experience all that which surrounds us. Go see this film and it may very well challenge you to think about the way you relate to everyone and everything in your life.

1. 1.“For Today”, With Blasphemy So Heartfelt, Jessica Lea Mayfield.
   

2. 2.“Move Up,” Downtown Church, Patty Griffin.
   

3. 3.“Me and God,” Carolina Jubilee, The Avett Brothers.
   

4. 4.“You and Your Heart,” To the Sea, Jack Johnson.
   

5. 5.“Bad Angel,” Up on the Ridge, Dierks Bentley.

1. 1.Inception (2010)
   

2. 2.Toy Story 3 (2010)
   

3. 3.Big Bang Theory, CBS

1. 1.Linda Bergquist and Alan Karr, Church Turned Inside Out: A Guide for Designers, Refiners, and Re-Aligners.
   

2. 2.Brian McLaren, A New Kind of Christianity: Ten Questions that Are Transforming the Faith.
   

3. 3.John Philip Jenkins, Jesus Wars: How Four Patriarchs, Three Queens, and Two Emperors Decided What Christians Would Believe for the Next 1,500 Years.
   

4. 4.Michael Beschloss, Presidential Courage: Brave Leaders and How They Changed America, 1789-1989.