Dreams
Old dreams, like old clothes, seldom fit. The portly matron may cling to her dream of being a starlet, but her imagination would serve her better if she got it in touch with her present reality. Dream research has shown that very few people can control their sleeping dreams. However, most of us can control our conscious dreams.
The New Age movement was enthralled with conscious dreaming. From Shirley MacLaine's past life regressions to Shakti Gawain's self-actualizing dreams, the process of opening the mind to visualizations of fantasy and aspiration held mystical importance. Lo and behold! I can realize my dreams!
Twenty years ago, as I lived and worked in the heart of the AIDS epidemic, I encountered young, dying patients and friends who bemoaned the loss of their dreams in their last, painful days. They suffered from regret. Many of these unfulfilled dreams were still the wants of adolescents and young adults. Some wanted fame. Some wanted to climb Everest. Others wanted to have a dream house. None had ever dreamed of dying a peaceful and contented death.
I took that lesson on dreams seriously. I chose not to be a slave to my outdated dreams. Rather than dreaming like a child, I resolved to base my ideal vision of some future life on the realities of my present life. I soberly assessed my skills and talents. I reflected on what was most important to a responsible and modest life, based on the Buddhist principles I held at that time. I plotted out the work I needed to do to achieve those dreams.
The process of harnessing my dreams, of making them intentional and realistic, has served me well since then. I have realized more dreams in the past twenty years than I had in the previous forty. By becoming my own dreamweaver and dreamworker, I have felt empowered to better steer the course of my life through accident and circumstance. Using the brain, rather than allowing the brain to use you, is always a better choice.
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| Wikipedia Photo: Dream Catcher |
Twenty years ago, as I lived and worked in the heart of the AIDS epidemic, I encountered young, dying patients and friends who bemoaned the loss of their dreams in their last, painful days. They suffered from regret. Many of these unfulfilled dreams were still the wants of adolescents and young adults. Some wanted fame. Some wanted to climb Everest. Others wanted to have a dream house. None had ever dreamed of dying a peaceful and contented death.
I took that lesson on dreams seriously. I chose not to be a slave to my outdated dreams. Rather than dreaming like a child, I resolved to base my ideal vision of some future life on the realities of my present life. I soberly assessed my skills and talents. I reflected on what was most important to a responsible and modest life, based on the Buddhist principles I held at that time. I plotted out the work I needed to do to achieve those dreams.
The process of harnessing my dreams, of making them intentional and realistic, has served me well since then. I have realized more dreams in the past twenty years than I had in the previous forty. By becoming my own dreamweaver and dreamworker, I have felt empowered to better steer the course of my life through accident and circumstance. Using the brain, rather than allowing the brain to use you, is always a better choice.
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