Embodied vision

Connect for a moment with the space where dreams form, the space where ideas come from, where visions emerge and inspiration flows…it’s there within us all, isn’t it? But trying to connect with it on demand can be challenging.

It’s a space we all know so well, but rarely connect with consciously. We all have an inner world made up of thoughts, memories, feelings, ideas, and imagination. The subtle body inside of us feeds, fuels and colours our lived experience on a daily basis. But because it’s subtle it can be challenging to understand…because we don’t experience it with our physical senses can make it easy to dismiss.

But there’s no denying that, however consumed, distracted, or preoccupied we become with our physical lives, we still dream, both in our sleep and during our days…whether those dreams are of the holidays we’re planning, the jobs we’d like to do, home improvements or creative endeavours, those dreams inform our language and influence our actions.

When this subtle flow is outside of our conscious awareness our actions become habitual; we are conditioned to respond to the flow of external situations, conditions and experiences that inform, inspire, and shape us, and our internal capacity to judge, deny, avoid, or embrace them.

But when we begin to bring our awareness to the subtle flow, then we can begin to embody the alchemist within us, the power we have to shape and direct our experiences and the ways in which we react to our environments and the challenges of life.

Connect again with that inner space but start from a place of experience. Know that there has been a time in life when vison has become reality, where dreams have come true, however small they may be. It could be as simple as imagining a favourite meal, thinking about it, planning it and then, embodying the vision by making it that evening.

Then enjoying it as much as imagination allowed or realising that steps in the process made it less enjoyable, perhaps certain ingredients weren’t available, maybe timings were out making it over or under cooked. Or maybe circumstances allowed it to be perfect. Bringing dreams to reality comes with the limitations we experience as humans and the knowledge and wisdom we lack or acquire along the way.

Often it depends on factors outside of our control. This is a basic example, but one which extends to all dreams and the vision we have for our lives. Whether we believe in our vision for life or dismiss it as impossible is the choice we empower ourselves to make the moment we bring conscious awareness to it.

Take a moment to bring to mind a challenging situation you might be facing. It might be something expected, or out of the blue, perhaps it’s something you accept and take for granted as ‘just part of life’. But spend a little time holding that challenge in mind, explore what it feels like and then explore what it might feel like if it was resolved, no longer a challenge.

It may be a challenge that’s been faced before in which case the steps towards resolution might be known… but if it’s a new challenge and the steps are unknown, we may face it with a sense of unease, or dread even. Maybe it's overwhelming and so we shut down completely.

Hope exists in our capacity for envisaging an alternative though. If we can dream it, we can create it.
Giving ourselves the gift of space and time to be present is essential…understanding what we’re experiencing subtly, how it feels, what we think about how we feel, our judgements, expectations, knowledge, and experience.