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.
My personal experience has been this: The less presence you bring to the table the more things go pear-shaped. Yes, this statement is based on personal experience, but it is also something that one can confirm through experimentation. Or by mere reflection. Ask this: What was the last task that I did with utmost attention and calm? How did that turn out? What was the last task that I rushed through? How did that turn out?
The power of mindfulness is hard to appreciate if one is constantly in a doing mode. But cultivating presence makes it clear that even hard tasks are done much more effectively by having inner calm and attention. Said differently, doing something with presence is much more efficient than rushing or zombie-ing through it.
If there was a secret to life it would be being present. The catch is that it’s not something that can be hacked. It is something that is cultivated over time. Not weeks, but years. I’ve meditated for more than a decade, but it is only during the last few years that I’ve noticed that it’s easier for me to pull myself out of unconscious, fearful and angry states.
My point with this post is not that dream advice is amazing—even though that is the case. My point is rather that even if we get the best advice in the world—advice that is tailored and personalised to the very challenges that we face in that moment of our life—if we don’t implement said advice with presence, things fall flat. Presence is the missing ingredient that we need to make things better.