Dreams

I believe in dreaming - especially the kind that happens in the daytime, with a nice cup of tea and a lovely view of the world on the other side of the window.

I also believe in dreams. Wishes, ambitions and aspirations are all important parts of being human. They are fuelled by imagination, and they keep us moving forward. But sometimes when dreams are elusive, or when they are not realized, we have to let them go. This can be hard. It’s sad to let go of dreams.

When our dreams are not realized we mourn them in the same way we mourn people who have spent time with us and now may be gone. We forget how pleasant it was to experience the dreaming of that dream, and instead we mourn its absence. It is lost on us that the dream itself may be in the dreaming.

My limited understanding of Indian philosophy tells me that dreams must be objects of the mind. Though they may come close to the space around our hearts, they are just constructs pieced together, based on our perceptions of ourselves and the world around us. Because we carry them, just as we do other thoughts, they can feel heavy. They take away from our experience of the present, formed as they are out of memory that bleeds into our imagined future.

The heaviness of dreams, and our attachment to them, can begin to make our hearts feel heavy too, and because of this, we suffer. Our focus on dreams takes us away from other possibilities that arise. So, instead of setting us free, they limit us.

Now, I’m not suggesting we shouldn’t dream, or that we shouldn’t strive for different lives or broader experiences, but it’s important to consider the ways in which our dreams may keep us closed instead of open.

Dreams that bind us to one possibility are shaped by desire and misperception. So, instead of seeing what the universe has to offer us and trusting that whatever comes to us is of value, we, with our narrow vision, stay limited.

Through yoga we begin to shed those thoughts, habits and behaviours that keep us heavy. If we become lighter, if we are aware and willing to shed our layers of desire and misperception, then we may become conscious of our oneness.

So, it’s always good to ask ourselves how holding on to our dreams may be getting in our way. If we see that one dream as THE way, we may not move around it into even more wonderful possibilities.

Dreams can be changed. We can always create new ones. And we can always make another cup of tea.

Thank you for being here.