Have you ever had a day-dreaming moment where you let caution go to the wind and allowed yourself to complete this sentence: “Imagine if…”? Not just that sort-of half way, what’s “realistic”, timid version of what might be manageable, but the really big, thrill you to the core version of what’s possible? If you answered YES, then we say you’ve touched your heart’s desire!
Let’s check-out this dream scenario. Something inspiring catches our imagination: a movie, a business idea, a place, or even a feeling. Then, we wander around in our imagination with this inspiration. At first, it can be like sticking a toe in the water to test the temperature. Within a few seconds, we really let go and jump in. Our heart soars, our imagination explodes and expands, and we begin to feel the exhilaration of living that dream. This moment of dreaming excitement creates a visceral experience, complete with a joy-giving, heart-racing sensation in our body!
At some point, perhaps without realizing it, we shift into the second part of the dream scenario. Deep into our full-on experience, our mind catches on to the grandness of the dream and wants to get a piece of the action. Our mind starts to question what’s going on and brings doubt into the picture. We begin to doubt the dream: doubt that we can do it, doubt that it’s possible, doubt that ______ (go ahead, fill-in the blank). Before we know it, our “Imagine if…” turns into “I doubt if…”!
The exhilarating dream stretches us beyond our comfort-zone and into the unknown. The unknown is merely a new experience, yet our mind can interpret the unknown as something to be feared. Viola! We fear and then we doubt. This can be so confusing! How do we distinguish between the unknown of stretching beyond our comfort zone and into our heart’s desire and mind-generated doubt?
We each have the perfect tool to help us out of this confusing state: our feeling body. All that’s required to use this tool is a couple of examples to help us tune-in to what we already know at our core. With this attention, we can literally experience (and then discern) the difference between the unknown of heart’s desire and the doubt that comes from fear. The next time we are faced with this type of confusing moment, let’s see if we can use these acts of awareness to help us out.
Awareness One: Feeling open versus closed.
- Stretching into heart’s desire expands us: we feel open and light. If we feel expansive, it can be easier to breathe. We stand up straight, and our gaze is forward.
- Fear contracts us: we feel small and tight. If we are fearful, it can be hard to catch our breath. We hunch inward, and our gaze can tend downward to our feet.
Awareness Two: Feeling empowered versus helpless.
- When dreaming in alignment with our heart’s desire we feel empowered. This is true, even if what’s ahead of us seems challenging, like climbing Mount Everest. We can feel like we are leaping off the edge of a cliff to fly with wind under our wings.
- When dreaming in fear and doubt we feel helpless, perhaps even victimized by the circumstance. In this state, it seems as if there is not enough energy in the world to pull us through what’s in front of us. We can feel like we are getting pushed over the edge of a cliff, tumbling into a tiny ball, trying to save our very existence.
Our feeling body is an awesome tool, perfect for discerning between the exciting newness of stretching into our heart’s desire and the doubt of fearful thinking.
Give it a try and let us know how it goes for you. We’d love to hear how your body talks to you – and what you discover along the way about making your dreams your reality.
Are you ready to take yourself there? Take the leap, and imagine if…