Dreamworld
I used to be passionate about lucid dreaming (realising you are awake inside a dream and then controlling it). I wasn’t very good at it (I kept getting so excited when I realised I was in a dream that I would wake up) and now I am content to enjoy my dreams and enjoy my life without trying to interfere so much.
It was clear to me, however, that when I was in that place between sleep and wakefulness I could think of a word like ‘hill’ and suddenly I would see a detailed landscape with much more than I had planned on seeing. This reminds me that reality is not fluid and that imagination is much more total and wonderful than our everyday thoughts.
It was clear to me, however, that when I was in that place between sleep and wakefulness I could think of a word like ‘hill’ and suddenly I would see a detailed landscape with much more than I had planned on seeing. This reminds me that reality is not fluid and that imagination is much more total and wonderful than our everyday thoughts.
Our imagination, together with our thoughts, create our world. However, instead of trying to interfere with what is happening and think better thoughts or imagine better things, we can just relax and allow whatever comes up to flow.
Here are some ideas:
- Once I was looking down from Morvern onto the island of Mull in Scotland. As I looked, my mind started telling me off for not appreciating it
enough - then I relaxed and let that thought go and then my imagination rose up like a child’s and sent me flying through the air, landing on the mountains, splashing through the sea, playing high in the sky with the gulls. The exhilaration was immense and I became intensely present.
- I now like to do the same when I look at a work of art – imagine that I am in it interacting with the landscape or the characters. I’ve found it to be a much more satisfying, active way of experiencing art rather than just looking at it and waiting for it to move me.
- If I’m really enjoying some food, I play with it on the plate and in my mouth I even imagine I’ve gone tiny (as in ‘Honey, I shrunk the kids!’) and am totally immersed in it.
- When doing Qi Gong movements I might imagine I am a cloud, or that there is a ball of energy moving through me, or that I am a
flying goose, or whatever that movement suggests.
- When listening to music you can let the sound more deeply in, so that every cell of your body seems to be listening. A friend told me she likes to imagine herself melting down like a piece of butter when she listens to classical music.
Here are some ideas:
- Once I was looking down from Morvern onto the island of Mull in Scotland. As I looked, my mind started telling me off for not appreciating it
enough - then I relaxed and let that thought go and then my imagination rose up like a child’s and sent me flying through the air, landing on the mountains, splashing through the sea, playing high in the sky with the gulls. The exhilaration was immense and I became intensely present.
- I now like to do the same when I look at a work of art – imagine that I am in it interacting with the landscape or the characters. I’ve found it to be a much more satisfying, active way of experiencing art rather than just looking at it and waiting for it to move me.
- If I’m really enjoying some food, I play with it on the plate and in my mouth I even imagine I’ve gone tiny (as in ‘Honey, I shrunk the kids!’) and am totally immersed in it.
- When doing Qi Gong movements I might imagine I am a cloud, or that there is a ball of energy moving through me, or that I am a
flying goose, or whatever that movement suggests.
- When listening to music you can let the sound more deeply in, so that every cell of your body seems to be listening. A friend told me she likes to imagine herself melting down like a piece of butter when she listens to classical music.