Plant a Seed, Grow a Dream

Do you have a dream? How real is it to you? Can you truly imagine what it looks like? Feels like? Do you have all the details filled in or is it kind of vague? One of the most important steps to making your dreams come true is to decide what you truly want and to be crystal clear about the dream. Here is at least one way to increase your clarity and to give the dream enough energy to begin forming.

In some of my workshops, I use a guided visualization about planting a seed and watching it grow to simulate growing our dreams. What do you do when you want to grow a garden? You first decide what you want in a garden. You know you have to prepare the soil, to plant seeds or bulbs, to nurture the young plants with water, sun and food, and then to reap the benefits of a beautiful mature garden. You know when to water and feed, when to shade or cover the plant because you pay attention to the plants. The plants themselves will tell you what is needed.

Creating a dream, bringing it into being, is very similar.

Decide what you want

First you decide what plants you want to grow. Is it a formal garden, a country cottage garden, one for butterflies or one for the shade? Will you be happy with perennials or annuals, trees and bushes, or ground cover and flowers? Do you want something that takes a lot of maintenance or only a little? All must be decided in order to have the garden you desire.

For dreams, you must also decide what it is you truly want to create in your life. Fortunately, unlike plants, you don't have to know everything before you get started. You can play with your imagination as you go along and makes changes until you have the clarity you need. What is it that lights you up, that makes your heart sing? What do you truly want? Is it a whole life makeover? Better relationships? Relocation to a beautiful place? Financial security? More freedom? Improved health and energy? So once you've decided on the basics, you are ready to plant the seed.

Plant the seed(s)

In your garden, you plant the seeds, the bulbs and the seedlings. With each seed planted, you intend and expect a healthy plant to mature. Typically you are excited and filled with anticipation of what will grow and how it will look.

Planting the seeds of your dreams is the same. Planting the seeds means to imagine in all its glory the creation of your dream, whatever it is. Create as many details as you can. Imagine the scene of your dream as if it was already in existence and with you in it. Run it like a 3-D movie in your head. Write about it in your journal. Write letters to the Universe. Tell all your friends that what you desire is on its way to you right now.

Nurture the young plants

Taking care of your young garden is part of the fun of having it. You look at it every day, watch for new shoots of plants, look to see what is growing and where. You see what needs water and if the plants are healthy or need more or less sun. Your attention and the sun, water and food give the plants their energy to thrive.

Your dream also requires energy to thrive. You nurture your dreams by focusing on them each day. Create a dream book with a 3 hole notebook and colored paper. Cut out pictures and words to represent your dream as you see it in your imagination. Write about your dream in detail. Use terms that describe the entire human experience of your dream such as how you feel, what you see, what sounds and smells are there, and anything else that adds to the "realness" of the experience. As you focus on your dream, what your dreams need to become real will become obvious to you. What actions should you take to help the dream come alive? The Universe will tell you if you only listen. Listen with your heart, your energy, your intuition.

Enjoy the garden.

As your garden grows, you gain enjoyment. Each new shoot, each gain in height or spread is a cause for pleasure. You continue to water and feed and protect as it grows. Even without the full maturity in the garden, you can see what is coming and enjoy the process of growing a garden. You can anticipate the full garden as it becomes what you envisioned. You appreciate the flowers, the trees, the shade and the ambience of the garden you have planted and nurtured.

You also enjoy your new life as your dream becomes reality. Each step of the way, as another piece falls into place, you can enjoy what has become and happily anticipate what is on the way. You can appreciate the dream unfolding before you. Even as you watch and enjoy, you continue to focus and give your dream your energy through your imagination and through your informed actions. Journal daily, keep a gratitude log, create a dream board or work in your dream book. all of this will feed your dreams as they come into reality.

All content copyrighted, 2006, Life Unfolds and Mary Anne Fields. All rights reserved.