What would I do without . . . HOPE?

"To sit patiently with a yearning that has not yet been fulfilled, and to trust that, that fulfillment will come, is quite possibly one of the most powerful "magic skills" that human beings are capable of. It has been noted by almost every ancient wisdom tradition." ~ Elizabeth Gilbert

What would I do without HOPE? What would my life be like without that inner spark that continually burns bright in my core? I truly believe that not much of anything would happen to any of us if we didn't have it. If we didn't hope for something better or brighter, or if we didn't believe that there really was magic in believing. Even the most unawakened among us, have some form of hope keeping them on whatever path they're on. There's the hope for a better job, more money, a sunny day, a good weekend, a cure . . . a hope for love, more time, things turning out well. . . and on and on we hope . . . we dream . . . we trust.

In our darkest times, that's when we need hope the most. During times of struggle and hardship, our connection with that inner spark needs to be strengthened. No matter what we may be going through, activating what Elizabeth Gilbert calls our "magic skills" is integral in our capacity to overcome the darkness and shine. It wasn't until recently that I've realized the importance of using anything and everything at my disposal to make myself feel good in times when I'm facing some sort of challenge. It's not a matter of ignoring the situation and pretending that it isn't happening, but rather a shifting of focus. By doing whatever I can to lift my spirits and latch on to a wave of positive energy, keep that hope alive as they say, then the challenge loses some of it's hold on me.

A lot of the times when we're faced with difficulties, it's so easy to be consumed by them and devote all of our mental and physical energies to them. The more consumed we are by what is happening, the worse it seems to get. Of course, this would make sense. What you focus on expands and that goes for the good as well as the bad. And while we're focusing on the challenge, there's very little chance of a solution popping into our heads. Instead, it's quite easy for fear to take over and add itself to the situation. I can tell you that living in fear of something is never a way out of any challenge or difficult circumstance. Fear paralyzes and once paralyzed, it's quite hard to make any kind of rational decisions, if any decisions at all.

If we are able to quiet the mind and put the challenge aside for just a little bit, we can begin the process of coming up with a solution. My usual challenge seems to involve financial issues. It's the one area of my life that still presents itself over and over again without some sort of resolution. I recently came upon this challenge once more. At first, I couldn't believe that it was happening again . . . AGAIN! I almost, almost, gave in to the usual fear and allowed feelings of hopelessness to take over. But, with the help of some of the magical techniques I've learned in the past year or so and some wonderful magical friends, I was able to rekindle hope. I was able to make the shift out of that dark place and at least focus on what was shining bright right here in front of me . . . even in the midst of the challenge.

I'll elaborate more on this in the next entry. For now, sit quietly for just a few minutes and visualize what HOPE looks like to you. If you were able to see a physical manifestation of it, what would it look like? To me, my Dream Symbol also stands for a symbol of HOPE. I see it as that spark that keeps everything lit up for me. Shine!

Peace and Light to you and KEEP DREAMING!

Gene-Manuel

Visualizing your dreams

Excerpted from the workshop in Boston, MA on Saturday, October 9th, 1999:

Act a little less and think a little more... We're not saying stop acting and do it all in mind. We're saying work your 8 hours or your 10 hours or your 16 hours.. Just spend at least 10 or 15 minutes -- in a day where you are working 8-10-16 hours of physical action in order to maintain the physical stuff that you've gathered around you -- trying to find pleasure from some vision.

Afford yourself that. And that 10 or 15 minutes that you are finding pleasure, will cause a focalization of Energy within you that the Universe will actualize around. You will begin to notice that you are more productive, because of 15 minutes of visualization, than you were from 16 hours of hard labor. --- Abraham

When I received that quote in my Inbox yesterday, I started to smile. Every single word made so much sense. It is exactly what I have been doing for the past several weeks. Not so long ago, I finally understood that fine balance between what is going on in the physical world; the job, the appointments, the family issues, the love issues, etc. etc. All those things that feel real to us because they are happening around us and we can feel and touch them. And, then the flip side. That other world, that for my purposes I like to call my Day-Dream World. It's what I believe Abraham is talking about in the quote above.

I start my mornings with an Ah Meditation session, where as I recite or chant the sound of "Ah", I clear my root chakra and visualize the things I'd like to manifest. This is the start of my day and it affords me a peek into that Dream World. The world where I am already doing what it is I am longing to do. Where I am already able to accomplish the many things that are on my agenda. I won't go into them here because these things are filled with magic and should not be shared too often. But, needless to say, as I do the Ah Meditation, I am able to see and most importantly, feel all of the things I want to manifest and do in this world.

This feeling, this peek into that other world stays with me throughout my day. I try to go to that space as much as I can during my day, no matter where I am or what I'm doing. And, especially on Day-Dreaming Tuesdays, I make sure to set aside times during the day to daydream and "live" in that space for at least 5 minutes.

It has been written that daydreams have the power to show us what our lives can be like. And, if you pay attention, they can guide you towards a better life simply by giving you something to compare your present state with this "dream state." In other words, if you daydream of an amazing vacation and you see yourself enjoying all this vacation has to offer. Maybe it's an entire week of lounging at the beach or by the pool and doing absolutely nothing. Or, you're backpacking through Europe letting yourself go wherever the wind blows, truly being adventurous. If you daydream these scenarios, you are more likely to try and make your next vacation match this dream vacation and the Universe will get on board and help you get just what you've been visualizing.

That' s also what I believe Abraham is saying when they mention that you'll find yourself being more productive in those 10 - 15 minutes of visualization or dreaming. I've experienced that myself lately. I've been concentrating on making a few dreams come true with my art just by spending time daily on the feeling of having already done the things I'd like to do. I can assure you that all of a sudden, I've turned around and seen the work multiply and I've produced more and more so effortlessly that it seems as if these things were done without me. It's amazing!

I can't encourage you enough to spend some time, 10 or 15 minutes, 5 minutes if it's all you can afford to spend, and just dream a little. Enjoy the process. Let it be a pleasurable experience and not a chore. You really have nothing to lose and so much to gain. If nothing else, you have given yourself a small break from the craziness around you. Your mind and body will feel the shift and the more you do it, the more you'll want to do it and for longer periods of time.

Peace and Light and Keep Dreaming!

Gene-Manuel

My first Day-Dreaming Tuesday Experience . . . so far

Wow! You know, when I came up with this idea of dedicating an entire day to daydreaming, I didn't know what to make of it. Actually, the idea came to me while I was doing a short 10 minute Ah Meditation session. I'm not sure if it was during the actual session or right after I came out of it but, the message was quite clear. It was as if I could see the words written in bold letters right in front of my eyes: DAY-DREAMING TUESDAYS

I've learned to not overthink things like these too much so, I got out of my own way and let one thing lead me to another. By the end of the day yesterday, this blog was started, and I was ready to participate in this experience.

So far, I've had one of the best days I've had in about a month and 1/2. I'll go into that later this week, but for today, for right now, I am having an amazing day.

I started with a beautiful daydreaming session while on a NJ Transit bus, stuck inside the Lincoln Tunnel. I envisioned all these amazing products related to my Whirling Art and beyond. I could see the shirts, feel their texture and even see that they were tagless. ha! My affirmation/dream boxes all lined up in a row creating a beautiful display. Before I knew it, we had come out of the tunnel!

Although I had to work all day, I took the time to daydream a few minutes at a time during the day. I even incorporated a daydream into whatever I was doing. There is nothing like spending someone else's money and pretending it's your own! Loved it!

The day flew by and I was out walking towards Port Authority with Kylie singing in my ear. It might have looked like I was just walking on Eighth Avenue to the rest of the people around me but little did they know I was in an outdoor lounge in Tenerife, Spain. (Make sure that when you're always aware of traffic and other people around you so that you're safe!)

Now I'm home and getting ready to have a great dinner. Before that though, I think a good 10 minute Ah Meditation with a few daydreams thrown in will make a great appetizer.

Lots of other great things happened today as well. I'll share some of them tomorrow. I've still got a lot of daydreaming to do before Midnight.

Peace and light,

Gene-Manuel

Day-Dreaming Tuesdays are here!

I was lucky enough to have parents that either didn't know I was daydreaming all the time or didn't discourage me from doing it. Well, at least not until I was around 18. By then, they just wanted me to get a job and pay my own bills. But, up until then, I was free to daydream all I wanted. In fact, it was something I did constantly.

My first experiences with daydreams happened in Cuba, where I was born. I remember spending what felt like hours, dreaming of the day that I would get to leave the country and come to the United States. I used to picture everyone in the US ice-skating. I associated ice-skating with living in the US. With limited television access, most of what I thought the US looked like was an ice-skating rink. So, I would daydream of the day that I would land here, skates magically appearing on my feet, and skate away.

Well, the reality wasn't quite like that but the freedom I experienced in those daydreams is something I still have not forgotten. And, by the way, I tried ice-skating once and decided it just wasn't for me.

The main point here is that while I was daydreaming as a little boy in Cuba, I had no doubt, ZERO DOUBT, that I would one day get to leave that communist-ridden country. Every time I pictured myself here in the US, visiting with the family I had up until that point never met, I had this feeling deep in my core that let me know that dream was going to become a reality. Before I knew it, my family was allowed to leave the country and I was on my way. When the news came, it seemed to surprise my parents . . . I knew it all along. I had dreamt it into reality.

So, what happens to us and our daydreams as we get older ? Little by little they fall by the wayside. Most likely due to the fact that most people consider daydreaming a complete waste of time. We should be focused on the here and now. That's the only way to make your dreams a reality. And sooner or later, we stop "wasting our time" daydreaming and give in wholeheartedly to our present reality.

Now, let me just say that I'm also for living in the moment. Eckhart Tolle's wonderful books A New Earth and The Power of Now are filled with the wisdom of living in the NOW. And, Eckhart is quite right in telling us to focus our attention and energy in the present moment because that's all that really matters - today - tomorrow is always today. But, while we focus on the present moment, let's take some time, in the NOW, to visualize and daydream our future.

There is immense power in daydreams! Ann Albers wrote in "The Power of Daydreaming":

Daydreaming will determine the standard you want to uphold in your life. If you allow yourself to daydream of a wonderful relationship, you won't settle for lesser ones, because you know how the good one feels and you will recognize it when it comes. If you daydream of a life of ease and grace, you will begin to see where you choose or create unnecessary struggle. If you daydream of a meaningful career, you open up to receiving inspiration and new business ideas from the heavens as you release yourself from the censorship of old limitations. Daydreaming is visiting the future so you will know how to act in the present.

Isn't that a great statement? "Daydreaming is visiting the future so you will know how to act in the present."

DAY-DREAMING TUESDAYS

That's the point of Day-Dreaming Tuesdays! Take some time every Tuesday to visualize your future and live the dream. Throw any and all skepticism out the window and bring back that sense of wonder you used to have as a child!

Even if it's for just five minutes, spend some time dreaming of what could be. What would you love to be doing today? Is it taking that dream vacation? Is it performing on a stage? Is it something as simple as spending more time with your loved ones? What is it? Dust off those dreams and get them back in working mode!

I know we're all busy. Believe me, I have a full Tuesday ahead of me. But, I plan to take some time and dream . . . I can't wait!

From this Tuesday on and every Tuesday after, let's make it DAY-DREAMING TUESDAYS and get our dreams in gear. I will continue updating this blog with more information, not only on daydreaming but all sorts of interesting ways to get ourselves motivated and getting our dreams realized!

I want to hear from you. Let me know what you spent some of your time daydreaming about today. How did the experience feel? Comment here or e-mail me directly: Gene-Manuel

Remember to have fun with it. Nothing is worth doing if it isn't fun.

Peace and Light,

Gene-Manuel