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Do you daydream? Boy I do….
Still being an advocate of meditation, I am conflicted about whether or not daydreaming is proactive. Is daydreaming a waste of time or a useful tool? As I have written, the art of mindfulness is centering ourselves in the moment – in the present – away from thoughts of fear and fantasy, past and future… Isn’t that what daydreaming is? Just letting the mind go rampant?
A new study in the journal Psychological Science shows that allowing your mind to wander might actually be good for your creative prowess. New data suggests that engaging in simple external tasks that allow the mind to wander may facilitate creative problem solving.
I think the questions becomes… what exactly are you daydreaming about? Those that daydream about fear, guilt, stress or loathing a future scenario are not basking in mindful positivity. This type of daydreaming only reinforces your ego and false-self. Still, daydreaming or pondering life’s quandaries and mentally seeking proactive solutions in this thing called life is good. Some of my best creativity is born out of passive meditation while bike riding. While on the bike trail, immersed in nature; I am free to think what I want. Still, I am careful not to let my mind stray into negative waters. Focusing on what is positive while daydreaming or meditating will encourage creativity and it is from this spring of clarity and awareness that we can connect to our wisdom and inner voice – our True Nature.
So, let the daydreaming run amuck – just be mindful of it….
John C. Bader
Hmm… I don’t have to feel guilty now if I day dream about being on the Dr Oz show for my fab recipes or nutrition tips 😉 because it all good ! J K ! Good post ! Makes sense.
What A Day For A Daydream……a song from the 60s. What if I daydream of how great things would be, if….? Upon daydreaming this scenario, my mind wanders in to new territory, and shows me the avenue to, ‘if.’ Dream it, believe it, and travel your chosen path. No doubt, a daydream can get you going in the right direction. Feels good, too!
Here’s the original version of Dave’s inspiration for me, The Loovin Spoonful – spoonin over the Daydream: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2rWqe6vOGE – so make it mindful now ‘fya-want, man.
Dreams are the playground of the imagination. Some say that you can even program their storyline with a pre-suggestion, or a filter of staying in the happy sector (like the author says about his bike rides). But I agree on the perspective that imagination provides solutions; even when my mind wanders to the negative, a little awareness and inventory helps bring-out that deeply repressed anxiety closet for evaluation and maybe even healing. Practice makes perfect – it takes time to change negative focus.
Above all, the idea that positive or negative, dreams are anything more than the release of leash on our imaginations; that they are most often not predictions like Caesar and the Senate are a good guideline.
I now have a self-designed device called my “dream shredder.” It takes the nasty ones and reminds me, night or day, that they are likely not real, giving me reason to cower or write checks :-).
Namaste