AUTHOR: Monica Lee TITLE: Dreaming DATE: 8:34 PM ----- BODY:

I had an interesting conversation this weekend with my best friend, Elisabeth. She is a woman with depth and insight and tons of education that has struggled the last couple years with debilitating illness. I think she is just now heading out of the fog and her health is returning. She is starting to plan her career direction again and I think this is a good sign. She was on the fast track with 3 masters and a doctorate and work-WORK! She has had to throttle back dramatically. We were talking about dreams and direction and doing what it is in life that you really want to do of feel somewhat "called" to do. I use that term lightly. It can be hard to dream you career into the spot you want it to be when bills are staring you in the face. Even though I am practical by nature, I do believe in writing your dreams down, throwing wild dreams and ideas down on paper and then seeing how they look to you. I think once you begin writing plans down that subconsciously they begin to come to fruition. Whatever laws of the universe you want to attribute that to-go ahead. I just know it works! Here are some exercises to loosen you up, see which one you are comfortable with: 1. Write all your desires on post-it notes just as quickly as they come to your head. When you have enough (are there ever enough?) ok, a year or two worth. Start arranging them on a big sheet of paper. Are they related? Does one desire need to be accomplished first before another can be met? Will they take education to be accomplished? Place them on the paper in what would be some type of chronological order. Get a pen and fill in between the post notes what things you think you'd need to fulfill these desires. Money? Time? Moving? Discipline? (ouch) 2. Unsure of any specific desires? What do think would make your life more complete? Peace? Courage? Love? Write these words down on small cards and stick them somewhere where you can see them. Let your mind begin to contemplate what it would take to have these things in your life. 3. Here's one that really helped me. Get a big piece of posterboard and draw a big curvey road that starts at one end of the paper and ends at the other. Start drawing with bright makers all the places you want to go in your life and when you get about half way down the road start thinking REALLY big-want your work to be featured in a magazine? Want to illustrate and author a book? Write all your dreams down...What is at the end the of the road? Fame? Fortune? Do you want to set an example for others? For your children?

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