Dream: church convention

djjo and I were attending a gay church convention. We arrived in the parking garage of huge convention centre with a friend, maybe Moe. All three of us were pulling and carrying luggage The space had a high roof and was well lit. Everything was painted pale green. I talked to someone behind the window of a ticket booth. I had to get a parking pass or something, so I asked Danny and the friend to go ahead and find our rooms and I would catch up.

When I had finished what I had to do, I couldn't figure out where they had gone. I knew our rooms were up one or two levels, but there were no stairs or elevators. Searching around with my luggage in tow, I found myself in a loading bay, then came upon a narrow ramp that led up to a steel door.

Going up and opening it, I glimpsed a large communal area where families were staying. The door opened into a booth occupied by one family. The space was not shabby by any means, in fact the booths were large and richly appointed with comfortable furnishings including dining tables. Rich, dark colours contrasted with the sterile green of the garage. Everyone had decorated for Christmas with full-sized trees and lights. The large family in front of me was just sitting down to a turkey dinner. There were about 12 people at the table, mostly adults. The hostess wore a red dress. It was all disgustingly picture perfect, and I was much more pleased with the prospect of staying in a simple dorm-style room with privacy. It only took me a moment to take all this in, then I slammed the steel door in embarrassment.

By now, I had been looking for an hour. A mild sense of desperation came over me but with that I realized the whole floor of the place sloped gradually upwards. I saw the building from the side, like an architect's elevation drawing or something from a Wes Anderson film, and realized that the floors zigzagged back and forth, gradually moving upwards without any stairs.

I set off to find our room. I started to wake up. I tried to stay asleep because I wanted to find Danny and see our room, but waking life spirited me away.

This dream suggests that spiritual or psychological process moves gradually and I need to be patient to find the right way to go. It also refers to letting go of memories of big family Christmases  we use to share with family and relatives, because my mom loved Christmas. More generally it affirms my concern about pursuing a simpler lifestyle.