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3 Excellent Reasons to Dream BIG in 2016    
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Dream Mood Lady


 
Happy 2016!

If you've been following my weekly blog or my Mood Lady Mondays on Facebook lately, you'll know that last week we took some time for Reflection. The question I left you with was "As you look back at this year, (2015), what is at least one thing you are most ready to explore/develop/play with in 2016?" If you missed that question or haven't had the Reflection time you wanted, go ahead....take a few moments now and see what you come up with.

With that answer in hand, you are now ready for something SUPER exciting - something that is a perfect exercise and activity for the start of the New Year. It's something that is very much under-rated because people are so ready to get into the setting goals and New Year's resolutions mode that they often skip over this step. Are you ready? Great! - Because now you get to DREAM!

Permission to Dream
When we allow ourselves to dream, we give ourselves permission to let our imagination and the intuitive side of ourselves come out and play. For some of us, this side doesn't get to come out that often. I remember years ago, a client came to me at a crossroads in her life and she was smack in the middle of her pros & cons lists - trying to gauge which decision was best and most practical and would get her to where she wanted to go most quickly. She was anxious and in the "I HAVE to figure this out" energy. She was clearly not enjoying this process at all and at that point, she was not able to touch the learning within it.

I could see she was stuck in the midst of over-working that little mind - trying to make sense of factors that weren't really comparable. I attempted to get her to take a step back and see the big picture. I invited her into what her dream scenario would be. She was having nothing of it. At the time, I wasn't as skilled as I am now, in gently nudging a client out of this space (instead of expecting they could easily follow me). I remember her scoffing at the idea and saying there was no place for dreams in this serious matter of what she was to do next in her life. We explored it in another way, but that conversation is one that continues to stick out to me.

When we are so far from the Dreaming stage, it might seem unrealistic and impractical to allow ourselves to dream - to look at what we really want even when we can't see how we might get there. As kids, many people were told "stop dreaming" by well-meaning adults who didn't want them to be disappointed or get their hopes up too high. Other people might never have been exposed to those big dreams and didn't know anything outside of what they saw in front of them was possible. So we might need to practice the art of dreaming.

There is no right way to dream and there are many ways to do it. One way you might like to play with Dreaming is to visualize your life in 5 years time or 10 years time. What does it look like? Who is in your life? What are you doing on a daily basis? What are some of your favorite activities? Play with the vision. Get specific - hear and feel things. See what it feels like to be YOU in this vision and notice these feelings in your body. There's no skimping allowed in the Dreaming phase - remember nothing has to be realistic or practical. Just follow the feeling of the Dream and notice what happens.

Why You Want to Dream
Although we might have some resistance to allowing ourselves to Dream in a BIG way, there are many reasons why it is beneficial. Mull over these three:

1.It gets you out of the box.
It's easy to see ourselves in these little boxes we have created for ourselves - in our jobs, in our homes, in our relationships and the roles we have, in our thoughts. Many times, these boxes can feel confining and limiting. When you allow yourself to Dream in an unlimited way, you allow yourself to become expansive and to tap into the possibility that is ALL around you. You begin to realize that you can gently squeeze the edges of the box and make it bigger and bigger. After a while, the box begins to disappear altogether. You are then free to draw your own lines that might not make sense to anyone but you, and then you get to relish in the freedom, creativity & flow that this creates in your life.

2.It gives you direction.
When you allow yourself to Dream, you get to see what is most important to you. What are the things and aspects of your Dreams - is it a home, a relationship, a vocation you are passionate about? Notice what your Dreams contain and go back to those feelings we talked about above. What feelings do your Dreams bring to you? And what does it feel like in you when you are experiencing those feelings. Now THIS is excellent information. No matter if your Dream is far away or very close in terms of being realized, knowing what feelings are most important to you is information you can use right now. Whether it is feelings of love, connection, abundance, contribution, etc., take note. How might you bring more of those feelings into your life right now? How can you focus on those feelings on a more regular basis? The circumstances that you are Dreaming of might seem far away and difficult to control, but the feelings - those are right at your fingertips.

And just a reminder that gentleness is called for here. If you are in a 'low' feeling state, you can't expect to jump to the feeling of your Dreams in an instant. But you can, slowly and deliberately, find ways to feel a little better and better. It might feel as if the feelings have control of you. And in the beginning you might need support - from a friend or a professional. But there are tools available to you that will guide you to a 'higher' feeling state no matter where you are.

3.It feels GOOD! One of the simplest reasons to allow yourself to Dream is that when we partake in this process with no resistance, it is fun and expansive. Did you notice that 'little' caveat there - "with no resistance"? Again, if you go into the Dreaming process with the feeling that it's unrealistic, it's probably not too fun. But if you go into knowing that SO much is possible and this is your time to play with possibility, then the Dream process can feel like you're having a little party with yourself. What if you focus purely on the feelings you get when you completely allow yourself to dream with NO attachment to reality - to what you think can or might happen? Just play in the possibility and see what happens.

When we Dream, we open up pathways and channels inside of ourselves that the 'real world' might have closed off. With these open pathways and channels come new ideas, new thoughts, new behaviors. So this month, you are invited to play with Dreaming. Now come back to that question we started with: "As I look back at this year, (2015), what is at least one thing I am most ready to explore/develop/play with in 2016?"  With your Dreaming senses ready, allow yourself some time to take that one thing and Dream into what that exploration/development/play will look like this year. Explore this for a bit - journal, go for a walk with it in mind, let it gently rest within you while you do something else entirely. Experiment. Enjoy. And notice what it feels like and what happens inside you when you allow the beautiful Dream process to unfold.

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Dream, Create & Play 2016  

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process along the way? Then the Dream, Create & Play 2016 online coaching program is just for you! Click here for more information

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Contact Information:

Valentino Coaching
Phone: 559 285 8020+1 559 285 802 

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