“Momma! You were in my dreams last night. Did you see me?”
Oh my gosh. How deliciously wonderful was his question!
His dream was so real with me in it, he thought I was experiencing it too!
I love dreams. And I don’t just mean the dreams we have at night – I mean the ones we have in the day.
The ones we have in our hearts.
About our destiny or desires or destinations.
When I was young, I was a reader. I read about travelers and adventurers. I loved stories that people told — especially when my older Italian relatives told stories about being in “the old country” and their families back in Sicily.
I wanted to speak the language. I wanted to know the music. I wanted to walk on the cobblestone streets that they talked about.
My dream for Italy was BIG.
When I got to be 18, I took an Italian language class in college and ate it up. I wanted to practice it with someone and make goofy mistakes in a beautiful language over wine and pasta.
I wanted someone to travel with — to whisk me away and show me wonderful places that would make my soul feel at home in me.
I wanted so much and even though I’m not a big “bucket list” person, I had one desire that always stood out in my heart:
Go to Italy.
Fast forward almost 10 years and I got sick.
I was in my late 20’s, working hard as a professional musician, struggling privately in my marriage and on top of it, I started getting ill.
Over the course of the next year, I was hanging on for dear life. I could barely move and yet, I still worked as much as I could. My brain was foggy, I was gaining weight and I was dealing with MASSIVE anxiety.
Could barely leave my house. Had to stop working.
Wouldn’t get in the car.
Wouldn’t get in an elevator.
Wouldn’t get on a plane.
The doctors told me that all my symptoms led them to the conclusion that I was dying and that at 28 years-old, I had to get my affairs in order.
It was devastating. I had barely lived life — most of which had been rather challenging. I felt like I was here for more.
My dreams that I used to have went to a place far, far away. I couldn’t see them.
I spent day after day, just trying to be present to the day I was in. Quitting my work commitments almost completely and trying to find my way inside myself.
It was a spiritual process that was unfolding.
Of finding my inner peace (which I didn’t feel)
Landing on an inner truth (which was buried down deep)
And trying to get to the core of what beliefs were supporting my sickness and working to turn them around.
It was a journey and a half.
I spent all of my time trying to get well. My vision was for wellness. For walking without pain. For losing the 100 pounds I had gained. For partnering with professionals who had hope and a plan for me.
It was all about the day I was in.
A lot of navel gazing.
A lot of introspection.
A lot of “put your head down and do the work.”
That’s what I did.
I wrote about my journey in my book, “You’re Not Crazy and You’re Not Alone” — about how I went down the dark rabbit hole and about how I found my way out.
You know what happened when I started getting well?
I started having dreams again.
Dreams to live a long life with my husband.
Dreams to feel good enough to run on the beach.
Dreams to be able to help others to get out of their dark rabbit hole too.
But wait… what about Italy?
Nope. That dream didn’t come back — not at first.
It was a process for that dream to return and I’m going to tell you more about that in my next email.
But here’s what I DO want you to know:
You have a dream too… and that dream, is dreaming you.
Oooh….that’s sound so woo-woo and yet, kinda awesome too.
If that sounds cryptic and mystic, don’t worry. We’re going to talk about that, too.
Because we’re going to focus the next few weeks on Dreams Coming True — what gets in the way, what to do about it, and how we can allow ourselves to dream life into our reality.
Does that sound interesting to you?
It’s fascinating to me and I can’t wait to share it with you.
Sending you big love and big dreams coming true…