A recent article by a friend of mine entitled “One Great Dream of a Single Dreamer” (Click here for article) has helped me gain some clarity in my process of unfolding my life into the next stage. In the article Paul points out that our individual identities are ultimately an illusion being dreamed up by a universal consciousness. When we awaken to the illusion of our small self we become aware of our connection to and oneness with this universal consciousness or great dreamer. We could call it God, the universe, ultimate reality, the divine, a higher power, whatever you prefer but I think its all the same thing in that it is the greater I AM, who we truly are beneath our surface identity.
My process recently has been to work with manifesting my life using the power of awareness, intention and visualization so as to creatively guide myself along a heart focused path and create a life that reflects a more conscious direction. I think one of the challenges in this process at least for me is that in embracing the perspective that I create my reality and have the power to manifest the life I choose, it can easily become the small or egoic self that is hijacking the path as means of regaining control. Paul points out in the article that if we think that awakening is going to mean we can become billionaires or gain some kind of status we are still subtlety enmeshed in an illusion. If we instead surrender our surface desires and allow the divine to work through us we naturally flow where we are needed in life and our life itself becomes a service to the greater good.
To be more clear this feels like another step in really following the heart where the ego finally has to accept that it is taking a back seat and is not in control. Opening fully to the divine and freely allowing it to work through us moves us into what we need to be doing right now, who we need to be with right now and brings us everything we need in life even if it doesn’t necessarily satisfy our ego desires. I have a sense that this is real fulfillment, real purpose, real peace. The practice becomes cultivating enough awareness to recognize when the ego is coming in and trying to redirect the creative process to self serving needs and then refocusing on the present moment and the direct experience of our truth and our power. I see this clarification as reflecting why I’ve had trouble creating my dream recently, I see that I haven’t fully let go of the need to control the dream. I’ve been able to create some amazing things but they haven’t really seemed fulfilling in the end and I now see that its because I have become more adept at creating but what I chose to create was still coming from ego. Even when we are able to create from this level it doesn’t really bring us happiness because of its limited scope. I don’t think this means that we shouldn’t want or enjoy things in life like money, material possessions or sexual experiences but I think its a reminder to remember their limitations and make our primary focus something deeper.