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Dreaming a Happy Life
Our truest
life is when we are in dreams awake. -- Thoreau
Your nightly dreams contain a wealth of information.
They are literally treasure chests of knowledge since
they embody everything about you: all of your
experiences, beliefs, strengths, weaknesses, fears, and
so forth. Having performed dream analysis for many
years, I constantly witness how many parallels there are
between our daily life and our nighttime dreams. For
example, symbols that appear during your waking life,
such as a black cat crossing the road in front of you,
has the same meaning if it appears in a nightly dream.
That’s because the symbols are personal whether we’re
dreaming or awake. It is akin to the powerful statement
once made by Chuang-tzu who said, "I do not know
whether I was a man dreaming, I was a butterfly, or
whether I am now a butterfly dreaming I am a man."
While asleep, the dreamer possesses total power. No
one can enter your nightly dreams without your
permission. In your dreams, you are the dreamer, writer,
director, producer and actor(s). Every dream character
represents some aspect of you. And so it is in your
waking life, as well. Everyone who appears and triggers
a reaction in you in some manner, whether awake or
asleep reflects some part of you. Because you have free
will, no one can dream your dreams for you, or live your
life for you. So, whether you’re asleep or awake, you
remain the creator of your circumstances, reactions and
life.
You have the choice to focus on whatever you want to
focus on. You have the power to create a painful dream
filled with struggle and strain, or to manifest a happy
dream imbued with love and inner peace. As the lyrics of
a sage old song go, "Row, row, row your boat,
gently down the stream. Merrily, merrily, merrily,
merrily, life is but a dream." The key words are
"your boat," (how you navigate your life and
not someone else’s), "gently," (not forcing
anything but practicing faith and trust), "down the
stream," (flowing with the current of life),
"merrily" and "dream," (meaning we’re
destined to have as A Course in Miracles states,
"happy dreams").
In dream analysis we look at the dreams we’re
having and then our thoughts, values, and beliefs. The
dream is never the issue; it’s always the dreamer that
matters. Once you accept the fact that you’re the
dreamer, you automatically begin to take your power
back. Why? Because it places the attention at the level
of your thoughts where change and correction begins.
Rather than spending useless time and energy on
attempting to change something outside yourself
(effect), you achieve self-mastery by changing from
within (cause). A Course in Miracles teaches us
that suffering stems from trying to displace both the
problem and the answer outside of us when really, it
stems from within.
If we look at ourselves as being different dreamers,
we can see how many different experiences we’re all
having. Two people could be working in the same
organization, residing in the same community or even
living in the same home and have completely different
dreams! For example, I know people who operate from both
places as described below:
| DREAMER #1
(1) Focuses on one’s mistakes
(2) Scarcity-minded
(3) Victim
(4) Projects and blames others
(5) Lives in fear
(6) Looks outside self for fulfillment
(7) Relies on self for answers
(8) Holds onto grievances
(9) Lives in the past or future |
DREAMER #2
Focuses on one’s kindnesses
Abundant thinker
Co-creator with Higher Power
Takes responsibility
Lives from love
Looks within where love resides
Surrenders to Higher Power for guidance
Practices forgiveness
Appreciates the present moment |
What kind of dreamer do you identify with,
dreamer 1 or 2? If you’re currently living the life of
dreamer 1, are you willing to start shifting your
thinking, and move toward experiencing the life of
dreamer 2? The choice is yours. Wanting to be
dreamer 2 isn’t enough, but your willingness combined
with the power of Love is everything. Envisioning the
qualities of dreamer 2 starts the process, but living
from the qualities of dreamer 2 is the key.
Transformation occurs when we put this truth into action
in our own lives. Keep in mind that there is nothing
that you and Love together cannot handle.
You deserve to experience all that life has to offer
you, but keep in mind that it will only offer you what
you choose to experience. All of us decide what we want
to see before we see it and we receive what we request.
When kindness, forgiveness and love are all you desire,
your entire life will begin to change in more rewarding
ways than you’ve ever dreamed.
© Copyright 2003
Laura Grace. All Rights Reserved.
Laura's Books:
Read Laura's Past Columns:
May
2003 Column - "Living the Authentic Life"
April
2003 Column - "Rising Above the Battleground"
March
2003 Column - "Healing Through Your
Relationships"
February
2003 Column - "Are You Going with the Flow?"
January
2003 Column - "Living the Soulful Life"
December
2002 Column - "The Power to Change"
November
2002 Column - "Peace Begins at Home"
October 2002
Column - "Spiraling to Higher Ground"
September 2002 Column - "Cradled in Nature's
Arms"
August 2002 Column - "Recovering
Your Soul"
Laura Grace is Co-founder of Infinite Wisdom, an organization dedicated to the highest human capacity, and a national author and speaker. As a regular contributor for publications across the U.S. and Canada, Laura writes about human awareness and spiritual growth. Laura is the author of the widely acclaimed books The Intimate Soul and Gifts of the Soul, and the creator and teacher of various programs including the Self-Mastery Program, The Art of Compassionate Forgiveness, Wonderful Women: Reclaiming Our Power, Passion and Purpose, and Cultivating the Intimate Life. Please visit Laura's web site at:
www.LauraGrace.net.
As a spiritual counselor, Laura provides assistance in person and by phone. You may contact her for a free brochure at:
laura@lauragrace.net.
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