Dreams, Our True Reality - 11/9/24

The theme of today is Dare to Dream. A topic that can truly be so inspirational. And of course, dreaming is very inspiring.

Some of the talks and inspiration you may hear today will encourage you to follow your dreams.

I’m going to take a different perspective and say… what if dreaming brings us into a state of being?

What if, when we dream, we are more aligned with our own reality than when we are not dreaming?

So, as the title of my talk suggests, dreams are our true reality, and what we live most of the day is a disconnection from that reality.

The dreams I’m talking about are not the “shoot for the stars” dreams. It’s the dreaming you do when you envision your life without judgment, pressure, or expectations.

When we dream like that, we are more in our own true essence than in the reality of everyday life.

We step out of the noise, the chatter, and disconnect from the overstimulation we all find ourselves in each day. The work routine. The push and pull of those around us. And of course, social media.

I mean, how many of us can argue that social media is a good representation of our true reality?

When we step into our inner self and dream, we gain clarity. The noise stops.

Dreaming quiets the distractions of the world. We zone out and focus solely on that dream. Focus on what we truly want, as we truly are.

Not who others want us to be. Not who we feel we should be. Who we truly are.

We can be our true selves and drift into a reality we can deeply connect with.

But being truly authentic is a rare thing.

We often try to play to the ego. What’s playing in the back of our minds is, “Let me help you boost who you think you are while I promote who I think I am.”

If you’ve been to some of Paul’s workshops or talks, we discuss how to connect to your inner self. How to come from a place of love and compassion. How to bring out your true essence so you can set an example for those around you.

And the best way to do that is to quiet the ego. Quiet the noise. Be mindful and let go of what doesn’t serve you.

From a spiritual perspective, the idea is to come from a place of love and truth, knowing that we are already defined.

That means we’re not working toward becoming someone. We are already someone.

And we already have the knowledge and wisdom that we seek from the outside within us. We just need to awaken it.

Bring out our true self and walk the path our souls were meant to walk during this lifetime.

That, however, is very hard to do with all the noise we deal with in this world. It’s hard to be ourselves.

If we somehow let go completely of all that, we would live a more peaceful life.

Not easy though. I can go an entire day with ten different things on my mind at any given moment. Constantly thinking. Stressing a good chunk of the time. Being who I don’t want to be.

But when I stop and allow myself to dream, even for just a moment, all of that fades away.

So I discovered something in that.

Yes, dreaming lets us escape. It lets us take a mini vacation and dive into our creativity.

But dreaming isn’t just a fun escape. It’s a chance to be our true selves.

It allows us to set aside the judgments and the pressures we face every day.

Think about it. How many of you feel like you’re constantly altering yourselves to fit in?

To meet society’s expectations?

To please others at the sacrifice of your own identity?

We do it all the time.

When we dream, we can disconnect from that. We can finally be in our true essence, in our purest form.

Dreaming allows us to be ourselves without influence and free of external burdens.

Now ask yourself… isn’t that more real than what we experience every day?

I’m a certified hypnotist, and I’ve learned some pretty interesting things from working with the subconscious mind.

Many of you have seen the image of the iceberg. The small portion above the water represents the conscious mind, and the much larger part below the surface represents the subconscious.

The subconscious mind drives us. The way we react. The way we behave.

We often think we’re operating from logic and reason, but in reality, much of what drives us comes from deeper places. Emotions, memories, and beliefs we’ve carried for years, decades, and even lifetimes.

When we dream, we tap into those deeper layers where our true essence resides.

We give ourselves access to wisdom and understanding that goes far beyond the conscious mind.

Hypnosis is fascinating because it allows us to tap into a part of ourselves that we often ignore.

And when we do that, something powerful happens.

People begin to unlock their true potential. They connect with who they really are, free from expectation and ego.

Yes, you can work with the subconscious to address fears, habits, or challenges.

But you can also come to a realization of who you truly are underneath all the noise.

Reconnecting with your essence.

That’s the power of accessing your subconscious, your soul, your higher self. And you can touch that space every time you truly dream.

That’s why I believe dreams are not just imaginary escapes. They are moments when we are most in tune with our true selves.

In those moments, we’re not trying to fit into a box or meet someone’s expectations.

We’re just being.

And that is a powerful state of existence.

Dreaming is a powerful tool for self-discovery. It allows us to break away from the roles we play in life.

As we grow up, we develop masks. We put on different versions of ourselves at work, with family, and with friends.

We conform to expectations.

And while some of these roles are necessary, they often pull us away from who we really are.

When we dream, we have a chance to set those masks aside.

We can explore what life would feel like if we lived from our true nature, without worrying about fitting into someone else’s mold.

It’s a way to reconnect with our core. And sometimes that reconnection brings profound insight into our path and purpose.

The more we allow this, the more we begin to feel how true it is.

Imagine a world where everyone lived from that place.

A world where we are not driven by ego, fear, or the need to please others, but by our true self.

If more of us allowed ourselves to truly dream, the world would change.

I once read a quote that said, “The world is going to judge you no matter what, so live your life the way you want to.”

That resonates deeply with me.

Because no matter what we do, there will always be external pressure.

But when we live from our dreams, when we live from our truth, we begin to let go.

We begin to find peace.

It’s unfortunate that we fall into such a rigid definition of what is real.

We rely so heavily on the conscious mind, while ignoring the part of us that holds our truth, our wisdom, and our depth.

Like the iceberg, we spend most of our time in the smallest visible part of ourselves, even though there is so much more beneath the surface.

And when we do receive guidance from that deeper place, we often question it, dismiss it, or fear it.

Instead of trusting it.

Instead of recognizing it as truth.

The truth is not hidden. We just tend to hide from it.

My father used to say, “Don’t be a schmuck in your own dreams.”

If you’re going to dream, dream big.

If someone said, “What if we had a million dollars?” he would say, “Why stop there? Why not a billion?”

He was speaking to the kind of dreams we usually think about.

But I hope today I’ve given you a different perspective.

A deeper kind of dreaming.

The kind that brings you closer to who you truly are.

The kind that allows you to step out of limitation and reconnect with your essence.

So dream often.

Give yourself permission to be who you truly are, not who the world expects you to be.

Take time to discover that person.

And the more you do, the more that version of you will rise to the surface and be seen by others.

And when you come out of that dream, carry that essence with you into the world.

Because the most loving thing you can do for yourself, and for the world, is to be your true self.

Thank you.