dreams

The Truth About Pipe Dreams

/ Sheri / Leave a comment

There’s a manuscript I’m working on. It’s in its 3rd round of drafts. The seed of inspiration for the plot arrived, like many creative ideas, via the idea of another (in this case, a brilliant story by Marian Keyes, The Brightest Star in the Sky.

We have the power to choose where our attention goes. And wherever that energy goes, so too does its expansion.

I could have chosen to read Marian Keyes’ brilliant book, experiencing the creative zing of thought that happened, and subsequently brushed it away like crumbs on a table after a meal.

Instead, I gave my attention to the idea that whispered in my psyche over the course of days and weeks. 

When we give ourselves permission to pursue our imagination, our imagination only grows.

Stuck in Pipe Dream Mode

When we care more about what is going on externally, our dream morphs into a pipe dream. 

Ironically, the term pipe dream derives from the fantasies envisioned from smoking opium at the end of the 19th century. 

Ironic that the pipe known to deliver imaginative thinking is now associated with keeping one’s dreams stuck or unattainable. 

We are born creative. Imagination is one of our greatest birth gifts. 

Releasing the Pipe Dream

So how does our imagination get stuck in pipe dream mode?

When we focus on the myopic, we receive more of that mindset, closing the figurative door to creativity.

Creativity is messy. It isn’t linear. It doesn’t arrive with neat stop and start points. Creativity doesn’t offer guarantees. 

Fear is the cage holding our dreams.

To free our dreams from our self-created pipes means:

  • discounting the naysayers (this can include your mind’s negative chatter)
  • honoring the still voice deep inside you
  • taking steps each day in the direction of your dream (however small)
  • surrendering to its unfolding (whatever that looks like)

I’ve been playing with the manuscript for years — playing, not working (mindset is everything). I don’t know:

  • if it will ever be published
  • how an audience will receive it

But I keep the dream alive, out of the figurative pipe because:

  • my inner voice is telling me this story needs to be written
  • playing with the manuscript is a form of great joy

There are plenty of days where I find my mind churning out comments and questions like:

“Those are hours of your life you’ll never get back.”

“Do you really believe what you’re writing will make any difference in someone’s life?”

“You need to be practical and responsible. Stop wasting your time with this bullshit.”

The Pipe is Your Ego

I believe that the figurative pipe trapping our dreams is nothing more than our ego, Edging God Out. (Full credit to the late and great Wayne Dyer:-)

The ego tells us fear-based words. It speaks from a place of lack.

When we acknowledge the fear and continue to walk in the direction of our dreams, the voice of fear will (over time) grow fainter.

Remember: the mind’s chatter is like that of a toddler. When you first refuse to give into its demands, it might very well stomp and throw a generous temper tantrum.

But what happens when you allow that upset toddler to cry without running to it? It eventually, grows quiet and falls asleep.

Thriving dreams require our attention.

So, tune into those ideas percolating in your imagination and let the mind’s worrying chatter grow sleepy and quiet.

Abundant Living

The Hidden Power of Action

/ Sheri / Leave a comment
There is unseen power in the Universe and the actions we take each day. The same is true when it comes to our creative endeavors. 

A couple of years ago, I sat in a cozy restaurant with two of my girlfriends. Over a Turkish dinner of shish kebob and fresh hummus (thank you, Pasha Restaurant), my friends shared creative endeavors they were working on. For several weeks prior, the idea for a book had tapped me on the shoulder, beckoning me to embark on a literary journey.

Yet fear/ego/uncertainty had caused me to do nothing but silently play the idea in my head like an orchestra performing with the mute button on.

But that evening, hearing my friends articulating their creative endeavors, motivated me to turn off that mute button.

“I am planning to write a book about our most personal relationships. It’s going to focus on the analogy of food and intimacy.”

Wow, did I just say that? I’m actually planning, huh…

Their reactions were a mixture of surprise and wonder; their eyes lit up—they were intrigued and wanted to know more.

So I found myself sharing the music of my idea, the chords that I had played silently in my head were now streaming between us, an organic melody forming in their encouraging presence.

By the end of the meal, the once beckoning idea had suddenly morphed into an almost palpable plan. Almost.

One of my friends said, “Write it down on this receipt. Make it real.”

Here’s a photo of what I wrote: 

The receipt from Pasha’s–a Turkish restaurant where it all began:-)

Writing that initial title down may seem like a small act, but it felt huge. Writing it, just like speaking about the mere idea of the book, gave the idea itself momentum. 

There is unseen power in the actions we take each day. The same is true when it comes to our creative endeavors. 

On July 7th2020, my book The Friendship Diet: Clean out Your Fridge, Get Real with Yourself and Fill Your Life with Meaningful Relationships that Last will launch. This didn’t just happen. There were innumerable steps along the way to get to the manifestation of an actual book. Each step brought me closer to the book in the making and each step created hidden but immeasurable ripple effects. 

Our lives don’t have a distinct beginning middle and end the way some might think. We are a creation that started way before our entry into this world; we create through our choices all day long that carry long-term effects that we can’t always see in this lifetime; we leave this world not knowing who or what is different because of our actions.

My book is still out in the cosmos, not yet a substance one can hold. But I know it’s out there, just as it was the moment I spoke about it over dinner with two dear friends. The fact of my book only grew stronger the moment I put pen to receipt paper—a formal commitment between the Universe and me.

When we give birth to a life, there is so much more than the birth itself. It is a labor of love from conception to manifestation and beyond. Each of us has the gift of free will to create and foster his or her own labor(s) of love. Feed that idea, nurture it and it will grow.

Never underestimate the hidden power of your actions to manifest your creative dreams.