Dream A Little Dream With Me

Shaman teach that our reality is actually a dream world we create. For me however , 2014 started more like a bad dream.  My husband became ill, so our new year was spent in and out of medical clinics and hospitals.  Switching my priorities from writing to caring was done without a moment’s hesitation, but   eight weeks into the program I could see that  my bad dream had the tinge of a nightmare; it was time for me to step in and create a new dream. 

My first step was to make a list of the changes I wanted to see. Change is happening all around; it’s impossible to stop. It seems somewhat like a runaway horse; it cannot be stopped as easily as it can be made to change its direction. In this case that meant choosing what I wanted over what was happening. What had happened to my husband’s health was out of my hands. All I can do now is a bit of physical therapy along with making fresh soups and juices so that his body has the highest nutrition for healing.  The things we can work with are today things.  We agreed that the house needed to be sold. As much as we love living two blocks from the beach in our quiet Spanish barrio, my husband’s recent heart problem is compounded by a deteriorating hip socket. Residing in a house with the main living area on the second floor was no longer acceptable. We needed to simplify and downsize. 

     

Next, I needed to reassess my writing goals. My intention from last year was to write four books over the next couple of years. Yet I also have my blog posts and magazine articles. I completed two manuscripts last year, but realistically one book is a more attainable goal for this year.

Keeping a balanced mind, while striving to achieve, means making my personal daily practices a greater priority. That was going to be hard; my nature is to nurture. This is obvious by the number of spoiled pets, lush plants and friends that fill our yard at any given time.  However, relationships are about giving and we can only give what we have. For me to stay balanced and healthy I was going to need to make sure I set aside time to do the things that feed my spirit: meditation, yoga, and gardening. It is a bit like stocking your pantry before a hard storm.

Once a mental plan was clear, my mind just naturally started forming pictures. I remembered a house design I had seen with large red bougainvillea growing over a wall.  Then the fun part began. I started looking for pictures that I could tape or glue to a poster board. This would create a Vision Board. The images work to remind the mind of the new dream being created. The final touch that brings a dream into reality is writing positive affirmations that support the dream. In my case, “I eat healthy meals.” or “I practice yoga near the red bougainvillea of my new home.” These help keep the dream moving forward into our reality.  

Understand the process? What changes will you make?  

  

It’s All In Your Mind

How many times has someone tried to put you off by saying “It’s all in your mind.”  All they are saying there is no scientific support for your expressed beliefs. However, the scientific world is often frail or corrupted whereas the things that occur having no apparent hardcore reasoning offer beauty to life. These occurrences are generally called miracles. A few examples are healing, prayer, manifesting and those times coincidences bring a sense of awe. Even though the title phrase is most often used to degrade, it is actually correct. All reality is created in the mind.

 Eyes only pick up light and image; they make no assessment, only gather data. Your ears, nose taste and other senses also contribute data to the brain. The mind then takes the input collected from the senses and begins to apply information and emotion. These evaluations or perceptions can be in the form of negative judgments, positive reinforcements, or hidden from recall altogether. 

This is why a police officer asks for 3-5 witnesses at a traffic accident.  The eyes of each witness see the same event but their owners individual perceptions are formed from the applied information from their unique experiences. One may swear they saw a beer can fall from the car, because their aunt died in an accident involving a drunk driver. Another witness may not have noticed the driver’s car over the white pedestrian walk line since it is one of his own habits. The mind might choose denial over the pain of realization. Understanding how powerful the mind is in creating our realities offers a tool that can be used to our benefit.             

One day while peeling vegetables the paring knife I was using slipped and the blade cut my finger. It wasn’t a deep cut but it was bleeding a lot. I covered the cut with the first kitchen towel I could reach.  With the bleeding out of site, the more attention I gave the event the more painful was the throbbing. In the past, this is where the self-berating would begin, but I remembered a technique learned and practiced while exploring a lava tube cave in Hawaii. I had been crawling along a ledge in the dark, then stood up in a low ceiling area. The impact actually made me see stars.

My kupuna (teacher) was with me. She shared a mind technique used by ancient Hawaiians to reverse an unpleasant event. It is to repeat the incident physically or by memory 3-5 times, but always ending the mental image of a positive outcome. I applied this teaching to the kitchen accident. First, I quieted my mind. Then I began a mental review of peeling the vegetables. As I reached the point of the accident, I took control of the image and saw it ending with the knife finishing its cut on the carrot instead of my finger.  The pain and bleeding were gone by the end of five repetitions. Severe physical injuries may need the attention of a medical professional, but for this small cut the technique worked wonders. I covered the cut with piece of onionskin and within a day, it was healed.  

 

Physical wounds are not our only unpleasant experiences. The most important part is to change  what your mind sees from negative to positive. Many wise people use the saying  “All change   begins from within.” I am saying the mind is the fertile soil to plant those seeds of change.