Bringing Dreams Back to Life

What if you slept?
And what if in your sleep, you dreamed?
And what if in your dream you went to Heaven?
And there picked a strange and wonderful flower.
And what if when you awoke, you held that flower in your hand?
Ah, what then?

This is an excerpt from the work of poet Samuel Taylor Coliridge. It was used in the PBS special called, Wishes Fulfilled, by American author and spiritual teacher, Wayne Dyer.  

It poses a wonderfully magical question: Do we, mere humans, have the power to bring something from the formless realm into the material realm? 

Your answer should be yes. Each of us once existed beyond the physical realm and now we resided within it, until the day we transition back to the formless again.

What if the boundaries between these realms are not as rigid as they seem? What if, by simply shifting our perspective and opening our hearts, we can access that same creative energy that brought us into being?

We often dismiss the magic that surrounds us, caught up in the monotony of routine, endless to-do lists, and uninspiring responsibilities. Yet, it's in the quiet moments—when we allow ourselves to daydream, to wonder, and to explore our imaginations—that we become aware of the infinite possibilities before us. By inviting more magic into our lives, we can bridge the gap between our dreams and our reality.

Imagine what can happen if we consciously choose to nurture our curiosities and embrace the unknown. 

Imagine investing more of your attention into what could go right and into what you intend to bring to life than all the reasons it might not work or the endless sources of bad news that give you bad thoughts and put you in bad moods.

What strange and wonderful “flowers” await us if we dare to open our minds and hearts to possibility? 

Perhaps it's through art, writing, nature, or simply daydreaming that we can invite a higher intelligence into our lives and bring our beautiful and wild ideas to life.

Imagination, laughter, presence, and healing unlock the door to an infinite realm of possibilities. 

As you reflect on the experiences you have had and the paths yet to be explored, consider how you might infuse your days with intention and wonder.

How might you create positive emotions in your body through choosing to think of things that bring you joy? Through envisioning yourself living the experiences your heart desires.

Ask yourself: What dreams have I silenced, and how can plant seeds to regrow them inside my mind?

In every heartbeat, in every breath, lies the possibility of magic. 

So let this final question linger: What strange and wonderful flowers in heaven are waiting to be held in your hand? 

Reflection in Action: These thoughts are all very nice but how do we put any of this into practice? Great question, below we’ll explore 3 practices you can start RIGHT NOW to swim in the realm of magic ✨

Practice #1: Start Laughing More

Didn’t expect that one did you? Did you know on average, children laugh about 300 times a day, while adults laugh only about 15 to 100 times a day? This stark contrast reflects the natural tendency of children to find joy and humor in the world around them, as well as their playful and imaginative nature. How do adults lose this sense of awe and wonder at the magic around them? (Jobs, bills, and heartbreak…duh)

Embracing joy, play, and laughter is a revolutionary act in a world that works overtime trying to undermine your personal power. 

So laugh well and laugh often:

• Looks at memes

• Watch comedy shows 

• Think funny thoughts

• Fake laugh until you for your laugh (do it public, too, if you’re brave enough) 
  

Practice #2: Be Unrealistic 

The odds of being born are approximately 1 in 400 TRILLION according to a study by mathematician Ian Stevenson.

In an interview, American astrophysicist and writer Neil DeGrasse Tyson said, “most humans who could ever exist never will…and so the fact that you exist at all is against stupefying odds of who gets born and who does not. Any moment you spend squandering those moments you are alive does disrespect to all those who will never even be born.”

Being alive is unrealistic. So - lean into it. 

Dream well and dream often: 

• Keep a dream journal 

• Spend quality time with yourself and inside your imagination

• Consume information from people who believe in dreams and regularly achieve them (if they aren’t in your life, get them from online) 

• Create a vision board 

• Listen to visualizations about achieving your dreams 

• Embrace your fears by writing them all out AS LONG AS YOU SPEND AN EQUAL AMOUNT OF TIME LISTING ALL THE REASONS WHY THAT DREAM WILL WORK.

Practice #3: Heal From Past Pain 

Children laugh more, play more, and believe in themselves more because they haven't spent decades accumulating disappointments, heartbreaks, and layers of fear that can bury their true selves and desires. 

When we have an uncomfortable, painful, or traumatic experience it brands us emotionally. There is an emotional charge attached to that single event. 

If we’re not careful we may reinforce that negative emotional charge so intensely and so often that we unconsciously seek out NEW experiences that provide evidence that justifies an OLD emotion. 

We can become so familiar with and so rehearsed in that emotion, even if negative, that we self-sabotage and convince ourselves that this is the only reality we are worthy of - and that’s just not true.

Healing is equipping yourself with tools to get back to a regulated (unstressed) state as quickly as possible by connecting with all parts of yourself so that no emotion is neglected or shoved down.

Healing is the ability to generate wisdom by changing the narrative on events that leave you with an emotional charge, effectively diffusing those events of their emotional charge. 

Healing is choosing to live more time in an expansive state of flow than a constrictive state of lack.

There are many paths to healing but we’ll just focus on two:

Heal well and heal often: 

• Practice self-compassion. Click here to get my free self-compassion journal! 

• Examine your limiting beliefs using the method taught by Wayne Dyer:
  
  EX LIMITING BELIEFs:
  This creative project won’t work out.
  I’ll never find love.
  I can’t do that.
  

  1) Can I be 100% certain that this thought is true? What’s the reverse of this thought? Can I be 100% certain that the reverse of the thought is true?
  (Chances are you can’t be 100% certain of either so why give so much mental investment into the less affirming thought that makes you feel worse about yourself?)
  

  2) Where does the thought come from?
  (Answer - it comes from you! If you’re able to take full ownership of your own mental space)
  

  3) What are the payoffs from keeping this limiting thought?
  (Answer - all human behavior has a payoff, even if it’s something like keeping yourself safe from having to step outside your comfort zone and become a newer version of yourself)
  

  4) What would my life look like if I couldn’t use this thought as an excuse? How would I feel without the excuses?
  

  Lastly - replace the limiting belief with a more desire-affirming belief as often as you can.
  

• Learn to articulate your feelings by using a feelings wheel:
  
  

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Have a magical week,