What If?

A moment of respite from the impending holiday season.

What if?  One of my favorite questions.  The point being, how often do we ask ourselves "What if", to the negative?

For example:

What if this doesn't go well today?  What if I'm unhappy?  What if something is wrong?  What if they don't like me?  What if it rains?  What if I don't do it right?  What if I can't find a parking space?  What if my partner is in a bad mood?  What if I'm late?  What if every worst case scenario that I can think of actually happens?  (Gotta love the last one.)

If you claim to never think of any of the above, I'm certain that you are either a saint, or you are dead.  Let's just go on the premise that we are all our own worst enemies, and probably think this way far more than we even realize (or would ever admit).  For example, I've noticed that I do this while driving, to a crazy degree.  I constantly anticipate that people will cut me off, drive too slow, endanger me in some way -- that generally speaking, everyone is my adversary on the highway.  

Now, what in the name of Mary Poppins is the point of thinking this way?  Can I seriously consider that something good is going to come of it?  Well, whether you're looking at it scientifically or spiritually, the laws of physics would indicate a big fat NO, in answer to that question!  Like attracts like.  Therefore, why do we want to spend any more of our precious time What If-ing to the negative?

First of all, it feels terrible, yes?  And the bottom line is, when you feel terrible, you cannot be at your best, and you cannot connect with the good in the world.  Second of all, we are not doomed to this thinking.  Hallelujah!  It's simply bad training.  It doesn't matter why or how we started thinking like this, so much of the time.  The point is that you can take back that time, little by little, and retrain yourself.  Why couldn't we ask ourselves, "What if", to the positive?  

For example:

What if I have a great time?  What if they love it?  What if I'm there at just the right moment?  What if everything's fine?  What if it's even better than I thought?  What if s/he is in a great mood?  What if EVERYTHING IS WORKING OUT FOR ME?!

Synopsis of this column:  You get what you expect, so be darned careful what you expect.

Thanks to my lovie friend, Lori Blackwell, for planting the seed of What if.  Please watch her uplifting youtube video of her wonderful song,  Got Hope?   This is one of the songs that I do my Happy Dance to.

One last thought -- What if this holiday season was relaxing and peaceful and filled with fabulous people and inspiring moments?  What if I could really eat my weight in chocolate?  Aahhhh, I guess that's going a little too far, eh?

Love & hugs from under the hairdryer (my winter alternative to the hammock),

MJ

Flying Dreams

Everyone has them in some form or another, right?  I don't know what your flying dreams look like to you, but here's what I remember about mine.

I've been having lucid flying dreams ever since I can remember (meaning that I know that I'm asleep while it's happening).  Over the decades, they've progressed and changed quite dramatically.  I used to just use dream flying as an escape from something bad or scary, and it always involved a lot of flapping and physical effort.  It was exhausting!  Gradually, I progressed to less effort-ful flying, and would fly just for fun.  

I remember one dream in particular, where I flew way out into space and was looking back at the planet, and I just started dancing and floating and zooming around, totally happy and blissed out.  After this, I started having dreams about being able to go through walls and objects at will.  Once I dreamed that I very purposely put my hand right through a rock.  In the dream, I had a complete understanding of how I had to feel and what I had to think in order to do it.  And the flying dreams progressed the same way, to the point where I now know exactly the feeling that I have to feel in order to just take off, completely effortlessly and totally happy.

So, that's really great and all, but what the heck does it have to do with anything?  I've read dream interpretation books over the years, but no explanation ever really rang a bell with me about this.  I know they are not 'just dreams'.  But what does this have to do with my waking life?  It seems INCREDIBLY important while I'm asleep, and I have a very strong sense of needing to practice this over and over and over -- but WHY?  I could never quite make sense of it, and I felt a little sad that I didn't know how to bring that fabulous feeling of flying into my 'real' life.

Well, isn't it amazing how we receive answers when we aren't really looking for them?  The other morning (the morning after I gave my yippy skippy Happiness Club talk -- thanks to the 99 of you that came, woo hoo!) I was woken up by my darling doggy right at the point where I was about to just take off and fly.  I still had the feeling of it as I was lying there being mauled and licked by Lizzie.  And I realized, OH, THIS IS WHY I DREAM THESE DREAMS!  I am indeed practicing!  Not to actually fly or walk through a wall, but to bring that feeling into my everyday life as much as I can ...

...And what exactly is that feeling, the feeling of flying?  The way I see it right now, it's a feeling of complete and total absence of any resistance.  A complete letting go.  No effort to control or direct.  An utter relaxation of body, mind and spirit.  Total trust.  Knowing that everything is always working out.  And why do I want to feel that way?  1.  It feels utterly fabulous.  2.  It is a clear connection to my Best Self (which I can then, hopefully, share).  That seems like a good place to start!

I guess I'll see you in my dreams ... hee hee!  Please feel free to share any flying dream stories with me!

Hugs from the hammock (we've moved it into the barn for the winter),

MJ

p.s.  Now that I've been bitten by the Speaking Bug, please let me know if you have a  business or school or group of any kind that might like to hear my Five Minutes to a Better World talk.  IT'S FUN!  And it's free!