As much as I enjoyed being a travel blogger for a couple of weeks, I am excited to return to being guided daily by inspiration and being wide open to creativity. As I fell asleep last night, I wondered what creative opportunity would present itself today…what invitation would come.
Inspiration did arrive, in a totally unexpected way.
I am a lucid dreamer, one who is very aware during the dream state and who recognizes the symbolism inherent in the mind movies the subconscious creates. Often my most meaningful dreams occur in the early morning hours just before I become fully alert.
Such was the case this morning.
I was leading an art workshop. We were drawing, coloring, creating collages and models around a travel theme, using a variety of mediums and techniques. I enjoyed the class very much, feeling energized and enriched by our collective creativity.
As I was loading my car after class, a colleague, another realtor named Brenda Murray, approached me. She was not present in the class. And yet she knew what I had been teaching.
She asked me, “Is this what you want to do?”
“Offer creatively?” I asked in return. “Yes! I want to write and draw and travel and create and help others live well and enjoy life.”
“And what will you gain from living this way?” Brenda asked.
I smiled. “Joy, freedom, opportunities to fully express my creativity in all the ways it can be manifested!” I felt incredible happiness as I gave my answer.
I awoke from the dream at that point. Outside the darkness was just beginning to give over to morning light. I felt that surge of joy still from the dream…and the sting of tears in my eyes.
Lying there quietly in the shifting light, I unpacked the dream. It was no surprise that I was teaching a class…I’ve taught many over the years…or that it was an art workshop with a travel theme. Easy enough to see where my subconscious pulled those elements from.
What intrigued me was what happened after the class. A realtor approached me to ask a crucial question. Is this what you want to do? In my dream the face belonged to a friend of mine. But it wasn’t really Brenda asking the question. In my dreams, every person is me, playing out a crucial role that helps me to see something about myself, something that is often hidden from my conscious mind.
My realtor self was asking an important question…is this what you want to do? Do you want to live more out of your creative self? My creative self didn’t hesitate with an answer. Yes! Yes I do.
This Year of Inspiration is all about freeing my inner artist and living a more creative life and about making life a little more tender. The dream allowed me to affirm the direction my journey is taking. And it came at the perfect time.
Invitations to offer creatively are arriving, as opportunities to submit stories and essays and photography. If I wondered, at some deep level, whether to accept these Divine invites, the dream gave me permission to say yes. Actually, I gave myself permission, through the dream, to say yes.
I won’t be walking away from real estate yet. However, I will remain open to the opportunities and inspirations that come. I will be saying yes more and more.
Since returning from Italy, I have been going to bed very early and waking up extremely early, as my body tries to adjust to a different time zone. This morning I saw the early awakening, with the dream’s lingering message, as another invitation.
Bringing my laptop, writing notebook and a cup of lemon water into my bedroom, I set up a makeshift studio. For the first time ever, rather than free writing or journaling, or turning over to go back to sleep, I instead began working on a couple of submissions for creative writing projects that have found me.
It was a great start to a promising day.
