Category: Dreams
This is a great compilation of interviews with Will Smith. I didn’t know much about his philosophy apart from a few soundbites I’d heard around the time The Pursuit of Happyness came out, but check out what he’s got to say. His passion and his message provide a crucial voice for today’s world, where people often believe they are the victim of circumstances outside of their control (the economy, the government, et cetera). Will offers a different, and refreshing, perspective:
Greatness exists in all of us.
Lay one brick at a time.
Focus on making a difference.
Represent an idea.
You have to believe.
Nothing is unrealistic.
Be willing to die for the Truth.
Protect your dream.
And one of my favorite quotes: “Being realistic is the most commonly traveled road to mediocrity.”
(with apologies to Langston Hughes for stealing and altering his famous title)
Dreams can change throughout your lifetime. Some dreams from earlier days are no longer appealing and wouldn’t serve you to hold onto. (I once told my aunt that I wanted to be the first female president of the United States—hardly a position I would consider today) I’m interested in the dreams that continue to burn in your heart. The ones you know you could go for if you just let yourself be a bit courageous.
What are your dreams for today and for the future? Which ones have you forgotten?
For me, I’ve been passionate about going to Africa for as long as I can remember. I so badly wanted to see Kenya—to meet the people face to face, to be surrounded by that culture and to help out in their overwhelming circumstances in whatever way I could. Fast forward to today: I have visited Kenya twice and then lived there for six months. That dream for me is not finished—I still long to return. And I will.
Another dream I had from even earlier was to be published. I vividly recall getting wrapped up in the stories of Little House on the Prairie and other children’s books. I wanted to be able to tell stories like that, to publish something that might move another to a state of joy or sadness, ultimately to a state of connection that a reader feels with a well-written character. This dream too will soon become a reality.
The people I know who live to pursue their dreams are those that are most alive.
I know a woman who sews quilts by hand. It had been her dream to learn how to do this. For her, it was a link to her ancestors who created gorgeous family treasures, and passed them down through the centuries.
I know a man who recently signed up for improv classes. He is 68 and told me, “I don’t know why I waited this long.” He had been pushing aside his dream to be on stage for decades. Now he’s chosen to make the time to follow the calling he had always ignored.
What are your dreams? Which ones have been left on the backburner for too long now?
A dream deferred is one yet pursued. Take time today to think about what your dreams are. Which ones have changed and are not important anymore? Which ones still ignite a spark within? Make a list, write them down as a proclamation to the universe. “This is what I want!” What next step can you take in the pursuit of that dream?
A bit of background: When Stephen LaBerge wanted to study consciousness at Stanford in the late 70′s, no one was all that interested in committing to his dissertation team. He garnered support from Karl Pribram, of Holographic Mind Theory fame, and settled on the topic of lucid dreaming–that is, proving in the laboratory that one can become conscious in dream time. Since then he has gone on to provide not only empirical evidence of lucid dreaming, but he has become the foremost authority on the subject.
Yesterday he took the stage here in Dana Point to share some of his research and wisdom. His dark suit accentuated his California tan and flyaway gray hair. He paced the stage, obviously thrilled to talk about the topic he’s studied for thirty years, and his small frame seemed to bounce around with enthusiastic energy.
“We do not experience reality,” he said, “but our interpretation of reality.” That is, we do not experience the world, but our mental model of the world. And everyone’s mental model is unique.
“Dreaming is perception unconstrained by sensory input. Perception is dreaming constrained by sensory input.” Think on that one a few minutes.
He mentioned that in near-death experiences, there often occurs a notable disturbance in the temporal lobe. The same type of disturbance has been reported in lucid dream studies. As near death experiences have been known to open doors to different layers of consciousness, the potential then, for awakened consciousness is heightened with the practice of lucid dreaming.
Although I have had lucid dreams in the past, they have not come from conscious intention. Last night I was able to recognize that I was dreaming while in dream time, but I woke up so soon afterward that I did not have time to try anything extraordinary. My goal is to fly after I have “woken up” within the dream. As LaBerge noted, it’s easier to recognize dreams when something is truly extraordinary–an event or context that wouldn’t exist in waking life. In his book, Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming, he catagorizes different types of dream signs which have been helpful in recognizing when I am dreaming.
