Dreams are an important part of my life.  They help me set direction, they put the missing pieces in to complete the puzzle of my waking life and they are even sometimes prophetic – giving me a ”heads-up” of what’s coming down the pike.  It’s sort of an early warning system that helps me stay clear and calm in the face of surprises.

This last week I’ve been reading The Three ”Only” Things: tapping the power of Dreams, Conicidence & Imagination by the pioneer of Active Dreaming, Robert Moss.  Yesterday, I plurked a message about an odd dream I’d had the night before and within seconds a tweet appeared from Mr. Achievement, Stanley Bronstein about his blog post about his recent dream.

“Only” Coincidence?

I hardly think so.

Off and on for 20 years I’ve been keeping a dream journal.  Reviewing the journals have given me some real smack on the side of the head moments.  When I re-read dreams I can usually recall exactly how it felt when I was in the dream.  Sometimes they are so joyous that I long to re-enter the dream (and in his book, Moss shows how to do just that) and sometimes they are so obvious (in hindsight) that I wonder why it took me three years to actually act on the information.

Have you ever had something big come your way, but there were lots of options and nuances?  Maybe your boyfriend of 10 years finally proposed marriage, maybe your mother asked you to move back home, or maybe someone you know casually asked you to invest in their business.   Did you jump to answer or did you say “Let me sleep on it”?  Sleeping on it is so popular because even if we’re not consiously aware, our inner knowing tells us that by letting our subsconscious get to work, we’ll get some honest and workable answers.

It all comes down to what your dreams mean to you.  While dream dictionaries and others’ theories can be useful, the bottom line is what you think the dream means to you.  Your personal history, tastes and desires will always color your dreams.  Your collective memory — based on your ethnicity will also play into your different dream symbols.

If you’re like most people, you have an odd dream now and again and tell your friend, co-worker or lover about it. You may laugh or discuss it for a short while and then you let it drift away.  What if you could put them to work for you though?

Here’s how to put your dreams to work for you:

1. Keep a dream journal.  You can either go out and buy a fancy looking journal or you can use a loose-leaf binder stuffed with ruled paper – just start writing down the story of your dreams when you first get up.  If, like me, you have dogs that will not leave you alone til they’ve had their morning walk – keep a notebook and pen by the bed and jot down the immediate thoughts, nuacnes and feelings of your dream before you get up an dgo.
2. Ask yourself if you could be each of the characters in your dream.  What if YOU were your mother in the dream? What if you were the scary monster?
3. Ask yourself what, if any, relation the feelings or activities in the dream have to your waking life.  Could any part of the dream be played out in the future?
4. Ask yourself what you are going to do now, what actions will you take to honor the dream and work with its guidance.
5. Feel free to bounce ideas off someone — just remember that their feedback is based on what they would think if it were THEIR dream, not yours.
6. Look for corroborating signs, coincidences or evidence in your waking life that can point you in the right direction to move forward.
7. Create a dreamwork group to help and inspire each other to follow your dreams.

* Some of these tips are based on those described in the Lightning Dreamwork Game described on pages 82-83 of Robert Moss’ book, The Three Only Things.

Have you had significant dreams that caused you to change course in your business?

Are you a member of a dreamwork group?

What are your thoughts about dreaming in business?

Please share your comments – I’d love to learn from you!