Dreaming is a bodily process.
Our body holds all our memories, reactions, interactions. When we dream, all of that comes up to be engaged, negotiated, and understood within the subconscious. It’s been shown in studies that in this dream time, challenging emotions and stress are processed and addressed.
Dreaming is a bodily function — to understand the world and our lived experience.
So when we say “follow your dreams”, we mean follow your body.
But what we dream to be possible is defined by the bounds of the body. As anyone who’s read The Body Keeps the Score will know, all our beliefs, experiences, traumas and possibilities are held within the body. The constriction one holds within their emotional understanding, is held within their body, and held within their mind. So if one’s body is constantly constricted our of fear, one’s “dreams” may be of some kind of self-serving creation (passive income, or life where this stress is relieved). But open up the body and you open up possibility to vaster dreams. Open the body to the vulnerability of love and trust and new dreams begin to emerge. Or gratitude, grace, and enchantment.
Disconnected body, disconnected dreams
Where our dreams become distorted is when they are disconnected from the body. When we dream of freedom but our bodies hold onto mistrust. When we “pursue our dreams” without wanting to address the reality of who and where we are and the state of the world around us.
This becomes particularly challenging for all the visionary entrepreneurs and creators out there. We may have an ideal of what we want. But that ideal, or dream is is disconnected from embodied reality. And when I say “embodied reality” I mean everything our our physical, tangible, reality. That includes our bodies and the truth they hold, the state of our business and governance structures, or of other people’s state of consciousness.
Essentially, we get ahead of ourselves. Instead of looking honestly at where are are at personally, or where others are in our physical manifest reality we let a disembodied idea lead.
This creates dysregulation. Growing too fast without the proper governance structures. Taking money without a business model. Assuming good will without the proper incentives or checks in place.
Embodying our values
What does it mean to put one foot in front of the other? We all understand this metaphor and yet in today’s world we all feel that we are running faster than we can manage. Why? What happens when we slow down and actually feel what is happening in our, legs, our feet, the root of our bodies?
Is there a solidness there? Or is there terror? Is there rooted, grounded connection with the earth and us as a part of it? Or are we floating above the ground as if in a dream where you are trying to run but can’t get any traction?
It’ll give you a hint. It’s HARD to be in the body. It’s hard to face all the realities of what is possible and impossible in the core of your being. It’s hard to deal with the insecurity and fears about personal worth and stability that might be living in one’s pelvis or feet. It’s hard to feel the fear of the literal and proverbial fires in front of us every day — especially these days.
But here’s the deal, if you want to create something that lasts. Something that is truly generative. Something that embodies the morals you’re talking about and the vision you hold, it’s your prerogative to get back in your body.
To feel it all again and face the truth of where you’re at so that you can move forward with conviction, groundedness and integrity. So that you can dream a real and meaningful dream here in the physical world.
All it takes is one step. The rest will follow.
