Something unusual this week, since I’m traveling back to France for a “season”. Here’s something you might find thought provoking! It’s also longer than usual.
Everyone has a dream that, to them, is holier than holy. Just the GREATEST thing in life that could ever happen. I call it the Jerusalem Dream.
And, of course, 99.99% of people take no action whatever on this dream!
I’m using Jerusalem here, not to mean anything Christian or religious; just a metaphor for the person’s own “promised land”. Churches in general, and the Church of England in particular, have long used Jerusalem as a metaphor for Heaven, a place of universal love and peace (as opposed to the city in Israel).
18th century genius, artist and poet William Blake wrote a poem which eventually became an English hymn “Jerusalem”, with music written by Sir Hubert Parry in 1916. You know, the one with the words about “dark satanic mills”, which became part of the popular vocabulary for a time…*
Verse 2, last line. Notice Blake also gave us the movie title “Chariots of Fire”
All very interesting but let us not forget the importance of Jerusalem to both Jews and Muslims too. In fact these so-called “Abrahamic religions” all share the Old Testament stories, including that of Abraham and Isaac, and consider these valid scriptures. Hence the label.
I repeat: my definition of the “Jerusalem Dream” just means the greatest thing that a person can conceive of. But what use is it, if you don’t strive towards it?
Not much.
You have to believe in it. That means WANTING it and taking action to get it.
But the thing you have to guard against is taking onboard other people’s dreams. By that I don’t mean just what they want for themselves but what they want FOR YOU! It’s very pernicious and easy to stumble in this hypno-driven propaganda politically-correct world.
There is an endless bombardment of values from the media, telling you what is right and proper, what you SHOULD want and what to do to be liked and loved. The inference is: nobody likes a loser. The definition of a loser? Someone who doesn’t want what everyone else wants; someone independent and single-minded.
There’s a veritable hurricane of insincerity, lies, clever marketing and phoney values out there. We are told that unless we serve the right food at table, our family will hate us; unless we drive the right car, no-one would take us seriously; unless we dress in a certain way or have hair of the right color, we will be a nobody; and unless we are “successful”, the best specimens of the opposite sex will refuse to mate with us.
It’s ghastly! But in its many forms that is what drives the aspirations and desires of most people. Even cults, societies and religions get into this; they tell you what you are supposed to think and feel about things! (group aspirations).
I hope for better things for you all. Don’t be suckered in. Just figure out your own, personal, REAL dream and go for it.
Of course if your Jerusalem Dream is to be a billionaire, you are going to find it tough going. Everyone and his dog wants it too… because that’s what people believe they want. But I doubt it, really.
If money seems strong on your dream-o-meter you should clarify this by asking: what would I do with that money? It can be a tough question, if you don’t really have an answer. But I’m betting that if you give yourself space and imagination, the real answer will come.
Another variation of this question, used by wise people is: if I was rich and didn’t need to work again for the rest of my life, WHAT WOULD I DO WITH THE TIME? The answer could be revealing: go to college and get an English literature degree; settle down on a tropical island and chill; learn to compose music; take up gardening; or leave my spouse and start a new life where neither of us need see each other again.
It’s really all about honesty; what really moves you in life. What are you working towards, if only you could save enough money to get it? Some dreams don’t even need money; Mother Teresa dreamed of helping the poor in a squalid Indian city. Well she got it.
Gladys Aylward saved up for years, to become a missionary in China. She got there. A book of her life written by Alan Burgess (The Small Woman) was made into the movie The Inn of The Sixth Happiness, starring Ingrid Bergman. That’s a life worth living, surely?
Amadeus Mozart dreamed of writing some of the greatest music of all time. He got it. Was it worth dying in poverty? You’ll have to dig him up and ask him. But I know what my answer would be if asked to choose: write some the greatest, most inspiring and beautiful thoughts of all time but die young? (yes, yes, I know: I’m too old to die young!)
Here’s another way to shake something loose, perhaps?
I read somewhere of a therapist working with a well-known author for overcoming her writer’s block. Sounds crazy, doesn’t it? But the writer actually voiced the thought, “I could be insanely creative if I knew no one else would ever criticize what I write.”
Her comment seemed odd for a successful author, but it got me thinking about how much our fear of judgment holds us back.
So take a moment to ask: If no consequences to my creation existed, if I only had to please myself, if I only had to do what I wanted (within the constraints of safety, harmony, and balance within the world) what would I create? . . .What if there was no judgment?
What if you could get away with ANYTHING? What would you attempt?
A Word About Be-Do-Have
Most people’s dreams are about HAVING: some physical gain, some possessions or facility for enjoyment. They dream away, talk excitedly and often reinforce their dream with repeated affirmations.
But there is always a DO! You have to do something, to get your dream. This is always a lot vaguer. But it is essential; just dreaming without DOING will get you nowhere.
But there is a yet more important step, which is invariably overlooked by wannabe gurus and trainers… What do you have to BE to create your dream? What kind of person would achieve that dream? This is followed by some hard thinking about how you can step into such a person’s role model.
You can’t go on being the same poor old you, dreaming of bigger and better things. The viewpoint is from that of a person who does not have the dream. Instead, you must morph into the person who takes on this dream, as of a right or a sense of entitlement! You must become that person, who is capable of achieving what you desire.
Such a person is bold, confident, assured of his or her own self and filled to overflowing with ideas to achieve the goal.
I would strongly urge anyone who is set on an altered direction in life to do affirmations of what kind of person you ARE. Cut the “I’m rich beyond my wildest dreams” crap affirmations and start on things like “I am fearless and will never stop” or “No matter the difficulties, I know I will always find a way round the blockage” type affirmations.
Actually, I prefer the term declarations, as in Daily Declarations. Make a list of all the character or personality characteristics you think will fit or help you on your way and start reciting them to yourself on a daily basis.
The point is this… “I am rich” declarations are false, because you are not! But “I am a person of good humor, good character, patience and kindness” becomes INSTANTLY true, if you let it! So my advice to you, Dreamer, is build yourself a new and better character, to play the part you will need to play, if your dream is to come true! Become a citizen of your own Jerusalem!
There’s a fabulous extra bonus in doing this: if you fail with the dream, you have still become a more powerful, loving and intelligent human being.
What’s not to like?
Stay safe,
Prof. Keith Scott-Mumby
The Official Alternative Doctor
*William Blake may have been the greatest poet/artist of all time. Blake was a major influence on Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, Jim Morrison, Van Morrison, Patti Smith, Neil Young, Robert Plant, Bono, Bruce Dickinson, Kris Kristofferson, Thom Yorke, Walt Whitman, William Butler Yeats, James Joyce, T. S. Eliot, Allen Ginsberg, Pablo Neruda, Salman Rushdie, Jackson Pollock, Philip Pullman and many other poets, writers, artists and singer/songwriters.
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