December 3, 2021 by Brian Weiner No CommentsChanging The World One Thought At A Time., Lessons From The Mountain

Oh life is bigger It’s bigger than you And you are not me The lengths that I will go to The distance in your eyes Oh no I’ve said too much I set it up That’s me in the corner That’s me in the spot-light Losing my religion

Oh life is bigger

It’s bigger than you

And you are not me

The lengths that I will go to

The distance in your eyes

Oh no I’ve said too much

I set it up

That’s me in the corner

That’s me in the spot-light

Losing my religion

Trying to keep up with you

And I don’t know if I can do it

Oh no I’ve said too much

I haven’t said enough

I thought that I heard you laughing

I thought that I heard you sing

I think I thought I saw you try

Every whisper, of every waking hour

I’m choosing my confessions

Trying to keep an eye on you

Like a hurt, lost and blinded fool, fool

Oh no I’ve said too much

I set it up

Consider this

Consider this the hint of the century

Consider this the slip

That brought me to my knees, failed

What if all these fantasies come

Flailing around

Now I’ve said too much

I thought that I heard you laughing

I thought that I heard you sing

I think I thought I saw you try

But that was just a dream

That was just a dream

That’s me in the corner

That’s me in the spot-light

Losing my religion

Trying to keep up with you

And I don’t know if I can do it

Oh no I’ve said too much

I haven’t said enough

I thought that I heard you laughing

I thought that I heard you sing

I think I thought I saw you try

But that was just a dream

Try, cry, fly, try

That was just a dream

Just a dream

Just a dream, dream

R.E.M.

You know that feeling where you go back into a music track that you have sung aloud thousands of times and in doing so, you finally look the song up, read the lyrics, do some investigating and find out you had the whole concept of what you were singing about, incorrect?

Last night I was singing Losing My Religion by REM and got an itch and read the lyrics and read what Michael Stipe said the track was about.

The phrase “losing my religion” is an expression from the southern region of the US that means losing one’s temper or “at my wit’s end,” meaning as if things were going so bad you could lose your faith in God. “Losing your religion” over a person, could mean that you’re losing faith in that particular person.

Michael Stipe said: “Okay. This song is beloved around the world. It is. It wasn’t our fault; it just happened, and it’s one of those freak things and we’re really proud of it. When you have a crush on somebody, and you think that they understand that but you’re not sure, and you’re dropping all kinds of hints, and you think that they’re responding to these hints but you’re not sure; that’s what this song is about: thinking that you’ve gone too far, you’ve dropped a hint that is just the size of Idaho, and they responded in a way that maybe confused you, or they haven’t responded at all or they responded in a way that seemed like ‘well, maybe I’m gonna- maybe I’m- maybe something’s gonna happen here!’ and I think I’ve probably said this seven thousand times, but the phrase ‘losing my religion’ is a southern phrase which means that something has pushed you so far that you would lose your faith over it. Something has pushed you to the nothing degree, and that’s what this is about. Now, some people still think that it’s a song about religion; it’s not. It’s just a song about having a crush.”

I am sure that all of us can reflect on a time when we had a crush on someone and we were going gently, trying to make them aware, but not so direct that we just explained how we felt. There was that feeling of discomfort knowing we had all of these feelings welling inside and why would it be so difficult to share that and let them know?

The potential rejection that we feel when it is not reciprocal is the answer to that question. We are so afraid of the rejection, we do not reveal our core feelings, for fear that it is not going to go well.

So all of these years that I have thought I was singing about one thing, turns out had zero to do with what I was really singing about.

No giant revelation today. I just love the song!

Happy Friday!

TURN IT UP!

Please follow and like us:

Written by Brian Weiner

When I was 5 years old, I discovered that the lemon tree in the backyard + dixie cups + water and sugar and I was in business. I have been hooked on that ever since. In 1979, I borrowed $14,000 to create a brand new product... photographic greeting cards with no text on the inside, called Paradise Photography. That was the start of The Illusion Factory. Since then, The Illusion Factory has been entrusted by all of the major studios and broadcasters with the advertising and marketing of over $7 billion in filmed, live, broadcast, gaming, AR, VR and regulated gaming forms of entertainment, generating more than $100 Billion in revenue and 265 awards for creativity and technology for our clients. When I took a break from film school at UCLA to move to Hawaii, my mother did not lecture me. Instead, she took 150 of her favorite aphorisms and in her beautiful calligraphy, wrote them artistically throughout a blank journal. That is the origin of the Lessons from the Mountain series. Since then, on my journeys to the top of a mountain to watch the sunrise, I have spent countless hours contemplating words of wisdom from the sages of all races, genders and political persuasions, constantly accumulating the thoughts to guide me on my life path. I hope you enjoy my books. Please let me know your thoughts, as I highly value your feedback!