When last have you taken time to dream? When last have you consciously allowed your thoughts to go places you won’t normally venture? What if, today, you allowed yourself to go into every nook and cranny of your ideal self, your ideal life, your ideal world? What would that even look like? What would it feel like?

Today, let’s move into those dreams that come into your consciousness and stir up your desire for a better self and a better world.

1. Getting started: Take a pen, some paper and start writing. Don’t think about it too much. Allow yourself the freedom to write and dream without editing. (If you have to, you can edit later!) Dream about the following:

• Three places I’d love to go
  (eg. the little coffee shop I always pass by, Japan, the moon)
• Three things I’d love to do
  (eg. learn to sign, learn to salsa, sponsor a child)
• Three things I’d love to accomplish
  (eg. start my own business, write a book, start a blog, produce a play)
• Three skills I’d like to acquire
  (eg. salsa dancing, web design, flyfishing, painting with oils)
• Ten things I’d really love to have
  (a car, a house, an iPod, etc.)
• Three relationships I’d love to nurture
  (with my grandmother, my father, God)

If you are having trouble with this exercise, imagine you had only six healthy months left to live and make a difference. Then go through the questions again.

2. Now, think about the following and write whatever comes to mind as you read the words. Give yourself two to three minutes on each item:

• My ideal self
• My ideal body
• My ideal home
• My ideal work
• My ideal relationship
• My ideal life
• My ideal day
• My ideal world

3. Perhaps another way to think about these questions are:

• What I hope for myself is …?
• What I hope for my family is …?
• What I hope for my world is …?

4. Write a dream list. Write a list with every dream you have, everything you would like as part of your life. It’s your list. Keep it safe and look at it often.

5. Now focus in: This year, if I could do only one thing, what would I like to accomplish? Write it down.

6. Pray. Laurie Beth Jones, best-selling author of The Path says, “Prayer has been called the most powerful source of energy known to man … Prayers opens us up to receiving the divine help which surrounds and envelops us on a constant basis.” In Matthew 21:22 we are encouraged to pray because, “You will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”

Now take some time to bring your dreams and your most intimate hopes to The Dreamgiver, the One who desires for you to live your absolute best life.

Sample prayer:

Dear God, today I bring you my life, my hopes, my dreams, my deepest yearnings. . . You know me intimately. You knew me even before I was formed in the womb. You called me into this world to do good and live the life I was uniquely and specifically created for. I ask for Courage and Wisdom to life this life–the life of my dreams. Show me where to start and help me be open to hearing your Voice today. I ask for a greater consciousness of your Presence, today and every day of my life. Amen.

A blessing for dreamers:

May your Dreams take you to the places of your truest self. May your Dreams give you insight into who you really are and what you can accomplish. May your Dreams remind you that you are powerful, necessary and unique. Remember, only you can bring the Beauty of your Authentic Life to this world. May you know Courage, Focus and Determination as you follow your Dreams.