Choices

QUESTION: When I have a choice between doing one of two things, like staying with a person or staying at a job, and not staying, how can I know which is the right choice to make?

ANSWER: There is no way to tell which is the "right" choice, because the future is not fixed, and future effects come out of future choices. However, you can get a good idea of what might happen if you make a choice based on current patterns of thinking and feeling.

1. Find some time to be quiet and alone and relax as deeply as you can. A simple way would be to spend at least one to five minutes looking at things or objects with lots of curves or circles.
2. Think of what you like about the current situation, and about what you don't like, for one to five minutes.
3. Now imagine two doorways to the future - one is for a future where you stay in the situation, and one is for a future where you don't stay. Each one will take you six months or one year or five years into the future; it's up to you. Imagine each door in great detail.
4. When you are ready, step through one of the doors and pay attention to what you see and how you feel. Then come back and go through the other door.
5. This will give you an idea of what may happen if patterns and habits in the present do not change. It is not a prediction, but a projection. It will give you information that will allow you to either change yourself, or change the situation. You still have to make the decision.

Dream Changing

QUESTION: In your classes you have stated that "if you can change your dreams, you can change your life." How do you do that?"

ANSWER: There are three effective ways to change your dreams in order to change your life (this does not include changing your life in order to change your dreams). These methods can be applied while you are asleep or awake, although for most people it is easier to do it while you are awake. The first thing you do is to recall the dream. Then you can apply one of these techniques: a) pick a point in the dream when you feel angry, fearful, or helpless, and use your imagination to change your reaction; b) pick a point in the dream and change the story so that it comes out the way you want it to; c) let the dream continue past the point where you woke up - this one may take awhile, but it will always resolve itself in a positive way if you stick with it long enough. In all three methods, the more sensory involvement (sight, sound, touch) and positive emotion you can add, the better the results. It works because when you change the memory of the dream, you are also changing the attitudes and expectations that gave rise to the dream in the first place.