There are as many lessons to be learned walking together with 1400 others for such a worthwhile cause!  I won't try to list all of the lessons I learned here but wanted to share with all of you the gratitude that I felt being part of such a moving and motivating event as the Weekend to End Breast Cancer.  As we knelt on the hard concrete floor (after completing what was for us a total of 17hours of walking) to honor the walkers who were breast cancer survivors, all of the aches seemed so trivial; all of our efforts seemed so well rewarded.  Thank you to everyone who came out to cheer us on - you have no idea how much it meant, and to all of you who sent us your thoughts, prayers and 'good vibes' believe me - they all helped!   Wooo Hooo We did it....  What will we do next year?

Dream Big

 
What are your dreams? What makes you feel energized? When are you going to get around to making them come true?
We all have dreams, some big some small, but they remain only wishes or fantasies until we have the courage to take steps toward achieving them.  They can come true no matter how wild or outlandish you may think they are, but only if you take that first step to make them a reality.
There is energy in everything, and dreams are no exception.  To ramp up the energy of your dreams there are six guidelines you can use to REAL-ize those dreams.
 
1.     Set Your Intention.  Get clear on what it is you want.  Dreams can be vague and general.  If this is something you really want to make happen, the possibility increases if you have a very clear vision of as many aspects of the dream as possible.  'I want to travel', is very different than, 'In the next year I want to travel to Italy and see the Vatican City'.  And even better yet is to frame it in the present tense with as much feeling attached as possible such as 'I am standing in the centre of Vatican City marvelling at the view, listening to the Pope deliver Easter Sunday Mass.  The more detail the better. Use your intentions to set the course of your dreams as well as your life.
2.     Know you deserve it. Be compassionate with yourself.  Do you feel excited, "jazzed" every time you think about living your dream?  Then you deserve it!  Don't let that voice of self doubt tell you otherwise.  Does your dream align with your life purpose? Your Purpose is nothing more than a joyous expression of who you are.  Notice what excites you versus what drains you.   If your dreams are in alignment with your purpose, there is nothing left to do but to "go for it!"
3.     Keep the Dream in Focus.  You are more likely to manifest your dream if you keep it in focus.  Have a picture, or some other reminder somewhere you will see it at least daily.  It is easier to keep a dream in focus if you pick one dream at a time to put your efforts into.  It is hard to keep a clear focus on many dreams at one time.  Why not share your dream with someone you trust? Most won't take this shortcut step because if you tell someone your dream, they might expect you to do something about it.  If you feel you aren't ready to share your dream, what is holding you back?
4.     Visualize.  Taking a few moments each day to reinforce your dream helps to make it more real in your mind.  While visualizing consider how you will feel when your dream is a reality - Don't spend too much time visualizing a few minutes each day, as too much time devoted to visualization can take away from living in the present moment.  What you want to accomplish by visualizing is making the dream as clear and well defined as possible.  In your mind you want to be able to feel what you will feel, see what you will see, once your dream is your reality.
5.     Take action.  What are some of the steps you can take today to make your dream a reality? Prove that your dream is a priority by making time for it and taking powerful steps forward.  If it is a trip you want to go on then you can start by researching your dream destination.  Instead of just reading about it make some decisions about what you will do when you go, what landmarks will you plan to visit, what will need to happen in your life for this to become a reality?  When doubts start to arise, which they almost always do at some point, just consider them, if they seem like barriers take a moment to consider how others might get around those barriers, what would it take for it not to be a barrier?  Such as, if finances are the barrier you see, then start to visualize having more than enough money to cover the costs rather than spending a lot of time feeling upset at the lack, spend time feeling grateful for what is coming to you... you don't always need to understand how that will happen.  That is not to say that you never have to take actions that will help to solve the barriers but to not spend time worrying about how they will be resolved.
6.     Have faith.  Faith means believing in something when there is no logical explanation to support the belief.  Isn't that what dreaming is all about?  It wouldn't be a dream if it was just the usual way life was expected to unfold.  It is a dream because it is bold and different and exciting!
 
Whether your dream is for a new career, a new relationship, a vacation or a whole different lifestyle, set your intention, know you deserve it, focus, visualize, take action and have faith.
 
"Be more committed to your dreams than you are to your doubts."  Marcia Wieder
 
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