Dreams and the Process of Actualizing Personal Potential

Ever wonder why achieving personal desires and dreams can be so difficult? Dreams are all about self. Sure, other people may support us in our efforts, other people may be excited for us. But when it comes right down to it, we are the only ones who have to stick with ourselves during the entire time it takes to bring a dream into reality. It is up to us to remain steadfast in our decision that what we want is important to us. We decide to take a risk and there are no guarantees of our success. We must decide, time and time again, what we want to create is important.

Through the hardships and failed attempts, through countless times when things get complicated and overwhelming, we are the ones who must decide to find focus, passion and energy once more. Only we can find our way through the endless succession of inner doubts and exceedingly elaborate, but oh-so-legitimate sounding, excuses. We are the ones who must rise early, stay up late or quit a job to devote time to our creative process.

No one will ever know just how much effort was given to find center and courage day after day. No one will understand just how much we gave of ourselves to create the dream.Why bother? Wouldn't it be easier to avoid the doubt and effort required to expand life? Wouldn't it be easier to stay inside the relative safety of our inner comfort circle? Henri Bergson (French philosopher, 1859-1941) wrote, "To exist is to change, to change is to mature, to mature is to go on creating oneself endlessly.

" Dreams have more to do with who we become during the process then what we achieve at the end. Following the passion and joy of manifesting dreams leads us into evolution; allows us to become more then who we were before. More open, loving, confident, peaceful, powerful and joy filled. More comfortable in our own body.Actualizing Personal Potential A dream must be expressed, but not so other people will offer money or love or validation.

The success, money or love which may come afterward are awesome, icing on the cake, but they aren't the primary soul motivation. The purpose is to discover how capable we are of expanding life and joy, how awesome it feels to know the power and energy of creation, and how free we are to express and expand our spirit. The outcome of dreams is secondary to the process. Pushing ourselves toward a goal does nothing to enhance joy, life energy, love and spirit. Imagination and the excited effort of the realization of the dream set us free.With trust and love of self we determine to become pregnant with a dream, to nurture it and carry it to term, and eventually give birth.

We do so, not for reasons of rebellion, anger against others or to even to prove ourselves. Not so others will pat us on the back and offer accolades. Even the creation we birth owes us nothing. It has no responsibility to give wealth, fame, fortune or happiness backs to us. We dream and create because this is how mind, body and spirit come together as one. This is how we feel good, how we are enlivened, how we fill ourselves with joy.

We are individuals come to earth to bring unique expressions to life. People often say, "But I have nothing unique to say, write, paint or express." Perhaps it is true that most things have already been expressed in one form or another. It is also true no one has ever expressed them in the way you could. Henri Matisse, often regarded as the most important French painter of the 20th century, wrote, "There is nothing more difficult for a truly creative painter than to paint a rose, because before he can do so he has first to forget all the roses that were ever painted.

".Any dream requires effort and giving up something else. A dream is like a seed. For the seed to grow it takes a certain amount of energy. If energy is dispersed in a thousand different directions, there isn't going to be enough left to nourish the seed. It takes internal commitment to have what is wanted.

No, we don't know ahead of time how it's going to turn out. Perhaps we will succeed and perhaps we will meet with failure. We don't know if the dream we wish to create will be supported by others, or if it will bring fame or fortune. Yet the process of awakening our dreams allows life energy to rise and passion to flow. Dreams are our great adventures into the unknown. There are no "should's" or "have to's.

" This is our chosen destination, and most likely the journey of this adventure will be a challenge.Personal Responsibility Each person has a responsibility to expand their spirit and to continue creating themselves. Responsibility is not an ugly word. It is not heavy and does not imply any oppressive quality.

The responsibility to ourselves is all about love and lightness, all about filling our physical body with life energy and divine energy and giving birth to our dreams. Yes, action is necessary. If we want to paint a masterpiece, we are going to have to pick up the paint brushes and spend the hours paining. If we want to write a book, we are the ones who must decide to allot countless days, months or years to the process of actually writing. But with excitement, the action is fueled by the infinite, limitless power of love.

Before committing to a dream, before taking the first action step, ask the following questions: "For what purpose am I attempting to achieve this desire? What will having this bring to my life?" Go deeper than the obvious answers. Look into the depths of your inner self and search for the true meaning of this journey. What strengths will be uncovered by overcoming this particular challenge? What lies do you currently believe about yourself that facing the challenges of manifesting a dream will erase forever? George Herbert (1593-1632, British Metaphysical Poet) wrote, "Without danger you cannot get beyond danger." What is your soul's purpose of getting beyond this danger? Are you passionate about achieving your dream and will you create your dream with love or with force? In your heart, do you know your growth lies in the journey itself, not just the outcome?.Earth is the magnificent playground where inner concepts can take tangible form. Could anything be more exciting than feeling alive and supported in the flow and creating our desires? We are creators and capable of bringing individual concepts, visions, and ideals into existence.

Following through with achieving dreams is the process we engage in to teach ourselves what powerful creators we really are. We are born to join excitement and power with our dreams. We are born to feel the love of our own self here on earth.

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By: Annette Colby