Fantasies, Dreams and Intentions
- Kim Newton
- Jan 3, 2011
- 6 min read
Presented by Merle Wenger Sunday January 2, 2011 Chalice Lighting: “We Dreamers We dreamers-- architects of the soul take a lifetime, to meditate, sketch, create, like Corbusier or I M Pei; then choose the bricks and stones, to build a self that suits us well and makes others cock their heads and notice.From Affirmations for the Inner Child by Rokelle Lerner
I weave the patterns of my life. I hold the threads, I choose the colors, I put them on the loom in the pattern of my choosing. When I make a mistake, I do not scold myself for being a bad weaver. Nor do I rip out my work in anger and frustration. I rejoice because each mistake gives me the opportunity to create a pattern that is uniquely mine, rich with the turnings and twistings of my life. My work will never be finished but will grow ever richer and more beautiful.
Around this time of year, with the fantasies of Santa Claus's annual trip around the world complete, and the hopes of New Year's resolutions fresh in my mind, I come around to thinking about how our perception of the future shapes it. In this regard, I want to share my personal perspective on how I have come to regard fantasies, dreams and intentions. Fantasies are defined as “imagination unrestricted by reality. There is no work involved in making them happen. The Harry Potter series and Lord of the Rings trilogy come to mind. Santa is coming whether you like it or not or we might fantasize that when we win the lottery we will buy a brand new Porsche. Teenagers fantasize about growing up and marrying a prince or princess and living happily ever after. I want to have a million dollars. These are common fantasies: a state we anticipate being in without any specific game plan, or as the bumper sticker says” “A goal without a plan is just a wish." I see fantasies as being more akin to wishes. Waking dreams, on the other hand, for me at least, are wishes or visionary wishes, beneath which we can build a foundation to help make them real: an evolving process. If I dream to improve my own life, say, to have a million dollars then I can take the first step to get there: I might take some college classes, or get my real estate license, or seek to date the son or daughter of some local fat cat. If I want to improve my personal life, I might go to church, or therapy, or join a civic organization. If I dream to improve the life of others, I might donate money or time to a charitable organization, I might take classes to work in some ngo charity or health care field, or I might just simply try to be a pleasant person when in the company of others. That of course is a dream that can be very demanding. And then we come to the current fad concept of intentionality. Popularized in the movies
The Secret
and
What The Bleep Do We Know
, the idea is that if we merely think about some future desired state, or better yet, speak the intention aloud, that it is more likely to happen, or with the most ardent supporters of the philosophy, it will happen. I think a good example is from the book of one of the intention writers who says he was living in Hawaii and intended to have a home there. Within a few months of making the intention, someone gave him a home, in Hawaii. Now there is a bit of a paradox that arises at this point: is it possible that my disbelief in this happening prevents it from happening to me? Is it possible that even if I voiced that I wanted to own a house in say, Miami, my deep doubt that it would ever happen, would keep the energies of the universe from manifesting it toward me? Intention and prayer seem to be related: usually however, the intention of prayer is directed to a divinity, to some God, whom it is believed will grant the intention. And most of us have heard stories where prayers were answered. Few religious devotees talk about the prayers that are not answered. But it is generally accepted, even in some scientific circles, that many people praying for an event to happen, can have an affect on changing the outcome. Perhaps by now you have detected that I am most interested today in the evolving process of dreaming in this choice between fantasies, dreams and intentions. I believe that we are often able to achieve our waking dreams. In fact I think there are some simple steps that we can use to realize our dreams. I could not dwell on this subject long without touching on one of the modern day dreams that many of you in this room have witnessed. When M L King stood before 200, 000 at the Lincoln Memorial in August 1963, in the shadow of the stature of another great American dreamer of a prior century, Abraham Lincoln, Dr King spelled out in that eloquent delivery three primary elements of how we can realize our dreams: He said, “There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, “When will you be satisfied?" Point number 1: We accomplish our dreams when we are simply not satisfied with the present condition. Later he goes on to say “Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends." Point Number 2: We realize our dreams when we finally no longer are willing to wallow in despair, when we know that we have wallowed long enough. You know, for me, the image of wallow is that of pigs walking in mud, moving slowly because of the effort of pulling one foot out of the mud, which holds the leg firmly due to not only the weight of its porkiness, but the suction of the mud. And so when we are tired of wallowing under our own weight and the weight of our surroundings we might turn to dreaming our way out of despair. But as we look further, we realize that dreams must also have a realistic goal--even if it is seemingly insurmountable. Listen to Dr. King's focused goal: “I have a dream that one day,
do
wn in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of “interposition” and “nullification” -- one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers." What vision, what verbal clarity, what magnanimity (Greatly generous. Magnanimity is a latinization of the Greek word
megalopsuchia
which means greatness of soul and was identified by is
Unveils a meaning we hardly envisioned.
Notice: I say we; there, every one, separately, Feels compassion for others entangled in the flesh
And knows that if there is no other shore
They will walk that aerial bridge all the same.
I rather like the balance created by a mix of dreams and prayer: the first seems driven by the ego, the latter by our humility.
I dare you to dream. We have included the “Desiderata in your program. This has always been a favorite meditation of mine. I urge you to read it when you are alone and to write a dream on the paper and put it away to look at next year in January. Identify what part of your life you seek to improve; be clear that you no longer want to wallow under your own weight and the weight of your affliction; and focus on a virtuous desired outcome. By the end of the week, and certainly by the end of 30 days, you will be moving forward with wind-filled sails toward your dream.
