Author: Henriette

Dreams Reveal Bad Trajectories

Posted on by Henriette

Over the years I’ve seen that we can avoid bad outcomes by paying close attention to our dreams. Problematic situations are revealed first in our dreams. Things take time to manifest in the physical. This is true even if it sounds like something a law of attraction guru would have said. There is a lag time between terrible dream and physical outcome. And if we assume that dreams are there to aid us, then we can see that even terrifying dreams are there to guide us away from destructive paths.

This is valuable.

Dreams—and especially nightmares—can empower us to grow beyond our shortcomings.

Dreams and Synchronicity | Lessons from Jung

Posted on by Henriette

One of the most profound books I’ve ever read is Jung’s memoir, Memories, Dreams, Reflections. Not only did this book completely transform how I relate to my dreams, it also gave me deep insights into philosophical questions that I’d had for a number of years. Jung was a remarkable individual; he displayed extraordinary self-awareness and insight from a very young age. It really is hard to fathom just how insightful this man was. But for me personally, Jung’s writings changed the trajectory of my life in very meaningful ways.

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Living in the moment beats striving

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Living in the moment beats striving. It feels better. When you’re striving, you are in a state that says, I need to be more, I need to become more, or I need to acquire more. All of this is simply a state of lack. It is not particularly fun to pursue goals when you’re driven by lack.

Also, striving can be surprisingly inefficient. If you’re always rushing about, trying to get things done, you might find yourself, not only exhausted, but quite unproductive as well. I find that it’s better to focus on the present moment, rather than rush towards goals. It’s better, not only for the process but often the outcome too.

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Why It’s So Important To Be Present

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Some of the most life-changing insights that I’ve had over the last few years have come from my dreams. Dream interpretation is by far the most valuable skill one can cultivate. Advice coming from our dreams are personalised and exactly what we need in that moment of our life. I’ve often been flabbergasted at the depth of intelligence, wisdom and humour, of an everyday dream.

But I’ve recently realised that if one does not implement dream advice along with a heavy dosage of presence, things can go awry very quickly. This is because often when we try to “power through” something we end up doing things sloppily. Or less efficiently. Or just wrong. The just-get-this-done approach takes us off the optimal path.

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Faarland: A Story About The Quest For Truth

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Faarland came to me at a time in my life when I was struggling to get any writing done. I’d just finished a post-apocalyptic sci-fi which pretty much got ignored by every agent I sent it to. Needless to say I was deflated and sad that this manuscript that I’d spent endless hours working on wasn’t getting any attention.

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Two fundamentally different approaches to work: Trying to get vs Trying to build

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I roughly categorise people’s approach to work into two different categories: Trying to get and Trying to build. Most people will fall into the trying-to-get category. I classify them as hoarders. They are in an endless game of trying to accumulate stuff. Hoarders are always scared that they might not get enough and so they end up doing dubious things to get more. This trying-to-get approach to life and work is very limited and restricts one to only consider the narrow avenue of one’s own gains.

The trying-to-build approach is different. Builders usually make things better for many people around them, not just themselves. They recognise that there is a ripple effect in what they do. Builders understand that there are consequences to disloyalty, lies, short-cuts, corruption, sloppiness, and whatever else tends to be the standard for work these days.

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Emotional Work: Techniques and Tips

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I am always amazed at how much benefit there is to emotional work. The catch, as always, is that it is extremely difficult to do. In my opinion, there is nothing more difficult. Consequently, I have found that there is always a part of me that wants to avoid it. Depending on the emotion and situation, I might avoid something for weeks. There is always negative consequences when I avoid certain emotions. Consequences can be something as simple as less focus, or it can be falling into old patterns like smoking. Avoiding these destructive behaviours is an important priority for me. This is why I have to do emotional work.

Over the years, I’ve tried different approaches to emotional work. But if you’re someone that has never really made emotional work a priority this post is for you. I discuss three simple methods for doing emotional work: Journalling, guided meditation, and Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT). Lastly, I share a few additional thoughts on emotional work and link to some resources that I have found helpful.

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Emotional Work: Outrage

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For the purpose of emotional work, I distinguish between anger and outrage. Anger is the emotion that ignites from difficulties and frustrations in our personal lives. Those things that we have control over. For example, a challenging relationship might fall into this category.

Outrage, on the other hand, is the emotion that ignites from things that are happening in the wider world around us. Things that we read on social media and newspapers fall into this category. Media, whether it is traditional or internet-based, thrive on outrage. It means more eyeballs on content. But paying attention to these articles, snippets, tweets, and opinions can decimate our emotional health.

There are a few reasons why I try to stay away from media that attempts to ignite outrage. 1) Outrage renders you powerless in the long run. 2) Outrage is incredibly contagious. 3) Outrage is used to control.

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First post of 2024: Guard against cynicism at all cost

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I don’t really have new years resolutions. My goals are always more or less the same: Focus on consistency in reading, writing, exercise and don’t fall into destructive patterns. But for 2024 I want to also add this to the list: Guard against cynicism against all cost.

2023 was a rough year not only for South Africa but globally. Consistent and lengthy loadshedding was but one of the discouraging features of incompetent South African governance. I won’t list all my frustrations here. I think it will have the opposite effect of what I’m trying to achieve with this post. I want this article to leave the reader with a sense of possibility.

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(NOT) Getting Things Done

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Lately I’ve been playing with this idea of not trying to get things done. This might sound strange but there is something enjoyable about this approach. There’s something enjoyable about writing just to write. Instead of focusing on word count or end goals, I can just focus on the next sentence.

So, because it’s the end of the year, and because I usually allow myself to be a little more inefficient during this time, I’ve noticed that not striving to get stuff done, is actually an enjoyable way to get things done.