I dream when I am completely awake. I see a dragon flying over, around, under, and through everything and anything. It is on a mission to find and dislodge spiritual blocks in the people I interact with. The dragon wants to make sure I connect with people while they are in a state of optimal flow.

Most blockages are in the digestive and endocrine systems. The blockages look like black rocks of petroleum.

When the dragon spits the blockage out, I hear a sound like a rock falling into a tin plate.

The dragon is restored from this arduous work when I say my prayers and it's glorious scales take on an extra shine. Jesus cuts the dragon's head off, finds the beast's cancer, and heals it. Without Jesus, the dragon gets sick from doing it's work.

Am I insane?

Lets look at some facts. My self published book is doing alright. My military pension pays the bills. Everyday, before I go to the cafe to write, my bed is made, finger nails cleaned, teeth brushed, and clothes freshly pressed. I have a girl friend who is a sucessful artist and fashion designer. She knows about my hallucinations and isn't afraid of me. I'm clean, debt free, in a healthy relationship, and taking a daily, disciplined approach to writing stories worth space inside reader's precious imagnition.

I'm not dangerous to myself or anyone else.

If I'm insane now, then I don't want to go back to sanity. Back when I was normal: paying my taxes, wearing a military uniform, interrogating terrorists, analyzing foreign nuclear programs, and conducting source operations. Back then, at a backyard bon fire, six beers into the night, when I started telling people about the unclassified, but still exciting missions, everyone got closer to me. Now I instinctually know I should hide my newest stories about my spirit healing dragon. I know I should let everyone think my silent, stupid, sober smiles are a product of my newly found contentment.