http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-power-daydreaming/201001/how-work-your-daydreams
"I've been havin’ a sweet dream
I been dreamin’ since I woke up today
It’s starrin’ me and my sweet dream
Cause she's the one that makes me feel this way..." -Lovin Spoonful
Sometimes I catch my mind drifting, slowly but surely detaching itself from the present when suddenly and abruptly it's interrupted by reality. I daydream, like most people, about many different things. I'll think about what would happen if I were to just stand up on a table in the middle of a lecture and curse the teacher. Would anyone laugh? What would the expression on my teacher's face be? Would I ever actually have the guts to do it? But really, I have thought about this several times during some boring lectures. It's a thought that keeps me entertained and more importantly, awake.
Often times however, I daydream about very emotional experiences. Yesterday was the 3 year death anniversary of my grandma. Throughout that whole dreadful Monday, my mind kept wandering to the events that surrounded that same day 3 years previous. During all my morning classes, I could almost smell the flowers, feel the cold marble floor of the basilica under my feet, see a procession of cars all with the same red flag on their antennas, and practically hear my own weeping. A wave of sorrow took over me. Daydreams can be both positive and negative, and are powerful all the same.
I've always believed in the power of daydreaming. It allows our mind to disconnect when needed and stay engaged cognitively when all around fall short.
ReplyDeleteAs you experienced, the mind is quite powerful and able to pull memories into our daydreams that bring us as close to the real moment as possible.
The question is how do we leverage these moments for healing? for growing?
If you get a chance, take a look at the film Waking Life.