Hope for the Future: a Dreaming Society

What a wonderful year of learning this has been. My adventures in the dream world have taken on more dimensions, literally. Lucid dreaming and OBE experiences have heightened my passion for dreaming as a daily practice, as if I needed more reason to love my time in the dream worlds. I promise to keep sharing anything I find out that might prove valuable to you, too.

I want to comment about the year that’s dawning because it’s accompanied by mythical apocalyptic doomsday fame, even for people who aren’t practicing Mayans. Why is it so much easier to imagine the gods doing away with us than helping us? Why do so many religious paradigms consider a terrible, gruesome end to this beautiful world the only way out? Why does their deity deem this a fitting punishment for the wicked creatures He supposedly loves? I think we risk creating self-fulfilling prophecy scenarios when we adopt doomsday religions or beliefs.

So, at the dawning of this auspicious new year, the year of the Black Water Dragon in Chinese astrology, I propose that we set our intention on realizing our best dreams and that we view whatever crisis we might face as an opportunity to make beneficial changes.
And most of all, let’s set our expectations on good things happening; let’s collectively dream the future we want into being.

Many authors and teachers I admire share the opinion that we’re experiencing a spiritual revolution, a revolution in human consciousness. Perhaps the next evolutionary shift for humankind is not about technology but about paradigm: who are we, where do we come from and where are we going? In such a climate, inner exploration and personal change can manifest as positive ripples in our communal circles. We can each make a difference, even if it’s just by changing ourselves, expanding our own awareness. Of course, to me, dreaming is each individual’s portal to self-awareness and personal development.

Recently, I had an ultra-vivid dream that I wake up, get out of bed and head down the hall to the bathroom. I see through the bathroom window at the end of the hall a spectacular morning sky. I’m filled with excitement and know that I want to be down at the beach with my camera. I decide to get dressed and leave Jim a note telling him where I am. As I’m writing the note, I wake up again, this time into actual waking time and realize I’m still in bed and it’s raining outside.

When I woke up the morning of November 28th, just before dawn, the memory of this dream guided me to the beach, allowing me to honor it with these pictures.

I wish everyone continued adventures, insight, entertainment and blessings in both the dream and waking worlds throughout 2012.