Friday's Inspiration Weekly - 7/25/2003

I have observed the evolution of my “love and hate” relationship with dreaming theories over the years and this is what I have come up with:

Originally I told myself that dreaming was a waste of time because it stopped me living in the real world and I would spend my energy on something that was not real. Later on I realized that this was just a façade to hide the fact that I didn’t feel strong enough to pursue my dreams, that I wasn’t sure what my dreams where in the first place and, most importantly, I desperately wanted to avoid the disappointment of not achieving them.

Over the years I got into spiritual development and started to get in touch with the person inside. I guess I became stronger and more daring, so then I gave myself permission to dream “a little bit”. This was going to be a small test to see if I could withstand the disappointment and hurt of daring to fly and crashing face down. But I thought this was necessary for a healthy mind and heart in order to allow me to first stretch myself a little bit and second, to allow the inner child come out and play in the “world of the big boys.”

A few years later I was right in the middle of making my dreams happen. I would say I have only achieved about 30% of what I intended to, but my God, I am happier than I have ever been!

Yes, I did go through heartbreak. Yes, I did change jobs and didn’t seem to have a direction. But throughout all, one thing I stuck with and persisted doing: I told myself that, while I was alive, I would continue to focus on learning spiritual matters and apply them in whatever job/relationship/friendships I had at the time. I would focus on the inner person and hold tight to the idea that “as within, so without.” So I firmly believed that if I wanted the outside world to change, I would have to change or shift the inner world first. For me, there wasn’t another way, and I would prove it!

Somehow I changed from being “invisible” to becoming someone respected in the work environment and in life in general. I was “heard,” and I had achieved considerable freedom to get my work done, or organize my life in the way I thought was best. It seemed that although people didn’t understand my methods, they saw the methods somehow worked, so they simply decided to have faith in me! Funny, just as I was developing faith in myself

Then, in my Coaching course I heard the notion of “you need to be a clear channel for life.” I had never heard this before. As a Reiki practitioner, I am well aware of what it means to be a clear channel for the energy to come through you and go to the client, not being interfered with by my Ego and not expecting any specific results. This is because the energy knows where it needs to go.

“Is it possible to do the same with LIFE – as with healing energy?” I wondered. Then it hit me: “Well of course, everything is energy!” All those piles of things “to do,” all those things/people that we hold on to and don’t seem to be able to let go all of it blocks our life energy.

That is to say, we don’t trust that we will “hear” the message or hold the idea just at the exact time when it is needed to come into our lives. We don’t trust that we will be clear enough to take the necessary steps to mature this message or idea and make it happen (manifest it) because we feel we would live “at the edge!”

This is what we call FAITH. And so I came to a conclusion: Dreams are needed so that we can focus on our higher potential or truth . They allow us to stretch ourselves and make us get further than we would have if we had never worked towards the dream in the first place. Dreams require that we have faith in ourselves and the universe, so it takes courage to have a dream and to hold on to it.

But as our lives change, dreams change as well. My advice is that if a dream doesn’t fit you any more, let it go and move on into your new level of understanding. The old dreams may have simply shape-shifted into a more mature version of themselves or they simply take some of the skills needed in the original dreams and mould them into something closer to whom you are.

If you don’t reach your dreams, be compassionate with yourself. Tell yourself that you are great simply for trying and for becoming a bigger person. You only have one shot at this life and I rather jump and crush than never jump and live regretting it.

And the most important thing: it is never too late. While there is life, there is hope. I am also a very late starter but, you know, sometimes, when you have a lot of life experience and start very late, the progress can be incredibly fast! Because you already did the necessary learning sometime in the past.

But one word of warning: If you create a dream out of a need, you will push it away. Either give up pushing or find out what is the need to be fulfilled. Fill this need and then revisit your dream. If you are not depending of achieving it, you may be surprised and get right there!

Accept whatever your life offers you at this moment (even if it feels as the wrong job or the wrong relationship) because this is the foundation for your dream. Something in your present is needed to be learnt or worked out in order to achieve this dream. You are at the right place and at the right time. Always. Simply accept it and embrace it. It is merely a stepping stone to achieve your dream. Turn it round.

Have the intention of the dream but give up the expectations of how it will all happen, how it will all develop and untangle itself, how it will manifest. Create the flow and the bridge by “seeing” yourself in the dream and follow the steps you are guided to take, even if the path takes a different shape from what you originally “had in mind”

Focus on the “feelings” you want to achieve, the inner qualities. When you achieve the inner wealth you were longing for (because you will! As long as you don’t GIVE UP) make sure you then open your hands, acknowledge and accept whatever is being presented to you and, very important, show gratitude for otherwise the flow will close and it will take you a whole new cycle to have it presented to you again!.

When all this is done, as the Law of Attraction states that “equal attracts equal”, you will find that the physical manifestation of your dream will come to you, just like magic!

A Second Helping: Dream Lofty Dreams by Vic Johnson

The longer I live, the more I realize how important it is that I always have a big dream in my life. Dreams are what cause us to bound out of bed in the morning instead of waking with anxiety - or even worse, apathy - for the day ahead. When I don't have a dream in front of me it's easy to find fault with everything and self-pity comes easily.

There's an easy explanation for why we're not at our best when we don't have a dream - we were created to dream. The Proverbs writer tells us that "without a vision the people perish."

I've always liked a quote that I've heard attributed to both Oscar Hammerstein and Walt Disney, "If you don't have a dream, how are you going to make a dream come true?"

So why is it so hard for some of us to dream? Or so tough to believe that our dream can come true? Perhaps for some of us it's because we were programmed to "don't get your hopes up." While this was told to "protect" us, it had the opposite effect. For many years I wanted to believe in a dream (because I was created that way) but I was afraid of how I'd feel if I didn't get my dream. I was afraid to "get my hopes up."

So how do we start dreaming? Or how do we dream bigger? By changing our thoughts of course. Mark Victor Hansen, who says he's read "As A Man Thinketh" more than 25 times, writes in his book "Dare To Win", "If you know exactly what you want, you can have it...Look around you. The world is filled with abundance."

A dream is nothing more than a thought or a series of thoughts. And James Allen tells us that "your circumstances may be uncongenial, but they shall not long remain so if you but perceive an Ideal (a dream) and strive to reach it. You cannot travel within and stand still without."

And that's worth thinking about.

Between 1994-1997 I experienced more “character building” days than any other time of my life. Two books saved my life and both books came into my possession in an off-handed way. At a garage sale my former wife purchased a copy of Make Your Life Worthwhile, by the late Emmet Fox, because “it looked like a book you’d be interested in.” Several years earlier I had purchased a big bundle of books at a discount book sale and buried in the bundle, to be fully discovered later, was James Allen’s As A Man Thinketh.

As A Man Thinketh is partly responsible for the creation of the entire personal development industry. Most contemporary PD authors and teachers credit this little book for providing foundation to their principles. It is a set of philosophical musings on the power of our thoughts. Earl Nightingale, widely regarded as the father of modern day personal development, in his best-selling recording, called the ideas in this book, "The Strangest Secret". The secret, he said, is "we become what we think about".

Click here to download your free eBook - As A Man Thinketh

From RDS: "Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts with us every week. When I finish reading the articles from you and the other authors, I realize that each week I can take the focus of the newsletter and apply it to just one area of my life, and make some progress. Like you, it is one foot in front of the other on the Path for me. From my heart: thanks for walking along side!"

Anna Quindlen said, "People read to know they're not alone. People write for the same reason. It's like putting a message in a bottle." Thank you, dear readers, for finding my message and responding as you do. It really is nice to know I am not alone.

There are two types of dreaming. One is done while asleep, and the other awake. Both are an important means of communication between the unconscious and conscious parts of myself, another way my spirit communicates the purposes of the Universe to me. Either can speak to me in a language that will give me insight into who and what I secretly desire to become. Both can open up that part of me where creativity dwells, the part that isn't shackled to the job of manipulating the outside world.

Factual living, on the other hand, can be brutal. Incorporating the insight and creativity that dreams inspire into my life softens the brutality of "real life," and exposes a part of me that is unfettered by the convention of common thought and action to the experiences of the "real world." Armed with the knowledge and understanding of what the deepest part of my psyche desires for me, my conscious mind can make my most fantastic dreams come true.

It would most certainly serve a positive purpose to record my dreams, but more important than that must be my determination to realize them. In dreams, whether engaged in idle speculation while awake or accomplishing impossible feats (like flying!) while asleep, submerged truth sometimes floats to the top, and stays with me when exposed to the clear light of day.

The experience of my dreams becomes just as much a part of the sum total of my soul as do my waking experiences. Dreaming helps me to progress along the path of my life, guided by the influence of passing illusion and making a tangible difference in my life and the lives of those with whom I come in contact, because I am forever changed by the process of the dream.

Dreams have a life of their own, and I am living in the truest sense when I find a way to live my dream while awake! It is my earnest hope that I never reach the age when regret of what I didn't do takes the place of dreams of what I can do.

Also Highly Recommended: There have been more than 400 visitors to the website - Thank you for your continued support! Over 400 of our partners on the Internet graciously recommend visitors to Friday's Inspiration. Please take time to visit the "Highly Recommended" links below.

Sacredhome ® ...for the art and soul of your home - Lorraine Aho helps people create sacred spaces in their own home. Stay tuned to Friday's Inspiration for another great article by this creator of sacred spaces. Get a head start on creating your own sacred spaces by visiting http://www.sacredhome.com/ or call Lorraine at 1-888-599-4106

Dare 2 Believe! A Bold New Approach to Personal Development. Free E-Zine and Articles. http://dare2believe.com

CASA is a coast-to-coast network of volunteer advocates for abused children. CASA volunteers, also known as Court Appointed Special Advocates, speak for the best interests of children who have been abused, neglected, or abandoned. They make sure the children reach homes where they are safe from harm, sometimes by returning to a parent who has overcome a problem, or sometimes being adopted by a relative or new family. Your support will give more children the chance to have the safe, caring homes they need to grow up happy and strong. To learn more about CASA, please visit the CASA website athttp://www.nationalcasa.org/ - or call 1-800-628-3233 for more info.

Brought to you by F.I.'s *Shameless Commerce* Division: (100% of the proceeds from the sales of products and services advertised here will benefit Court Appointed Special Advocates for abused and neglected children - CASA.)

The rest of the stuff: Article submission guidelines, Subscription information and Member's List Maintenance

Your suggestions for inspirational topics and inspiring authors are welcome. Guest Authors are encouraged to submit their article to Articles@N-Spire.com - Article length should be approximately to 600 words in any format, and should be on an appropriate subject. Please include a short biography and picture. Please, no business or marketing related articles.

Friday's Inspiration continues to be visited by inspiration seekers from around the world! Help spread the word about this one-of-a-kind website. You are welcome to invite your friends to join us by forwarding this message. They may subscribe by sending a blank email to fridaysinspiration-subscribe@yahoogroups.com