Dreams and the Laws of Positioning
by Stanley Bronstein on August 2, 2008
A CHANGE IN TOPICS, JUST FOR THE WEEKEND
Taking a slight “break” for a day or two over the weekend before we get back to The Art of War on Monday.
I Had An Interesting Dream Last Night
I was on another nationwide driving trip, but this time my wife was with me.
We stopped at a small roadside diner outside of Albuquerque, NM. We went in and my wife sat down and ordered her breakfast. I went to the bathroom and began speaking with a gentleman and they kept asking me about my driving tour and all the people I was going to interview, etc.
In short, I wound up talking with them for probably 20 minutes or so. My wife ate her food while I was talking. I went back to the table and saw there was a breakfast buffet, which I wanted, BUT I needed to find my waitress to order it.
My waitress was sitting at another table, with her back turned looking outside and eating her breakfast. I didn’t want to bother her while she was eating and she didn’t see me because her back was turned. I waited and waited and waited . . .
Finally she turned around and said, sure, you can have the breakfast buffet and it costs $9.99. I went to the buffet and the food was gone. They had shut it down because it was past 10:00 AM. I wasn’t happy, BUT I saw there was some grits and oatmeal left out, so I decided, I’d just eat that (I love grits). BUT, I couldn’t find a bowl. I looked and looked and looked . . .
When I FINALLY found a bowl, I went back and they had taken away the oatmeal and the grits. I walked into the kitchen and the crew had just gotten rid of it, so AGAIN I didn’t get what I wanted.
THEN, I realized it was a dream and I woke up, LAUGHING.
Have You Ever Had Dreams Like This?
Tell us your stories. I want to hear about your crazy dreams and what you thought they meant?
What This Dream Meant To Me
1) The breakfast buffet symbolized the “whole pie” so to speak. It was everything I could have possibly wanted. That’s where I’m at in my life right now; working VERY hard to create my pie; to create my definition of everything I ever wanted.
2) The fact that the buffet shut down at 10:00 AM symbolizes that there is a limited amount of time to create what I want and also to enjoy it.
3) The fact that my wife ate her food by herself while I was “sharing my ideas” with someone symbolizes the fact that she has been supportive of everything it is that I’m doing. She has been very supportive and it definitely is appreciated.
4) The fact that I couldn’t get my waitress’ attention symbolizes a lot (but not all) of the people with whom I’ve worked while creating my “empire.” Many times, I’ve felt like I’m ready to roll, but I have to keep waiting for others to “catch up with me.”
5) The fact that I kept waiting for my waitress symbolizes a lot of the patience I’ve exhibited along the way while I’ve been “waiting” for others to catch up with me.
6) The fact that when I finally got my waitress’ attention, it was too late symbolizes one of my largest fears; that opportunity can pass you by if you wait too long.
7) The fact that there was oatmeal and grits left (something I liked) symbolizes that while it may have been too late, it really wasn’t too late as there was something left that I liked. However, it also symbolizes another of my fears; that I might get somebody’s leftovers, as opposed to getting the whole prize that I’m working to build.
The fact that I didn’t even get to eat the oatmeal or grits in the end symbolizes the greatest fear; that I’ll walk away with nothing.
What The Dream Made Me Realize
It made me realize that in order for me to create my “empire”, I have to stop waiting around for others. I have to be ready to act promptly and I have to associate myself with others who are ready to act promptly. FORTUNATELY, I’ve been able to do that.
The dream was just my mind analyzing like it always has. I constantly ask myself two questions, what worked and what didn’t work?
Well waiting around for others didn’t work in this case. Associating myself with others who don’t keep me waiting does work.
Recommended Reading
Laws of Positioning #25 - Position Yourself To Be A Dreamer
Law #25 talks about the power of having dreams in your life.
Tell Us Your Dreams
Tell us your stories. I want to hear about your crazy dreams and what you thought they meant?
Until next time, take care, my dear friends.Mr. Achievement
Stanley F. Bronstein
Attorney & CPA
August 2nd, 2008 at 8:29 am
I am never able to remember my dreams anymore, wish I could.
My concious dream is to find balance in all parts of my life. Sounds simple, but if my work life is out of balance, it throws me so off in all the aspects of my life. I must be the kind of person who needs it all to flow in the same direction and for my entire life to represent consistantly who I am as a person. This is in essence what I am trying to accomplish in my life right now with my website. My hope is that it will serve as an inspiration for others who will in turn inspire me as I move forward with it. To constantly challenge myself to step to a higher level in all that I do.
Impossible, maybe. I’m going to find out!
Vicky H
August 2nd, 2008 at 8:50 am
Vicky:
Not impossible in the least. You sound like you are a VERY together person. Did you read my posting on Laws of Positioning # 4 - Position Yourself To Be Balanced?
It’s at: http://stanleybronstein.com/law-4-position-yourself-to-be-balanced/
As for remembering your dreams, I’ve found that IF you go to bed at night and make it a point to consciously tell yourself that you know you are going to dream and that you want to remember them, you’ll find that you start remembering them. ALSO, either keep a pad of paper or a voice recorder by the side of your bed so you can jot down your thoughts WHILE they are still in your mind.
Take care and please come back often.
Stanley Bronstein
MrAchievement
August 2nd, 2008 at 8:55 am
I dreamt I was pregnant and a group of aliens from some strange galaxy landed and they were after me. I turned to my husband and told him to grab the keys and start driving. He thought I was crazy. I grabbed the keys and ran to the car alone. Just as I started the engine, I looked back and saw them (5 of them - female aliens) running toward me. My husband was killed like everyone who had stood in their way.
I sped off and drove into a jungle. Like a scene out of predator, I used the jungle to my advantage. I hid in a cave and delivered my baby. For our sake, I had to emerge from the cave and kill them before they kill me. I came out of my cave and set up traps (like a scene from Apocalypse). The traps easily took out 4 aliens, with projectiles aimed at their heads. I can remember the vivid details as their heads explode like a pin poking a balloon. I left the final alien alive and I asked “Why me?”. She said “We need to survive and to breed, you are the last fertile woman in the galaxy and you’re our only hope. We are a superior race and our kind cannot die.” Well not without a fight. I launched my final trap and silenced her, permanently.
Interpretation:
1. I watch too much TV.
2. I don’t have kids and it’s a conscious choice, not the work of a biological clock. I see the projects I work on as my babies. The husband is my boss - he doesn’t support me very much. The aliens are the competition or threats like lack of resources.
3. It looks to me like I have to do everything myself to get my baby born?
How do you see it?
August 2nd, 2008 at 9:26 am
Andromeda:
Definitely has some Star Trek elements in there, but hey, my 2 dogs are named Darmok and Jilad and I collect comic books, so I’m a BIG fan of escapism.
AH - Interpreting it and applying it to your work situation makes PERFECT sense. Your work projects are indeed your babies. Same thing with me here. We don’t have any kids. And hey, your “boss” / “husband” was killed, so it obviously wasn’t a nightmare (hee hee hee).
Feeling as if we have to do everything ourselves is a VERY common trait I see in successful people. HOWEVER, somewhere along the way we have to transcend that and learn to work with others.
Stephen Covey says the first step is that we are born dependent for everything. THEN we learn to be independent. THEN, we need to learn to be interdependent, where we can get our own things done, BUT also work with others.
Question for you? In your dream, did you ever have a chance to “talk” with the aliens and work things out, or were they firing guns and you and such. It sounds like you were running away. Chase dreams are pretty common and it’s usually when we’re running away from something . . .
Stanley Bronstein
MrAcheivement
August 2nd, 2008 at 9:40 am
Thanks Stanley. I ran first and after the baby was out, I confronted the aliens and kicked their butts.
August 2nd, 2008 at 10:08 am
So, you’re a professional butt-kicker . . .
Remember that. Go kick some butt today AND every day.
Stanley Bronstein
MrAchievement
August 2nd, 2008 at 9:49 am
Stanley, may I add a suggested interpretation to your dream? I notice that it was the 20-minute conversation that held you up–if not for that talk, the waitress might have been ready to help, you would be free to have whatever you wanted from the buffet, and you could have enjoyed it with your wife.
I wonder if it’s an example of focusing on priorities? There are many valuable activities in life–but we can’t do everything. When we take a moment to look at the big picture and discover what’s most important, we may sacrifice something “good” (such as the conversation) for something “great” (enjoying the “whole pie” with your wife, and benefiting from the help of others).
I’ve got one of those decisions at this moment–I’m going to sacrifice the 5-minute description of my own dreams for now, so that I can share breakfast with my visiting family.
I hope your best dreams come true!
August 2nd, 2008 at 10:14 am
Mousewords:
THAT is an excellent point you raise. I will have to think about that my friend.
Ah, nothing like “free” expert psychiatric advice. Thank you.
Take care.
Stanley Bronstein
MrAchievement
August 2nd, 2008 at 10:45 am
Dream:
When I was 17, I was on the phone with a classmate who was telling me to come to his party because the teacher I liked was there. Suddenly the line dropped and the phone started ringing again. It was not the number of my classmate, and although I did not want to answer the phone, not wanting to speak to a stranger, I picked up. (I had a fear of telephones). I said, Hello, who are you, and the man on the other end replied, You were born under water, you were born under ground, you were born under mind. There was a pause before I repeated my original question. The man started to talk, and I started to see geopolitical landscapes change, stock market statistics, among other technical data, visual and alphanumeric, which I did not understand nor remember in detail. After a pause, I repeated my question, Who are you? He replied, To find the balance in one world is to find it in the other. He hangs up, I am left looking at the number on the call display, and I wake up.
I find that today, I live by that rule, finding a balance between worlds, trying to live somewhere between waking and sleeping, which to me symbolizes, living life as if in a dream, with the promise and knowledge of it’s infinite possibilities, for creation and good, and for illusion, fantasy and poverty.
My two cents.
August 2nd, 2008 at 11:17 am
Adam S.
What an EXCELLENT dream. It’s amazing what comes into our minds while we’re sleeping AND that we remember it.
The first thought that popped into my mind when reading your story was that it had something to do with a past life. Do you believe in past lives and have you ever explored that ???
Water, ground, mind - interesting
WATER - the surface of a stream, river, lake, ocean, etc.: above, below, or on the water.
GROUND - the solid surface of the earth; firm or dry land.
MIND - the element, part, substance, or process that reasons, thinks, feels, wills, perceives, judges, etc.
And you were born UNDER all of these . . . When I think of something being “under” I think of foundations. Your soul is a foundation. My guess is that you have a VERY old soul and it was some of your soul’s past experiences giving you some advice on how to live your life.
What do you think ???
Stanley Bronstein
MrAchievement
August 2nd, 2008 at 1:57 pm
Hi Stan, thanks for your great comments. I have not explored past lives, but I have always pondered whether I was ever a cat living in a medieval or Egyptian kingdom– from what I recall, the colour purple represents royalty, and when I was born (real life), I was suffocating because the umbilical cord was wrapped around my neck. My head appeared purple. I laugh at this family anecdote now, but ponder the importance of colour in our lives… and the fact that I am still here to talk about it.
Indeed, the nature of dreams is amazing. It is almost as if an intimate “source”, unknown to us in our daily waking adult lives, can give us insight into who we are, and why we are here. Just as we’ve always been dreaming, the “source” has been with us since time immemorial, and has been with everyone, ever born in the material universe.
Keep up the good work!
August 2nd, 2008 at 2:22 pm
Adam S.
UNLESS I have an awesome dream tonight that I MUST share tomorrow, I’m going to talk about Past Lives, so stay tuned my friend.
Stanley Bronstein
MrAchievement
August 2nd, 2008 at 11:48 am
Wow, that’s fascinating–an amazing dream, and perspectives to ponder!
I remembered one of my dreams, which I had actually blogged about–so here it is
http://mousewords.wordpress.com/2008/03/22/fear-of-success/
August 2nd, 2008 at 12:24 pm
Mousewords:
I LOVE your dream. POWERFUL !!! Believe in yourself.
We are ALL so powerful.
Stanley Bronstein
MrAchievement
August 2nd, 2008 at 1:10 pm
Dreams are pretty amazing, aren’t they?
I’ve always had dreams guide me along. And when I’m not “getting” what they’re trying to tell me, they’ve gotten more and more literal.
For instance, many moons ago I was in a marriage that wasn’t working for various reasons. I dreamed that my then-husband and I were getting ready to go on a trip and we had to take the bus. We must have been going for a while because we each had a great deal of luggage (baggage) as well as lunch sacks with us. It was a two way street with a median of grass and trees down the middle — very suburban neighbordish. We were on the opposite side of the street and saw the bus approaching — across the street and median from where we were. My then-husband handed all the bags to me and ran to catch the bus. I missed the bus and was left holding the bags.
I did wake up laughing after that and I knew that the choice was mine to move forward or to try to keep making myself hold all the baggage.
A book that I’m reading right now may interest the other dreamers out there — it’s called The Three “Only” Things: tapping hte power of Dreams, Conicidence & Imagination by Robert Moss.
Best,
Peggie
August 2nd, 2008 at 1:23 pm
Peggie:
You know why dreams are so good? It’s because it’s one of the rare times when we DROP all barriers and true stuff comes out.
I love how luggage is BAGGAGE in your dream . . .
Thanks for the reference to the book. I agree. We are ALL in charge of our own destinies.
Stanley Bronstein
MrAchievement
August 3rd, 2008 at 5:17 am
I read this post yesteday, but could not think of any dreams to post. BUT I had a dream last night that was, well, rather frightening. My birthday is tomorrow, and I will be 22. In my dream I was turning 30. There is nothing wrong with turning 30, but in my dream I was looking back on my life and I honestly couldn’t say I did anything significant in the past 10 years. I was basically had the most empty feeling I could ever imagine having in that dream last night. Now I do not have an “explanation” or an “interpretation”, but I do know this; I will use this dream as fuel to continue my pursuits and passions, and to make darn certain that when I look back on the last 10 years of my life on my 30th birthday, I will have no regrets, and I will have accomplished some very big goals of mine.
thanks for the post Stanley
-Jim
August 3rd, 2008 at 5:37 am
Jim:
Happy birthday. Thank you for sharing about your dream. I think it was your subconscious mind giving you a birthday present.
My thoughts are that your mind was “suggesting” to you that you reevaluate what you have done and where you are going, so that you do NOT feel that way when you hit your 30th birthday.
Basically, it’s giving you a wakeup “reminder” that you need to constantly work to push forward to achieve your goals.
Your subconscious mind was doing you a favor.
I also find it interesting that when we discussed the subject of dreams, that was apparently enough to prompt you to have a powerful dream that very night.
Stay in touch and let us know what you accomplish in the next several years. You may also want to read over the Laws of Positioning series, as it contains lots of great ideas to form your own blueprint of your future.
Stanley Bronstein
MrAchievement
August 3rd, 2008 at 6:25 am
[...] night before and within seconds a tweet appeared from Mr. Achievement, Stanley Bronstein about his blog post about his recent [...]
August 3rd, 2008 at 11:17 am
Jim, what an awesome birthday present you received! May the next ten years be fabulous for you–go rock the world!
August 4th, 2008 at 11:15 pm
I don’t see the interpretation of “your patience” in waiting for the waitress while your pie is being taken away. That is a mis-use of patience against your self.
August 5th, 2008 at 6:34 am
Gary:
It was DEFINITELY a mis-use of patience against myself. That is something I am learning to overcome, but still working on.
Stanley Bronstein
MrAchievement