Years ago, I was codependent. I only realized it was an addiction when I reached a place where I knew the relationship was unhealthy and I wanted to get out of it, but I couldn’t. It’s when I found God. I needed help and no earthly help was working. I wasn’t understood in the earthly help and oftentimes I felt incredibly judged. And I had a young child depending on me and my sanity and so kicking out of this addiction was not optional. I got down on my knees, folded my hands and sought after this Being that I knew nothing about. Oh, sure I was raised very religious, but this seeking was entirely new to me. I needed help like a small child needs help from their parent. I need that Being to ANSWER!
I needed the roots of my codependency tugged out so that I could be free. I needed strength and courage and the ability to cope outside of the toxic relationship. And so it was day by day that I began to be delivered books and thoughts and support and information that slowly offered me the healing that I needed to be able to peel myself away from that relationship. The biggest support came in the form of an idea–a BIG idea–that quickly became my dream. It took me back to my early years when writing and creating stories was something I did for fun. I was pulled back to my childhood and reminded of who I really was and of something that I could do again and use to shift my focus, my desire, my energy. And so it was I began a five year journey of writing my way to recovery. At the time, I was simply so focused on “finishing” this book that I was not looking it at it that way. It wasn’t until 5 years after I stopped writing that I realized the real purpose of that writing journey. It wasn’t about the book or finishing the book at all. It was about reconnecting with myself! It was about self-discovery!
Dreams are about us. They are not about anyone else. And we take the dream journey on our own. For me, writing that book gave me hope. I could focus on the light at the end of the tunnel of what my life would be like once it was finished. I’d be self-sufficient, have no reason to be codependent, I could meet all of my daughter’s needs on my own. And the desire in me built and built. This taught me that desire and dreams are closely linked.
If we want to make our dream a reality, we must first begin with our desire or desires. Manifestation is linked to our desires. And desire is a feeling. The greater the desire, the more likely that we will manifest whatever it is we are seeking to manifest . The one exception is where other people’s will is at play.
Sometimes dreams we think we are seeking after turn out to not be the actual dream we have. In the example of me writing, I believed my dream was to finish that book. As it turns out, the real dream was my own freedom. Part of my freedom was discovering my authentic self. And what I learned in this journey is that finding myself and choosing myself made it possible to gain new insight and perception that I did not previously possess. Taking the dream journey gave me way more than what I was seeking. Healing opened up conscious pathways within me that have given me heightened intuition, enabled me to comprehend concepts that my pre-dream self couldn’t, increased my empathy tenfold, and softened every aspect of my emotional self to the point that I can feel the truth of others and understand why they are where they are with great compassion and accept them without judgment. ALL of this happened as a side note. I was not seeking any of it. This is why I say that dreams can be their own recovery plan.
In earlier posts, I talk about the subject of direction and how once we have direction (or a plan) we intend to follow after, we’ve established a vision for our lives. Now, the only work left to do is establish the goals and objectives to achieve our plan or dream. As we persist with our goals and objectives, the desire for the dream will grow. This growing desire is what will motivate us to persist with our goals and objectives. As we go along, we will encounter many barriers or obstacles that may come in the shape of emotional overwhelm, relationship turmoil related to us seeking after our dream, financial hardship, family challenges that need our attention and leave us with less time to work on our goals and objectives and on and on. These obstacles will test us and up against our burning desire, at times, cause big emotions to arise because everything inside of us wants this thing and we struggle with the obstacles standing in our way.
Big emotions arising inside of us is PART of the journey. With these emotions as obstacles, we will not have what we need once we achieve the goals and objectives and reach the dream. The big emotions are a call from the universe to take notice because managing those emotions and discovering what’s beneath them is part of the journey! When we consider literature and movies, every heroine undergoes testing and emotional hardship before they reach their goal. And it is from going through the emotional hardship that they end up developing the emotional strength and skills they need to accomplish their goal.
We all have an external plot and an internal plot. Once we come to realize that the big emotions arising in us are part of the obstacles we will be prepared for all that comes next as we meander this thing we call chasing a dream. That’s why it is essential to understand the value in a dream upfront. When we want something badly enough, the passionate desire will carry us through all the turmoil and stress that arises along the way as we inch closer to achieving our goal. Every emotional addiction, every physical addiction, every crossed boundary, every mask, every fear….it’s all going to be exposed and each exposure will be an invitation to choose between the dream or the thing holding us back. So, in essence, the dream acts as its own recovery program!
Dreams are a vision in our mind of an ideal situation. Our dreams show us our ideal. It shows us what is possible. Dreams give us hope. And when we chase our dreams, we are putting faith in that hope and believing in it. As we go along, the faith grows and grows. What is more, we uncover our own courage and strength and will and eventually we discover our own personal power and all of this discovery leads to unwavering confidence and self-assurance!
I’ve always loved Disney. I took my first trip to Disney World when I was 5 years old and was instantly hooked, a Disney lover for life! As a creative mind, the magic there sparked something in me every time. Last time I was there, the Happily Ever After fireworks inspired me and as I was writing this post, I was reminded of the beginning of the firework show. “Each of us has a dream…It calls to us. And when we’re brave enough….that dream will lead us on a journey to discover who we’re meant to be.” The reason this inspired me so much is because it is SO true! To think that a big corporation like Disney would desire to inspire the level of audience they have is exceptional! And for that reason, Disney will always hold a dear place in my heart!
Dreams are not a fairytale. They are the most real thing that you will ever do for yourself! The dream is actually reality and everything else is the fairytale! Taking the dream journey is where we discover this truth!
Achieving our dream is the best feeling! It’s for sure an emotional experience! It’s the finish line of all the time, energy and effort we put in to get to this place. It’s validation that dream achievement is possible. It’s faith establishment, in essence, because we discover that passionate desire does lead to receiving. Achieving the goal is what offers the feedback that the dream journey is real and that anyone can take the journey and feel its reality. So I encourage you to take your journey to find your happily ever after! I promise you that you will be SO glad that you did!
Much Love!
Self Discoverly 