This year as we get ready to enter 2012, feels like a good time to do some heavy duty clearing. Time for a “Dream Dump”! I know, I know, I’m the coach. I’m the one who’s suppose to help you connect to your dreams, bring them to life, and here I am suggesting you “dump” them.
The world as we’ve known it is continuing to change right before our eyes. We are living in a time when being empowered, living consciously and conscientiously, making choices that are aligned with the wellbeing of our planet and all of its inhabitants, has (thankfully) become more important than pursuing the frivolous life. Yet many of us still have the energy of the ‘dreams’ of our past, based on a less congruent way of living, pulling at us, having us sometimes feel at odds with… well, with ourselves. Do you ever feel yourself ‘knowing’ what the right thing to do is yet you experience yourself doing something different? This is an indication that you may be operating under the influence of an old, outdated ‘dream’.
The sort of dreams that I’m referring to include the ones we’ve imagined about how life “should” be, as well as the stories we’ve made up about the life we’ve had. They include the perceived nightmares and demons of our past that keep us from seeing beyond our struggles and failures. They include the fantasies we’ve made up about how people in our lives should be (versus accepting who they are), the unmet expectations we’ve
had of them and of the events that have sometimes lead to disappointments and feelings of betrayal. This sort of energy keeps us anchored to a disempowered version of ourselves, others and potential.
In order to make ALL of who you are available for the new, you need to get rid of ALL who you were - including your old DREAMS. As
mythologist Joseph Campbell puts it, “We must let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the one that is waiting for us.”
Dream Dump Exercise:
Grab a piece of paper and write your name at the top, followed by Dream Dump. Mine looks like this:
Kim’s Dream Dump
Take all of the dreams and nightmares you’ve made up, as well as the ones you’ve inherited from your family and society, and dump them on the page in writing.
To help you prepare for the dream dump, I’ve included a Wheel of Life. As you consider each spoke in the wheel, ask yourself these two
questions:
- Is there a dream (my own or one I’ve inherited) that has not come to fruition
in this area? - What are the dreams and nightmares I’ve made up in this area?
For example: Career: Dream of working with partners. I’ve made up that I need to work with others, that I can’t be successful on my own. I’ve made up that I don’t work well with others, that I have to do it all by myself.
You may find that some of the dreams you hold contradict each other (like mine above). This is completely normal and a good reason to dump them ALL. One of the side effects to doing this exercise is that you may uncover the source of many of your internal conflicts. Becoming conscious of them will empower you to choose more congruently in the New Year.
Remember to include all that you’ve made up about others and yourself – stuff like “I’m not good enough”, “It’s not safe to be myself with others”, “I can’t trust him” or “She’ll never understand me”. It is amazing the stuff we can make up from a single experience.
Now, I realize that what I’m about to suggest next is going to sound counter intuitive however, I want you to ‘dump’ all the good dreams too. Hear me out; imagine going to your favorite restaurant and discovering they’ve taken your favorite dessert – say chocolate mousse – off the menu. Now you’re forced to either try a new dessert, or go without. You decide to order the amaretto cheesecake and you love it! As you’re eating your new favorite dessert, inspiration hits! What if you got the recipes for both desserts and combined them? You’d have an amaretto chocolate mousse cheesecake. Oh my! Can you imagine how scrumptious that would be?
For some of us this is not going to be an easy breezy exercise. Personally, I was surprised at how challenging it was to come up with a dream dump to use here as an example. For others, the idea of completing this exercise may not resonate at all - trust yourself. The intention of this exercise is to free ourselves up from the past, so that more of who we are, and more of what is possible will avail itself as we move into consciously creating 2012 and beyond.
When you feel like all of your dreams have been dumped, destroy them! If you can safely do so, burn them; if not, shred them.
Once the dreams are dumped and destroyed, then what?
Enjoy Your Dream Vacation!
Once you’ve dumped and destroyed all of your dreams – breath deep!! Take the rest of the year to remain empty and allow the festivities of the
holidays to dance in the space you’ve created. Similarly to taking a vacation from work, you’re taking a vacation from your dreams. Schedule January 1st 2012 as the “return to dreaming” date, the day when you can start contemplating about what’s next, allowing your mind to wonder through all the potential within you and around you – to make it all up again from scratch… but until then, bask in the vast expansiveness your dream dump has created and enjoy your ‘dream vacation’.
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