A while ago I read Steven Pressfield‘s book The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles. He talks about Resistance (and always with a capital R) and its power over creativity. What he said really made a connection with me.
PRESSFIELD SAYS…
“It’s not the writing part that’s hard. What’s hard is sitting down to write. What keeps us from sitting down is Resistance.”
“The more fear we feel about a specific enterprise, the more certain we can be that the enterprise is important to us and to the growth of our soul. That’s why we feel so much Resistance. If it meant nothing to us, there’d be no Resistance.”
DREAMS & RESISTANCE…
But then Pressfield said he and a friend had dreams that showed how to overcome Resistance.
I almost never remember my dreams, but when I do they seem pointless. Just a jumble of random events seemingly linked to stress about jobs (past and present).
Then a couple of days after reading The War of Art, I had a dream that I remembered.
MY DREAM…
I was with a group of travelers and we were stranded with lots of luggage. We stacked the luggage on a sled of some sort and were taking turns pulling. It was hard work. When we reached our destination, I was peeved to discover that several of my fellow travelers had secretly dumped some of the luggage in order to make the pulling easier.
And as luck would have it, they’d dumped the luggage that I deemed the most important. I wanted, needed (couldn’t live without!) the contents of that luggage. If they had to dump something, why couldn’t it have been the luggage that contained the less important stuff?
Then I woke up and was very grumpy. Why couldn’t I have a dream that clarified my thoughts instead of aggravating them?
I don’t know why, but the next thought that popped into my head was: who were these travelers in my dream anyway? I realized they’d been very ambiguous. Their faces never took form. They were a blur.
Then I had this thought: the travelers were all parts of me and several brave parts knew it was best to dump that luggage–no matter what it was. It was all baggage that was not making my journey easier.
Wow! I had my first dream that showed me how to not only overcome Resistance to my creativity but also help me in other areas of life. I haven’t had a dream like that again. But one dream (if it’s a great one) might be good enough to last a lifetime.
What have you dreamed about recently? Have you had a special dream that stood out above the others?
Hope you’ll leave a comment below. I’d love to hear about your dreams ❤
Wow! That’s rather a dramatic dream! For me, this last little while – absolutely dreamless. Who knows what’s going on with that. But dreams can be powerful, that’s for sure. And trying to decipher the meaning is a challenge.
I keep hoping I’ll dream about my story-in-progress so I’ll make swifter progress on it. Sadly I’ve had no dreams about it or any of my previous stories. Maybe one day! Thanks for dropping by and commenting, Jodie!
Love your luggage photo! Goes perfectly with the subject.
I just had a recurring dream that always occurs on a wide set of stairs. Everyone is rushing to their destination…. wait, may have to reevaluate doing dream therapy on the internet! 😜
Glad your dream helped.
A wide set of stairs is an intriguing location for a dream or a story 😊 Wishing you sweet dreams tonight, Natasha!
Great post, Jacqui and a memorable dream for sure!
I remember most my dreams and will write them down as fast as possible when I wake up if they don’t fizzle away too quickly.
I have a reoccurring dream from my days in Lake Louise as a server – it a lot of servers workmare (nightmare about work), but mine doesn’t change over the years and I’ve been out of the F&B world for a long time. What I’ve taken from the dream is:
it’s about being organized and not ignoring what is needed to be done to get the job done. I am trying to maintain this in my life today. I have to stop procrastinating about the things that need to be done. Now that I think of it, I haven’t had this dream for a while, since a simple conversation about planning when to self-publish my hotel memoir. Cool! Dreams are very powerful and can help us move forward.
Thank you for sharing your dream – put that luggage down, let go and grow!
I always feel so much better once I’m organized. I get this same awesome feeling when I let go of (or get over) my Resistance a well.
Wow!
Your dream took my breath away. I love the image you found to present it.
I don’t remember my dreams, on purpose, because I’m afraid of their power, but your post has got me thinking. Maybe, I should let them in. It would let my subconscious talk to me. But … It terrifies me. I think you have to be brave. I admire your strength and daring.
Your dream was so powerful, so meaningful, so perfect. What a wonderful experience.
Thanks for sharing.
all the best,
Jo-Ann
Most of the dreams that I remember seem stress related, but if I can find a message in them, then I’m willing to have them in order to gain some clarity. Thanks for dropping by and commenting, Jo-Ann!
I dream vividly, Jacqui. The only times when I didn’t were when I was having some serious emotional issues.Now, mostly I dream school or play related stories. I’m never where I need to be. I don’t know the lines. They are about my need to be competent and not feeling like I always am. Your dream, however, is very cool! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for stopping by and sharing your dreams, Marsha. The occasional dreams I have about work are definitely related to my feelings about wanting/trying to be competent. Crazy how we try to do that all day then have to dream about it all night too!