Opening up The List
This is a public post so a brief intro is in order. At the urgings of my friend, Anandi, I signed up for the Mondo Beyondo dreaming class (more of an extended workshop, really). A big part of it is learning to open up to your dreams and making yourself vulnerable to them, but at the same time not getting tied down by them. The way I interpret the lessons from this course is that a dream is not a goal or a project or something to measure oneself against. Rather, it's an expression of hope and fear and love and all those ideas that we stuff into our subconscious because they seem outlandish or impractical or just too small and silly. It's all the things we want without allowing ourselves to actually want them.
Today's Mondo Beyondo exercise involves looking at the dream list we made a couple weeks ago (every dream that emerged in 15 minutes of contemplation) and thinking about how each one might fit into various states of mind. That's all well and good, and I've been wanting to do this kind of processing on the list since I wrote it. The second part of the exercise is very much a test of vulnerability: daring to make it all public. I admit to being a little scared of this step. It's like opening a page of one's diary and letting the world read it. Yikes!
As I read through some of the posts that others in the class made about their dreams, I realized how many dreams I'm already living (or have lived). This inspires a lot of gratitude, for being lucky enough to have these opportunities, and a bit of pride, for having the courage to take the opportunities when I could. What are some dreams that are already mine? In no particular order, they are: a beautiful house, long lasting and loving partnership, adorable child, supportive parents, debt-free living, a cleaning service (really!), good health, scuba diving in Maldives, wine tasting in Tuscany, a professor who later won a Nobel prize, mountain biking in Moab, climbing up Half Dome, seeing the Devil's Postpile, making pasta from scratch, attending a talk by Stephen Hawking, watching a sky full of meteors, dancing with friends, sailing on the ocean, and so much travel (India, England, Italy, Belgium, Mexico, Indonesia, Malaysia, China, France, Singapore, Honduras, Maldives, and many parts of the USA).
My life is amazing and wonderful, and it should be enough, right? And really, it is, but that doesn't stop me from dreaming and wanting more.
Here's my "Mondo Beyondo" list, parsed into the states of mind that I mentioned before.
Be Vulnerable [dreams that seem foolish]:
Win a Hugo or Nebula award.
Write and sell a movie screenplay.
Visit every national park in the USA.
Live in a house with a 180 degree ocean view.
Do the White Sands full moon bike ride.
Take a week long backpacking trip.
Act in a Hollywood movie.
Be Brave [dreams that inspire a degree of fear]:
Write a bestselling epic science fiction trilogy.
Attend the Clarion writing workshop.
Hike the entire John Muir trail.
Cross a desert on camel back.
Climb Mt. Kilimanjaro and Mt. Everest.
Build a school in Africa.
Spend a month alone just writing every day.
Give up having a permanent residence.
Be Flexible [did I really just dream that?]:
Open a gourmet restaurant and brewery with a play area.
Find a nanotechnology based cure for cancer.
Learn to ride horses.
Become a US Senator.
Become a professional futurist.
Be a foster parent.
Inspire kids to love learning.
Be Open [dreams that forge new territory]:
Learn ballet.
Learn to paint with watercolor.
Visit every continent.
Spend a month every year visiting long lost friends.
Spend 3 months every summer living in a new country.
Visit every country.
Visit the penguins in Antarctica.
Be Trusting [dreaming the impossible]:
Live on the space station.
Go to the moon, Mars, and beyond.
Be part of the first large scale, livable space station.
Live forever.
Today's Mondo Beyondo exercise involves looking at the dream list we made a couple weeks ago (every dream that emerged in 15 minutes of contemplation) and thinking about how each one might fit into various states of mind. That's all well and good, and I've been wanting to do this kind of processing on the list since I wrote it. The second part of the exercise is very much a test of vulnerability: daring to make it all public. I admit to being a little scared of this step. It's like opening a page of one's diary and letting the world read it. Yikes!
As I read through some of the posts that others in the class made about their dreams, I realized how many dreams I'm already living (or have lived). This inspires a lot of gratitude, for being lucky enough to have these opportunities, and a bit of pride, for having the courage to take the opportunities when I could. What are some dreams that are already mine? In no particular order, they are: a beautiful house, long lasting and loving partnership, adorable child, supportive parents, debt-free living, a cleaning service (really!), good health, scuba diving in Maldives, wine tasting in Tuscany, a professor who later won a Nobel prize, mountain biking in Moab, climbing up Half Dome, seeing the Devil's Postpile, making pasta from scratch, attending a talk by Stephen Hawking, watching a sky full of meteors, dancing with friends, sailing on the ocean, and so much travel (India, England, Italy, Belgium, Mexico, Indonesia, Malaysia, China, France, Singapore, Honduras, Maldives, and many parts of the USA).
My life is amazing and wonderful, and it should be enough, right? And really, it is, but that doesn't stop me from dreaming and wanting more.
Here's my "Mondo Beyondo" list, parsed into the states of mind that I mentioned before.
Be Vulnerable [dreams that seem foolish]:
Win a Hugo or Nebula award.
Write and sell a movie screenplay.
Visit every national park in the USA.
Live in a house with a 180 degree ocean view.
Do the White Sands full moon bike ride.
Take a week long backpacking trip.
Act in a Hollywood movie.
Be Brave [dreams that inspire a degree of fear]:
Write a bestselling epic science fiction trilogy.
Attend the Clarion writing workshop.
Hike the entire John Muir trail.
Cross a desert on camel back.
Climb Mt. Kilimanjaro and Mt. Everest.
Build a school in Africa.
Spend a month alone just writing every day.
Give up having a permanent residence.
Be Flexible [did I really just dream that?]:
Open a gourmet restaurant and brewery with a play area.
Find a nanotechnology based cure for cancer.
Learn to ride horses.
Become a US Senator.
Become a professional futurist.
Be a foster parent.
Inspire kids to love learning.
Be Open [dreams that forge new territory]:
Learn ballet.
Learn to paint with watercolor.
Visit every continent.
Spend a month every year visiting long lost friends.
Spend 3 months every summer living in a new country.
Visit every country.
Visit the penguins in Antarctica.
Be Trusting [dreaming the impossible]:
Live on the space station.
Go to the moon, Mars, and beyond.
Be part of the first large scale, livable space station.
Live forever.