I dream of art, music and writing. To be more exact, I dream of being an artist. Being a musician. Being an author. I use the word dream because I have had an inner desire to be each of these things for a very long time and each has been elusive to me. Merriam-Webster defines this aspect of dreaming as: "something that you have wanted very much to do, be or have for a long time" These are the dreams of which I speak.
But, as for many, Real Life has taken over and made me feel ashamed for even having these dreams. Real Life constantly reminds me that it's foolhardy and irresponsible to dream. Real Life has beaten me down to a place in which I have resigned myself to settle for life as it is. Settle. I hate that word. There is so much disappointment, defeat and failure wrapped up in that word. At least for me.
So, where do I go from here? How do I reignite the passion to follow my dreams.
I'm still figuring it all out. But I know that I need to figure it out and that's a start. Right?
Fortunately, there is a light at the end of the gray walled, bleak, utilitarian tunnel that Real Life has led me into. A light put there by a universe that wants to bring things back into balance. And I intend to forge on and embrace that light.
An old high school friend of mine recently wrote a book which has been somewhat serendipitous for me. It's a book about the power of balance and how balance can help turn our dreams into realities.
It's volume 1 in a book series and it's called Greater Balance, Greater Reward: Five Steps to Better Health, Productivity and Work Life Balance by Jeff Kooz.
The part of the book that made the biggest impression on me thus far is when he speaks of the important role that our subconscious mind plays in the process of realizing dreams. Throughout our time on this earth, our subconscious minds have been conditioned to believe a number of things, many of which are negative affirmations. Because of fears we have that have taken root due to a number of Real Life factors, negative affirmations such as these have become embedded: I'm not talented. I don't have the determination to achieve. I don't have the energy. I'm less valuable than other people. People will make fun of me. (This list could go on forever, couldn't it?)
In the book, Jeff writes about how the visualization of a different reality is "critical in enlisting the subconscious mind as an ally. If the mind believes in a reality, it will begin supporting it, even if that reality hasn't fully manifested."
Does the idea of negative affirmations in the subconscious and conscious mind strike you as "New-Agey claptrap"?
Well, here is a brief online article that it might be helpful to read about negative affirmations and self talk. How do negative affirmations affect my life?
You see, what we believe in Real Life, is often not reality at all but instead, a bunch of falsities we have begun to believe are reality.
In light of this, I've decided that my first step toward pursuing my dreams of being and artist, musician and author is, though it may sound absurd, seeing myself as already all of those things. Again, I know it will sound like wishy-washy positive thinking but I sincerely believe that a reframing of the way one thinks is essential to succeed in this process.
I am an artist. I am a musician. I am an author. I am all of these things and the presence or absence of artwork, recorded music or written work will not add or detract from my identity as any of these things in my own mind. After all, the art, music and writing all already exists inside my brain. It is there and it will come out as my subconscious mind is conditioned to believe that it can and will and as I replace negative affirmations with positive ones.
This is the beginning of actually living out our dreams and, Oh, what dreams may come!
