I am a vivid dreamer and have a keen interest in understanding the messages that a dream seeks to bring to my waking awareness. While the storyline of our dreams is frequently incoherent and non-sensical to the waking mind, the images that inhabit our dream stories are rich with meaning.
A particular image that has stayed with me in recent times is that of an alarm bell. This particular alarm looked like the big red metal button you might find in a fire station. It required a deliberate degree of force to push it down, raising an ear-piercing ring. I woke up, certain that my husband sleeping next to me heard it too. He was sleeping soundly, oblivious to the insistent ringing that had brought me to hyper-alert as I sought to reorientate myself.
Two words have remained with this image that continue to reverberate each day – WAKE UP! These two words are like an ongoing conversation within me. They remind me that being present to the world within and around me is vital. Somehow my intentional presence makes a difference to myself, others and the environment.
Recent research into Quantum physics attests to the knowledge that matter is actually energy that interrelates and communicates at an intangible level. Quoting The Dalai-Lama:
‘At the end of the day, your mental impressions are what shape and form your reality. You are what you think, and what you think shapes your surroundings.’
(https://exploringyourmind.com/the-dalai-lama-on-quantum-physics-and-spirituality/)
We really do live in a magical and mysterious universe where so much of what is unseen, including our energy, influences everything else.
When I see couples, a familiar statement I hear is that one person has deadened themselves to the presence of the other. They have shut down and become numb to feeling anything, as a way of escaping from the present. As a strategy to escape emotional pain and reactivity, it might appear effective but in reality, we carry a heavy, negative energy that deadens the life around and within us. Waking up means taking responsibility for our own life and the impact our life energy has on the other.
To wake up and be present is the intention of bringing your mind to focus on what is happening here and now. Notice how your body feels, the sensations that come to awareness and how you are breathing. Check in with how you feel emotionally, acknowledge the feeling without dwelling on it. Developing a practice such as a breathing meditation or gentle stretching exercises can calm and ground you. Find ways to remind yourself throughout the day to wake up from the incessant mental activity and be present to what is happening right now.
If I am what I think, and my thinking shapes everything else, then I want it to be uplifting and life-giving. Waking up to this must change how we interact with everything else. My challenge to you is will you join me by daily waking up and showing up to what is present in the here and now.
Do you want to be more intentional and present to yourself, your relationships and the world around you? Contact Colleen on 0434 337 245 or Duncan on 0434 331 243 for a FREE 10-minute consultation on how we can best help you or book online now.
