Living Your Dream

Living your dream is often clouded by the obligations that clutter our life.  Some of these obligations are necessary others are well deserving of an adjustment.  The real conversation to have with yourself is what is my dream life, how do I begin living my dream life, and what changes do I need to make.

The dictionary's definition of dream is a visionary creation of imagination.  The two most important words in that definition are creation and imagination.  Let's start by looking at creation because often people get confused, and that creation or being creative is a quality that does not necessarily get you far in life unless you are recognized as a having super stardom status in society.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  Creation by definition is the act of bring the world into order or existence... So being creative can be quite orderly and very productive.

Think about how you feel when your creative juice are flowing, whether you're helping your child with an school project, your playing a game, or you have figured out how to navigate a solo hike; it may even have been a time you offered someone really good advice that resulted in their advancement.  Being creative is crucial to our growth and development.  Imagination is similarly misunderstood.

Your imagination helps to visualize what is possible and can very easily lead to fulfilling your dreams.  The dictionary say imagination is the act or power of forming a mental image of something not present in the senses...  Imagination has helped us as a society reach the moon; on an individual level it has lead people to become amazing leaders such as Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, a man who found a deep sense of purpose by imagining liberating a people.  The amazing thing about imagination is that it is so vast, from technology to motivation from dreaming to artwork- it is truly limitless, what better expression of the human spirit is there?

So begin living your dream by allowing your creativity and imagination to go to work for you.  What is so amazing about this allowance is that it costs you nothing and the rewards are amazing.  How do you begin living your dream?  First you must be true to what your dream is.  Do not restrict yourself with initial conditions otherwise your dream will become polluted with barriers.  Second you should be conscious about what it will take to achieve your dream.  Often great sacrifices to things you are attached to must be let go, but that should become part of a plan to achieve your dream.  Determine if those attachments are holding you back, and if so release them.  As you find yourself getting closer you will also find liberated that those attachments did not mean as much as you thought they did.  Third you need a plan that has some guidelines, without knowing what you want to achieve, and understanding when you arrive at that dream, you can easily become lost.  Living your dream life means change at the deepest level, it requires understanding who you are at a primal level; this in of itself will open all kind of doors about who you are, what you really want out of life, who you select to interact with, how you go about having conversations etc.

As you get closer to achieving that dream, new doors will open for you and it will be your task to recognize them and determine if that is the portal to your next dream. Remember that doors may be as simple as feeling more happy or as different as choosing a new career. Life does not have to stop when you have arrived at the dream, that is the beauty of being human, you can continue to dream and set courses to achieve those dream time and time again once accomplished.

Every Year Freeze

 (tap on any of the images to enlarge)

It was a clear day so I did one of my favorite things to do, drive; my other favorite thing to do is being happy.  Today it was the combination of driving, and dropping my body temperature into near freezing water.  I made an early departure out of Boston and headed to Cape Cod so I could jump in the Atlantic Ocean.  This is my new annual ritual as of last year.  The big answer and question towards the end of this article is, Why.  

It was already the 20^th of the month and though I did not make my New Year’s Day goal of making the jump on January 1st, I was determined to make it happen today.  The air was warm enough earlier in the day to allow me to open my window for a little while- but only a little while.  As a hiker I started to think about needing to preserve my body heat for when I enter the ocean, so I decided to close the window after about 10 minutes.

Last year, I visited P-Town (Province Town for those who are not familiar with the area), located in Cape Cod.  I went to Herring Cove Beach because it is the farthest point East in the United States.  There is something very special about being at an end point; it arouses something primal, deep within us.  Understanding that there is no more available.  Think about it, no more water, electricity, food, land, people etc.  Upon my arrival for the first time last year, I was surprised to see so many friendly people, seemingly seeking something similar to myself.  Among those people were 4 women who had decided to jump in the Atlantic Ocean naked (commonly called skinny dipping in the U.S.)  I asked them if I could take their picture and they agreed to allow me to do so(see this blog).  Feeling inspired I followed suit, mainly because I had an overwhelming feeling to do something different, memorable.  I recall taking off my clothes and staying in the ocean for about 10 minutes before feeling the need to retreat.  It was much warmer last year(among the 10 warmest in U.S. history) It was also one of the most liberating experiences I ever had.  Something about breaking convention, doing something you have never done, and taking yourself to new limits.

I felt like I had taken life by the horns and continued on the path to shape my own future.  This journey is not new for me; several years ago I made a decision to transform my perspective on life.  I had committed to being happy every day of my life (see blog here).  Put simply, I have molded my life around my Windows- it is those Windows that are the force behind my happiness.

I arrived at my destination and reflected briefly on the road trip out here.  The fact that it was Winter, the trees were bare left me feeling very alone though listening to Sarah McLachlan Building A Mystery, kept me company.  Now at Herring Cove, I drove over small piles of sand left by the strong winds, mading my way to the parking lot; a long stretch of space to accommodate the large population of Summer visitors- very different than today.  Though by the time I departed, there were probably 20 cars on the beach.

The ocean swells were close to seven feet (2.2 meters).  For a moment I thought about the risk of an under tow that could potentially pull me under.  The winds were billowing at about 35 miles per hours, the tide was rising and it made sense for me to give this a second thought.  So I did.  I thought to myself, if this is that way I go, it is worth it.  I love the ocean, sailing, swimming and deep sea diving; I can't think of anything else that offers so many ways to enjoy what it has to offer.  While I thought there was a risk, I decided it was minimal.  I went back to the car, pulled out my towel out and headed back to the water.  I peeled off my clothes, stuffed them in the sleeves of my winter coat and took the plunge.  I was so motivated that I returned to the car, covered by my towel, retrieved my camera (to take the picture below), and jumped back in the ocean for a second time.  I am so certain that anyone would share my enthusiasm that I invite anyone to join me on January 1, 2014 and see how powerful this experience can be for yourself.  

Why?  The real question is why not?  We can spend the rest of our lives wishing we climbed that mountain, ran that marathon, committed to a cause we really believe in, took a chance and started that business, or took that trip around the world.  My life is now tailored to what makes me happy, not in a selfish way, but in a way that makes me feel more alive.  Experiencing being in temperatures easily capable of inducing hypothermia does just that;  it reminds me how amazing the simple things in life can be, and something else;  it is a transformation away from the typical existence, making me acutely aware of the gift of life.  Never will you feel more alive than when you are in the face of a great challenge.  Never will you feel more successful than when you overcome that challenge; do so, and your self equity rises exponentially.  Next year, same place, same time 

Photography: Remarkable Eye (http://www.remarkableeye.com/ )

Spirit of Happiness

As human beings we go through a whole range of emotional extremes and subtleties; from the need to get up and go to work (whether or not we like it) to celebrating special occasions; from meeting new friends or  successfully completing a goal, to anger about opposing views from our own.  But happiness is a higher state of being; it is an internal wealth of opportunity we can use to transform our lives.

The Dalai Lama has written a book on happiness which millions of people follow; though I have read many books on happiness; I do not believe happiness requires spiritually in the formal sense.  Michael Argyle, in a 2002 publication indicated that from 2001 to the Autumn of 2002 (when his article was published) over 100 new titles have been released on happiness.  With so much emphasis on it, why are we still publishing information about happiness?  Simple, it is the foremost balance we can achieve as human beings.

Happiness is a balance we find within ourselves.  So where do we find this happiness?  Certainly not in material and superficial objects.  No, such things offer a certain pleasure but there is a clear difference between pleasure and happiness.  Happiness is a state of mind when other factors that offer superficial happiness are absent.  Owning a Porsche, a home, getting a raise, eating great food; these things offer momentary pleasure; more importantly, go too much in one direction or the other and they can disappear.  Too much food you over eat, have a car too long, it loses its appeal. Take another example slightly different scenario.

Place yourself on a beach watching the sunset.  While being at the beach provides comfort, the act of watching the sunset (with someone or without someone you enjoy), provides an internal long lasting memory that cannot be removed.  Standing atop a mountain overlooking a grand valley or other mountains on a clear day offers something similar.  Owning a sailboat is one experience but sailing in a wide open space with gentle trade-winds can be transformative.

I begin each morning with a ritual of my own that offers the happiness I seek.  Based solely on my actions and my self understanding of what I need I; each morning I go through a series of meditation poses; I also recite my own personal mantra.  These two activities are not based on anyone else's knowledge, approval, or acknowledgement.  These activities merely add what I found balances my inner self.  They are absent of desires, result in no questions, yet provide complete and utter happiness; it is because nothing else is attached to their existence that allows these activities to be so fulfilling.  More over happiness is something you need to find on your own journey.  So what led me to these activities that provide such balance.

As I was standing on a large boulder, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, relieved of any inhibitions, I raised one knee and began; arms spread, palms up...  It simply felt right.  A release of needs, desires, wants and an absorption of what seemed to exist on a similar plane; the rocks, the ocean, the sunlight, the air.  The absence of give or take, mere existence in the present, and the state of being.
  

The Next Great Thing?

Every once in a while we arrive at a crossroads, where we had something right in the beginning, we mastered it, and in the process, we evolved to discover it is no long the best approach.  During this evolution, we assess and determine that one of two things is occurring;  1) we are becoming dysfunctional representing a significant risk or 2) the approach is simply less effective than it once was given the changes in the circumstances or environment-- which by the way is also evolving over this same time period.

We are at a similar place right now in our world relative to the natural environment.  As such, we can make some very conscious choices.  Here is an extreme proposal that you can take or leave; it is a painful one but also represents some extreme benefits as we progress through the change.  Keep in mind this is an abbreviated version for the sake of space and your time.

Consider  the following scenario.  You go into the doctors office; your doctor says you have a choice, you can live for another year with a diminishing rate of return on your health or you can live for another 50 years with great health.  Here is your prescription: 

1) You will must stop destroying the environment 

2a.) You are going to focus on building a exceptional public transportation system and,

2b.) dismantle the automotive industry as we know it 

3) Coal and fossil fuel industry as it currently stands will also go through significant transformation to end the health threat to yourself and the natural environment.  

Do these things and you will add additional life to yourself and that of your family.  Don't and you and your family have another year to live. "But wait doc.  You said that this was about me!" The doctor replies, well I was right and wrong; it was about you, but then I discovered I could make do a better assessment and discovered how your entire genealogical line was equally impacted... sorry they say, that's just how it is.  As I learn more, I understand more about what to do." 

What would this solution look like?

Part of the objective is to create a comparable industry to that of the automotive, where each of the major producers in the current related industries will be able to establish themselves in the newly redesigned industry.  Vehicles that run on kinetically generated electromagnetic fields

A divestment in coal and crude oil are reduced by 20% use over the next five years to a maximum of representation of 20% of all energy resources (lets say world wide).  Solar, wind, and tidal energy sources are to be increased over that same period to match the reduction of the divestment in coal and crude oil.  

Rather than governments going bankrupt, the investment in the infrastructure is geared towards generating new opportunities in new business areas that produces jobs that will be needed to support this renewed direction in energy consumption.  The budget for research and development will be increased 10 fold to support the development of the industry as well.  

Though it is important we will not address the (equally worthy of discussion) role of central banks.  But rest assured consideration should go into how that is managed and how the wealthy bodies occupying the central banking system give back to the people/ system that has given them power(artificially or not).  "Lets stick to your environmental health" the doctor says.

Do this and you will live a long healthy life.  "But what about all the cars?" you say.  He simply says, "We once determined we could not live without horses, we once thought the world was flat..." But now we know better.  There is a time when things work well; that time at which we discover that those things would be better served laid to rest, is the time we focus on being more efficient at the next great thing"