Alysse Aallyn

Category: Creativity

  • #DreamTherapy – Dream Journaling with Alysse Aallyn

    Success – Do you dream of adulation? Applause? Accomplishments? Trophies? Rewards? Or are you really dreaming of receiving Universal Love? When we wake, we feel faintly embarrassed, as if we have “given ourselves away”. Could it be that the very idea of “success” is something of a mirage?

      Success Is However You Define It – Abraham Lincoln famously said people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be. If we define “success” as adulation by others haven’t we given away ultimate power over our lives? Many people define success in material ways – it’s the only way to explain the salaries CEO’s pay themselves, while publicly admitting nobody “needs” that much money. They don’t seem to be using it very responsibly either, so I judge them to be “unsuccessful.” Clearly the most important person to please is yourself and the challenge is: are you content now, and what would it take to make you so?

      Challenge – If success is “arrival”, doesn’t that imply a “finish line”? Do you really want to be finished? Do we want to be in constant progress, just reaching for the goal – or does that imply a treadmill? A “rat race”, in fact? Isn’t the ultimate success “contentment”? To be content we must assess our lives and come to terms with our missteps. Sometimes we discovered something even more wonderful than we didn’t even know we were searching for.

      Danger – Our scarcity-oriented society views everything as a competition, and the fundamental danger is that you end up comparing your INSIDES (i.e., how you feel) with everyone else’s “outsides” (i.e., how they LOOK.) You can see that’s nonsensical. We don’t see each other’s sadness and pain, only display and showmanship.

      Opportunity – Feel compassion for the hurt and struggle of others. Feel compassion (and forgiveness) for your own hurt and struggle. Assess your place on life’s path. Maybe you’re still on the edge of some great discovery, if so, keep going! Maybe it’s time to take stock of how far you’ve come, have a look at the big map and refresh your goals. Open your Dream Journal and give yourself a high five. My goals are, dreaming, thinking, reading and writing. I do exactly what I want to most days, surrounded by love. Feels like success to me.

      Models & Mentors – “without continual growth & progress, such words as improvement, achievement and success have no meaning” – Benjamin Franklin

      “Beauty in the struggle, ugliness in success’
      – Jermaine Cole

      “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can” – Arthur Ashe

      “There is always light – if we’re brave enough to see it, we’re brave enough to be it “ – Amanda Gorman

      “Rules for success: 1. Believe in your ideas 2. Pick good people 3. Earn Respect 4. Always be a student 5. Enjoy what you do 6. Ask for advice 7. Learn to say No 8. Create the best products 9. Don’t take things personally 10. Create the future”
      – Bill Gates

      Mantra – ‘Refreshed”

      Meditation –

      #Haiku: Success

      Mountain summits
      Have another side
      Where sun shines
      And gravity
      Helps

    1. #DreamTherapy – Dream Journaling with Alysse Aallyn

      Enlightenment – Are you a detective, trying to solve problems in your dreams? Do you dream of puzzles, labyrinths, mysteries, locked rooms? Do you unearth ruins and dig up buried corpses? You long to break into the second level of knowing – you can feel that it’s out there – where the dark falls away from your eyes and you see the world truly.

      “Woke” is a jeer from those who fear consciousness. We are all born into a condition of yearning. As children, we try desperately to understand the world we find ourselves in. This quest for enlightenment is the very reason we need to decipher our dreams! We know there is a message out there for us, we also know we have the capacity to understand it, but we are waiting for the lightning strike of “enlightenment” to put it all together.

      The Truth Is Simple – Jesus said we must become children again to enter the kingdom of heaven. This certainly implies that “enlightenment” is more a state of mind than any specific received wisdom. Open your Dream Journal and list “Ten Things I Didn’t Understand” from your childhood. Then describe the changes that took place in your thinking that explained those conundrums to you. Then list your Next 10 Mysteries. See where we’re going with this? You will – someday soon –be able to transition into the new phase of reality where those mysteries disappear.

      Challenge – Enlightenment literature recommends two things: a good teacher and time alone. Every night when we go to sleep we enter the alone-time of our own mind. We can prep ourselves in advance with some “good teaching”; Socrates, Plato, Montaigne, Eckhart Tolle, Pema Chodron, Deepak Chopra, Stephen Batchelor, the Dalai Lama –savor some of these writings until you get a sense of which one speaks especially to you. Then set aside twenty-minutes or a half an hour for reading (or listening) right before sleep.

      Danger – Zen teachers say that if anyone represents themselves as a Zen teacher they are not. Gnostic gospels say prophets asking for money are false prophets. These ideas suggest that the search for a guru is fraught with landmines. This is why I mention specific names of teachers available at any library who will not be trying to gain ascendance or dominance over you personally. Be aware of giving your spirit into another’s care. The sin against the Holy Ghost is the only sin that cannot be forgiven, and it is the sin of ruining or attempting to ruin one’s spiritual receptors. Once that trust is destroyed, it is difficult to “become a child again” because of the terrible things we have known and seen.

      Opportunity – Healing is always available. Even when we have been scarred by false prophets there is the magic of universal love and resilience available to us. A variety of healing ceremonials – my favorite is the “miracle bath” and the “laying on of hands” – will reconnect u to the possibilities of joy, love and the insight leading to enlightenment.

      Models & Mentors -. “Knowing others is wisdom, knowing yourself is enlightenment.” – Lao Tzu

      “Enlightenment is your felt state of Oneness with Being” – Eckhart Tolle

      “The road to enlightenment is long and difficult and you should not forget snacks and magazines” – Anne LaMott

      “Suffering is temporary, enlightenment is forever” – Buddha

      “Enlightenment does not come from the mind, it comes from just being. You are already enlightened. You have to realize it to allow it into your experience”-
      Anita Moorjani

      Mantra – “I awaken”

      Meditation –

      #Haiku: Enlightenment

      Dissolution reassembles;
      Enlightened wave knows
      It’s
      Ocean

    2. #Dream Therapy – Dream Journaling with Alysse Aallyn

      Flourish – Singularity – Do you dream of feeling alone in a crowd? Are you always walking in a different direction? Do you feel ganged up on, bullied? “Flourish” represents all that Uniqueness out there that is needing its own space, and because there are so many of us, there is a lot of singularity! If you doubt it, consider the humble snowflake.

      Be Proud of Your Specialness – Humans are civilized into groups, but society advances on its singletons, so even if you never do anything about it, honor the ways in which you are different. List them in your Dream Journal. Respect your own uniqueness and don’t allow others to shame you for it. The world needs you.

      Challenge – We spend a lot of time accommodating other people and trying to figure out how to get along with them. How about figuring out your own extraordinariness and imaging ways and how to accommodate that?

      Danger – Narcissism is a real danger in our society. People are encouraged to perform, push themselves forward and try to harvest as many “likes” from absolute strangers as their outrageousness possibly can. Honoring your uniqueness begins in absolute privacy as you contemplate your real self and the last time you expressed it. Could be quite long ago!

      Opportunity – It’s never too late to change direction, especially when you find out you’ve been traveling the wrong way. What would it mean if you did things your way, for once?

      Models & Mentors – “What sets you apart can feel like a burden, but it’s what makes you great” – Emma Stone

      “If you are always trying to be normal you will never know how amazing you can be” – Maya Angelou

      “Always remember you are absolutely unique, just like everyone else”
      – Margaret Mead

      “Be yourself – everyone else is already taken” – Oscar Wilde

      Mantra – “I flourish”

      Meditation –

      #Haiku: Singularity

      There’s only one of me;
      I’m the one
      That got away –
      Blink: You missed me.

    3. #DreamTherapy – Dream Journaling with Alysse Aallyn

      Beauty – Are your dreams so beautiful you regret waking up? Do you dream of possessing great beauty yourself, caressing gorgeous flesh, or having a gorgeous lover turn diamond eyes upon you? Do you dream of beautiful places, caverns, waterfalls, chapels – that are spectacular in their glamor? We are all visual learners, attracted to beauty, hypnotized by color. Our relationship to the universe is naturally worshipful.

      You Don’t Know How Beautiful You Are – We never do. People who think they are beautiful are trapped into fetishizing the ephemeral, which everyone knows is mysterious and evanescent, just like wildflowers. But there is a beauty that lasts forever and training oneself to recognize it fills our lives to overflowing with constant pleasure. Puppies doing anything, kittens doing everything, a dance class of toddlers (all doing the wrong thing), flowers coming up through cement, a piece of brilliant stained glass on a utility truck, a book of cave paintings, the swirl in our coffee, old photographs, our beloved’s sleepy morning face – once you start collecting a list you realize beauty is all around you. Open your Dream Journal and lose yourself in the pleasures of making a list.

      Challenge – Take joy in your surroundings. Cultivate your own pleasure in the beautiful. Marie Kondo became famous for having few possessions and arranging them like jewels. Clutter is frustrating for the brain. We love sharing beautiful pictures, but momentarily “beautiful” people have taken to hogging the space. The more difficult it is to take a seemingly “perfect” picture with filters and Photoshop, the more they treasure it. Be discriminating. Think of the wildflower. Is all this fakery the path of joy or depression?

      Danger – We soon find ourselves in a frenzy of “likes”. A “like” button can have a plethora of meanings, but we don’t care, we need likes the way a drunk needs booze. Otherwise we’re nothing. Possible approval from strangers – or at least momentary attention – how needy can you get? The quiet joy of certain pleasure inside your own head as you follow your bliss – “I restore old cars” and share them with loved ones – “This is what I’m working on” – is lasting pleasure.

      Opportunity – Artists teach us to appreciate new beauty. Incredible as it may seem, the magical paintings of the Impressionists were first seen as offensively ugly. Lady Gaga, Andy Warhol, Jeff Koons, all are educators of our eye. We can become appreciative not just “ahead of the wave” but of the past – African masks, Egyptian art, illuminated manuscripts all possess a special beauty. Not only are we learning to love our past and hope for our future, we are beginning to see the natural beauty in ourselves – learning to appreciate the splendid gifts we have each been given.

      Models & Mentors – “Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it” – Confucius

      “Beauty is a light in the heart” – Khalil Gibran

      “Beauty begins the moment you decide to be yourself” – Coco Chanel

      “Don’t think of all the misery but the beauty that remains” – Anne Frank

      “Beauty is reality seen with the eyes of love” – Rabindranath Tagore

      Mantra – “I revel”

      Meditation –

      #Haiku: “Flawsome”

      Individuality is
      Beauty; be
      Irre-
      Placeably
      You.

    4. #Dream Therapy – Dream Journaling with Alysse Aallyn

      Spirituality – Do you dream of sunflowers? Mountains? How about other-worldly events? Parapsychological and out of body experiences? Like flying and breathing underwater, these are freedom dreams that tell us much about who we are. Our spirituality is a reaching out for connection with the numinous – something others might insist is not even there. But we feel – very strongly – that it is.

      Who’s right? Hundreds of years ago mathematician Blaise Pascal argued that we have so much to gain if supernaturalism is factual, and nothing to gain if it isn’t, so the calculus becomes simple. When you act as if the universe was richly designed by a Carer who promotes Goodness and rewards Love, you create the ideal conditions for human flourishing, whereas, as we all know, pessimism about outcomes dramatically lowers their possibilities and benefits. Certainly one could argue that our communications with each other are fraught with – mistake and misapprehension, but that’s an argument for increased effort and insight and not a quitter’s mandate.

      Follow Your Sunflower Path – Turn towards the light. Develop a plan in your Dream Journal that focuses on increasing your ability to tell health from sickness. This will help you find the right path and the right people. Goodness does not seek your diminishment and enslavement – but – the ruthless pursuit of human power does. Reach out to the wavelength you can feel is alive and beneficial in the universe. Bask in its reassurance.

      Challenge – The language of dreams is here to help. It allows us to explore our fears and answer Immanuel Kant’s immortal question, “What can we hope?” Jesus focused his ministry on healing and met virulent rule-focused pushback. His life as well as his words teach us that the “Letter” kills, but the “spirit” gives Life. It is up to us to find and nourish that spirit. Once you feel the angels around you – (I picture them as nosing deer,) your fear subsides.

      Danger – Organized religion is helpful to the extent that it leaves you free. If you feel you ae being enslaved and ensnared, you probably are. Limiting your potential and demanding money are warning signs.

      Trust requires us to follow where we cannot see the path, and so sometimes we lose the path. Sometimes we must hack out our own path through an absolute wilderness. Sometimes we realize even a trusted guide looks for what we can do for THEM. There is no journey that is free of this danger. We must maintain our ability and reserve our right to legislate for ourselves, to reverse course, to tell malignant spirits “You no longer represent me” and to seek out a healthier progress.

      Opportunity – We are never alone. All around us are pilgrims struggling with the same things we’re struggling with. Sharing and caring knits us together. Our two party political system benefits from stirring up hatreds to protect itself from change. Don’t accept it. We are not each other’s enemies. The possibilities for friendship and connection are huge, but hatred and anger lead in only one direction.

      Models & Mentors – “The world is full of magic things patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper”- W.B. Yeats

      “You need not work to become spiritual – you are spiritual. You need only to recognize that fact” – Julia Cameron

      “The spiritual journey is the unlearning of fear and the acceptance of love” – Marianne Williamson

      “Happy people build their inner world – unhappy people blame their outer world” – Dalai Lama

      “The power of God is with you at all times, through the activities of mind, sense, breathing, the emotions, doing all the work, using you as mere instrument.” – Bhagavad Gita

      Mantra – “I seek”

      Meditation –

      #Haiku: – Spirituality

      We are all
      Planted; connected by
      Dirt; exploding our
      Seeds toward
      Light

    5. #DreamTherapy – Dream Journaling with Alysse Aallyn

      Soulmates – Do you dream of a lost twin? Do you look in the mirror and see someone else? Do you ever view another across a crowded room, touch their hand, and feel a strange galvanic charge? Do you think soulmates are possible? Is there only one or are soulmates developed? Are you disenchanted with sex? Do you have sex dreams that are more like night terrors? Does sex make you feel increasingly worthless and untouchable?

      Soulmates Are Real And You Have One – It’s never too late. You are never so “lost” you can’t find your soulmate. The problem is, your soulmate feels just the way you do and you are frightened by that. You want your soulmate to rescue you, but you have to rescue each other. This takes a lot of bravery, a lot of humility, much insight and a little magic.

      Challenge – There are plenty of frogs out there and some vipers, and we have kissed each. Possibly more than once. It’s also possible that we have “rewired” our system – through porn, games, and casual sex – so that it actually prevents us from finding a soulmate and forging a life bond. This is why starting as friends is so critical. It gets your defenses down to the point where yo can talk about fears, desires and problematic reactions. You can go slowly, make mistakes and be prepared to learn.

      Danger – Sometimes – let’s face it – most times, you and your soulmate are “sick.” You have “caught” an infection from a society that says “fuck you” to eternal, mystical, mutual sexual union. That makes things hard. You don’t get “well” overnight. You need to practice good mental, emotional, physical, spiritual and sexual hygiene and you both have to figure out what that is. You both need to make the map of mutuality – in each other’s minds and bodies – for yourself. If the other person refuses to get “well” you must get away from them. The most important part of soulmating is this mutual pledge for health and growth – for both of you.

      Opportunity – My book, I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead – is about the supernatural powers of soulmates. It’s about what to do when you dislike your soulmate at first. It’s about what to do when you and your soulmate both have horrific pasts and are pursued by actual demons. I can’t say it clearer than that. Don’t be frightened. Your bond is eternal, across time, geography and multiverses. Take it slow. You have all the time in the world.

      Models & Mentors – “A soulmate’s purpose is to shake you up, tear apart your ego, show you your obstacles and addictions, break your heart open so new light can get in, make you so desperate and out of control that you have to transform your life and then introduce you to your spiritual master” – Elizabeth Gilbert

      “A soulmate is the one person whose love is powerful enough to motivate you to meet your soul to do the emotional work of self-discovery and awakening”
      – Kenny Loggins

      “They fought all the time and challenged each other every day. They were crazy about each other” – Nicholas Sparks

      “I know what love is, because of you.” – Herman Hesse

      Mantra – “I am yours as you are mine”

      Meditation –

      #Haiku: I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead

      Only soulmates can
      Slay each other’s dragons
      Says Tibetan Master

    6. #DreamTherapy – Dream Journaling with Alysse Aallyn

      The Field of Fate – Do you dream of costume drama? Historical characters? Ancient books? Do you consult tea leaves? Are you superstitious? We are all caught in the mesh of history.

      The field is too large for us to see it clearly. We can feel the pull of forces too large to resist or even rise above. We use our Dream Journal to track the stirrings of memories both past & future. Those caught in wars, in genocides, in natural disasters, are brutally unlucky. Naturally we yearn for a trustworthy clue to extract us from this maze.

      Challenge – Do you see the bigger picture? Were those who fled Germany before Hitler shut it down just “lucky” or had they learned to read the signs? Rulers by whim are especially dangerous, for their brain becomes an echo chamber rotting from within. The larger the council the better – true democracy is best, but even then there are those self-destructive ones among us desiring to “shake things up”; loving chaos for its own sake. They may hope to ride the whirlwind but no one can truly ride a whirlwind. The challenge is to see the whirlwind coming.

      Danger – Is the danger learned helplessness, our old enemy? Or is it comfort – we’ve created a prison for ourselves that’s just too cushy and familiar to leave? Sometime the danger is an inability to imagine evil: “it CAN’T get that bad” or “These people are my friends,” or ”He’s just trash talking. He doesn’t really mean it.” Famous last words. Or is it another enemy, panic? Fight and flight are not the only factory installed responses, there’s also “freeze.” Motionless, because we are too terrified to think.

      Opportunity – Have you noticed, yet, that it’s always the same opportunity we’re offered? Simply to grow up. Accept maturity. Become Godly; more like God, or as the Gnostic gospels call the Creator, “Good”. To regard each other with the wise generosity of compassion. In order to claim our opportunity we must create safe spaces to grow, think and learn.

      Models & Mentors – “We are spinning our own fates, good or evil, never to be undone” – William James

      “No matter how dirty your past, your future is spotless” – Drake

      “Our destiny is not written for us, but by us” – Barack Obama

      “If you can influence, direct or control your environment , you can make your life what you want it to be” – Napoleon Hill

      “Life is choice, not chance,” – Jean Nidetch

      “Winners fail until they succeed” – Robert T. Kiyosaki

      Mantra – “I choose”

      Meditation –

      #Haiku: Karma

      Come round –
      Goes round.
      Love reaps love
      Law reaps
      Justice
      Violence reaps
      Whirlwind.

    7. #DreamTherapy – Dream Journaling with Alysse Aallyn

      Art – Do you dream of artistic products – paintings, sculpture, film – or artistic endeavors such as performance and construction? Do you get ideas for fresh pieces and experience nonconformist thinking that seem to evaporate upon waking? Art is our poetic confrontation with the world, it is also our prime avenue for non-verbal healing. Only non-verbal healing can address pain we can’t even quantify. Your inner self is signaling to you that it is time for you to access another language – art – become expert in its terms, and start inventing some of your own. Only art can establish the connection with others required to nourish you now.

      You Are An Artist – Every single one of us chooses mode and objects of expression, consciously or unconsciously, every single day. We buy one object over another because it gives us pleasure, we arrange our living spaces to express some intangible quality about ourselves – a self-definition that signals to others who we are and where we are on our journey.

      Challenge – Art demands individuality. We begin by copying but we must move on to expressing our uniqueness or our soul can’t evolve. If we are happy being part of an unthinking mass we are truly “unborn.” This exploration will grant you a deep peace about being alone with yourself, a strong confidence in who you really are and a feeling of spiritual value.

      Danger – This exploration is awkward at first, and in other people’s eyes it may remain awkward forever. Why wouldn’t you copy what’s popular? Why not mimic the uncontroversially successful? The problem is, while you are doing that the core of your self-hood is dying like an unwatered plant. And if your soul is dying, you are dying. Also, being bullied by the “art enforcers” is not the only danger here because we bully ourselves worse than they could ever do. Constantly shaming yourself as a no-talent, pretending poseur is horrifyingly destructive to our precious infant specialness struggling for life. Make a resolution to start supporting yourself. The fact that a work is unsuccessful, even a horrific mess, doesn’t mean it isn’t an advance for your vision, insight and style. These are the building blocks of creation. Don’t get hung up on approval. You need teachers, not fans. Read The War of Art by Steven Pressfield.

      Opportunity – Open your Dream Journal. If you familiarize yourself with the lives of artists you will instantly see MESS EVERYWHERE. For the purposes of confidence building, the disastrous misfires among artists you admire the more helps you respect your own efforts and forgive your failures. Astonishing talent does exist – we learn less from these natural geniuses, much as we admire them, and more from artists who seem more in tune with our own two steps forward, four steps back methods of composition. We are trying to build the confidence to experiment. You don’t have to call yourself “an artist” if that’s too intimidating (most of us have day jobs) – you can say you’re “communing with yourself on a psychic level, and learning the language to interact with others more deeply. Because you are. It enormously enhances our pleasure in day to day existence!

      Models & Mentors – “Creativity takes courage” – Henri Matisse

      “It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see” – Henry David Thoreau

      “The only thing worse than being blind is having sight without vision”

      – Helen Keller

      “You were born an original, don’t die a copy” – Jon Mason

      “Life beats down and crushes the art in your soul to remind you that you have one” – Stella Adler

      “There are no rules, only confidence, aplomb, style & joy” – Neil Gaiman

      Mantra – “I create”

      Meditation –

      Haiku: In the Art Monastery

      Silence blooms; bold
      Heart plunges
      Deep;
      Dares blood;
      Mind annexes Sun
      Births
      Moons

    8. #DreamTherapy – Dream Journaling with Alysse Aallyn

      Dawn – Relief – All suffering comes to an end. “This too must pass” is a true mantra. Every dream is followed by an awakening which is followed by another dream. In the moment of relief from the fear and the tension that preceded it we are still shaking from the experience we went through. We are in no condition to make decisions. We are just so grateful that it is over. What is required of us, however, is appreciation of the cycle. We are surfing, whether we like it or not. Another wave will come. We had better learn how to ride it.

      Challenge – Mentally, we will rise above the cycle. Take a good, long look at it. This is hard to do when we are quivering and feeling victimized but it is necessary. What pattern do you see? The surfing analogy is a good one because the tides are not rhythmic nor perfectly predictable, we simply know another will be along soon. Is this necessary? Sometimes there’s a way out; we can change jobs, switch professions, get a divorce. Figure out where the pressure is coming from. Assess your abilities. What part are you good at? Where do you suck? Can you enjoy any part of this? How can your performance be improved? Most of us take pleasure in things we are good at. Can your enjoyment be deepened?

      Danger – Learned helplessness is real. We give up. We stop trying to game or even understand the system. We lie down under the shocks, no longer even trying to escape, until they kill us. Don’t succumb.

      Opportunity – You can win, but the game is bigger than our mortal understanding. Nevertheless, you can comprehend the majesty of what we are up against and appreciate it as a knife appreciates the whetstone. We learn through analogy, we remember through stories. You can always improve, becoming a graceful, competent athlete of our mortal existence until you graduate into the next sphere. You can change and affect your fate.

      Roll with the punches. When Jesus says, “Resist not evil” he means, allow evil to roll over you and smash itself against your non-resistance. Study martial arts to increase your knowledge of how to manage and overcome Superior Force. Cultivate a Dream Buddy, a dead or fictional character you know well and summon them to your aid. Ask your dream buddy.

      Dream Buddies don’t have to be actually alive or present – people choose such different characters as St. Francis, Sherlock Holmes, Mother Theresa, Joan of Arc, Mulan, Buddha and Jesus to be their buddies. Some are more comfortable with an animal – your personal power creature; the jaguar, wolf, eagle or wolverine. You can change Dream Buddies based on the problem confronting you. Ask their help before you go to sleep, solicit them to come to you in dreams to shed light upon your difficulty. Then the next morning, start writing and remembering the moment you wake up. Some key dreams take a lifetime to decipher.

      Models & Mentors – “Worry is like a rocking chair – it gives you something to do but you never get anywhere”
      – Erma Bombeck

      “For fast acting relief, try slowing down” – Lily Tomlin

      “Happiness is the relief after extreme tension”
      – F. Scott Fitzgerald

      “Laughter is the tonic, the release, the surcease of pain” – Charlie Chaplin

      Mantra – “I delight”

      Meditation –

      #Haiku: Taming Wild Mind

      Raging surf –
      Wild ride;
      Harden torrent into
      Path.
      Breathe.
      Hurricane’s Eye.

    9. #DreamTherapy – Dream Journaling with Alysse Aallyn

      Spring – Hope – Do you dream of undiscovered worlds? Are your dreams so delicious you don’t want to wake up? Do you think about your dreams during the day? When you go to sleep at night do you eagerly summon up that sense of childhood ecstasy? Ask your Dream Journal.

      Hope springs anew with every flush of oxygen and blood through our systems. Is Spring your favorite season? Do you dream of unfolding buds and exploding flowers? Spring is a season of the heart, of the will. Hope is the fuel we run on. Hope is eternal. Do you feel you are on a quest? Do you dream of uncovering buried truths? Do you lose yourself in detection, or treasure-hunting dreams? Is “the mustard seed” your favorite parable?

      You are A Discoverer – Hope is not about “resolution” but about envisioning a future you had a hand in promoting. You have a sense of awe, but also ownership and a little pride. This is YOUR discovery. Now you want to share it with the whole world.

      Challenge – Don’t waste your imagination on too many games. Games can be a training ground but all too often our society seeks to harness and entrap your energies onto a treadmill that benefits only the few. Your dreams, your aspirations, your thirst for knowledge, is wider than this. You know the complexities of the universe are even more amazing than anyone has guessed and you want to call attention to them. You need to learn how.

      Dangers – are tunnel vision, paranoia and megalomania. Hope deferred makes the heart sick. Obsession becomes obvious when harms become visible. You don’t “give up” just because you can’t seem to impose your vision on the world. Are you eating and sleeping? Maintaining your relationships? You can’t achieve bigtime without a team and you need to keep your team happy. Conflating the majesty of the discovery with your own personal majesty – needing that majesty – separates you from human kind and that can’t go well. It blinds you. Paranoia then comes into play. You ask yourself, are others stealing from you, riding on the coattails of your majesty, tarnishing your legacy? But if you surrender to the process of discovery you find out that every discovery leads to more understanding, more possibility. The discoveries – and hopefully the discoverers – never stop! Practice humility and gratitude. Aren’t you lucky to be a part of this? Isn’t it wonderful?

      Opportunity – Assembling a “team” is critical. TEAM isn’t a formal concept and it doesn’t mean maintaining a payroll. It requires finding the energy to keep your hope alive while keeping it realistic. It implies explaining yourself over and over, developing your idea. Allowing others to offer the energy of their perspectives. Even when you see them as wrong-headed, they operate as a whetstone, sharpening your vision. Most important are supporters who catch a “contact high” from the joy of your insights. This happiness creates a nourishing environment that powers us forward. Move confidently in the direction of growth and away from diminishment, remembering that it is not about you – it is about a world of treasure waiting to be discovered.

      Models & Mentors – “Hope is being able to see there is light in spite of the darkness” – Desmond Tutu

      “What I try to cultivate is not blind optimism but radical hope” – Junot Diaz

      “Be astonished. Tell about it”. – Mary Oliver

      “Everything that is done in this world is done by hope” – Martin Luther

      “Only in darkness can you see the stars” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

      Mantra – “I discover”

      Meditation –

      #Haiku: Spring Is a State of Mind

      Vaulting
      Out of bed
      New projects:
      Fresh thinking: I’m
      My hero –
      Progress