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Everydaydream
May 24, 2015
Contrary to popular belief, daydreaming is one of the most productive ways that the mind works, even though it seems like play. We do it all the time, and it’s completely natural.
Joanne Franchina
I like to think of daydreaming as a spontaneous form of meditation - a creative, inspirational meditation that can be done in either a passive or an active way.
Passive daydreaming
By this I am referring to the kind of daydreaming that happens to us. We aren’t trying to daydream, but when conditions are favorable, daydreaming simply and spontaneously occurs. The key here is to set up favorable conditions, and one of the best ways to do this is with unstructured time.
What I suggest is to schedule time – say, ten to fifteen minutes every day – in which you will do nothing. Absolutely nothing. Think of this period as “free time,” with nothing planned, nothing intended, and nothing expected. And let whatever happens, happen. Simply be.
Have no expectations regarding an outcome either – because there is no such thing as a good or bad practice period. If your mind tends to analyze, let it judge the period as good or bad based upon whether you showed up and allowed yourself to have fifteen minutes of free time.
If you like, you can jot down a few notes in a journal about your experience afterwards, such as, “My mind kept returning to the tasks on my to-do list – it was full of thoughts on how to navigate through my busy day.” Or, “I started thinking about my son and how he has changed and matured since his enlistment in the military.” Or, “I believe I may have come up with an idea of how to solve that problem I’ve been having at work.” Or, “My mind completely wandered today. I am having trouble even remembering what thoughts came to me.”
The magic of a practice like this is what happens over time, and by time I mean weeks and months, or even years. The journey is profound, and unique to each individual. Try it for a month, and see what happens....
Acrive daydreaming
By this I am referring to a more purposeful session. In this case we are consciously initiating a daydreaming session that is both intentional and interactive.
What I suggest is to schedule 30 to 40 minutes once a week or every other week, in which you allow your mind to play. Begin with any of the following prompts (or something similar), and simply follow with whatever ideas naturally flow from there:
- Secretly, I would love to . . . .
- The heart’s desire that keeps calling to my soul, even when it seems far away or I’ve had to put it on the back burner, is . . . .
- If I could be the person I most want to be, I would . . . .
- I keep dreaming about . . . .
- I remember . . . .
It’s like a creative brainstorming session. The guidelines are to simply allow ideas come to you in a stream-of-consciousness manner, letting one thought flow into the next. The only rule is that you analyze neither the process, nor any of the ideas that come into your mind. If your mind tends to analyze, then during any idle periods occupy your mind with simple phrases such as, “I wonder what idea will come next, I wonder, what else…?” Or, “That’s interesting! How curious, hmmmm….”
Feel free to use the same prompt for each of your sessions, or you can vary the prompt every time – either is fine. Regardless, you may find that your ideas sometimes travel a similar path over several sessions, and then one day you are surprised with an unexpected idea. Or every session may surprise you with the flow of ideas.
If you like, you may jot down notes in your journal both during and after your session: during, I recommend that you simply capture the ideas, and afterwards, you may want to reflect on them further.
This daydreaming practice is magical in a different way…engaging your creative, inspirational, higher self to remind you of why you’re here, and what might bring more meaning and purpose into your everyday life. It’s a spiritual journey that is uniquely profound, and over time may nudge you to take actions in your life that support the divine spark within. I highly recommend you to try this practice for six months, and see what happens.