Whimsical Valley by Patrick Drysdale

Once upon a time... there was a town called Whimsical Valley. It was a theatrical place.  Everyone pretended to be different characters. They enjoyed playing roles for fun.

A man on one side of town imagined himself as knight in shining armor. A woman from across town idealized herself as a damsel in distress.  Their roles drew them together.  Others fancied themselves as heavenly messengers on a mission to save the world.

In the beginning, everyone relished playing a certain personality one day and something else the next. But, after a while, their amusement turned into monotonous drudgery. They would repeat the same roles.  By and by, the people of Whimsical Valley had performed their parts for so long that they started believing their starry-eyed roles. They found it harder to remove their disguises.  Eventually, their masks started sticking.

One day, a wise magician was passing through town. He saw people had trouble removing their masks.  So, he went to the local paper and took out an ad for a free demonstration of his Miracle Mask Remover. "No sticky sprays or messy powders," the ad read. "Guaranteed to remove masks with continued application."

Almost everyone in Whimsical Valley saw the ad, but only a few showed up. The magician sensed most had grown so accustomed to their masks that they no longer believed that they wore them. He knew they didn't think his presentation held anything in it for them.

On the night of the exhibition, he passed out free samples of the mask remover and instructions on how to apply it. He urged the attendees to become aware that they were acting from fictitious ideas about themselves.  He explained that they were too identified with the parts they played. "You've worn your masks for so long," he said, "that you don't even know you have them on anymore. But, if you practice these instructions everyday," the magician continued, "your masks will eventually fall off." Then, he vanished.

Some people felt the wise man had a good product but were unconvinced they wore false faces. They took their bottles home and never opened them.  They continued to act out the roles of their masks, all-the-while, believing they were being themselves.  Other people resented the magician suggesting they were someone other than who they thought. They spread rumors in Whimsical Valley that the magician was a fraud.

Yet, some of the people who attended the demonstration tried the mask remover. Most forgot to use it everyday because it was a new activity for them, but when they remembered, they applied the magician’s instructions. It wasn't until their masks started coming loose that they were even able to really believe that they wore them.

One by one, the brave people who practiced the magician's instructions took great delight in rediscovering their authentic features. Each one knew that this was the familiar appearance he used to know and felt nothing but gratitude for the wise man's visit. He had helped them return to what they originally were.

Interested in finding your authentic identity? Here are three simple rules:

1) There's nothing for you to do, only something to understand. It's important to remember your genuine features are mixed in with a lot of acquired identifications of what you think you should be. You are not your physical body, your personality, thoughts, feelings, home, career, bank account or any concepts that you may have about yourself. You are just as different from these things as you are from the clothes you put on in the morning. You may experience bursts of spontaneous singing. In short, your real tastes and personal identity will seem to emerge when you choose to see them.

2) Assume you already know everything there is to know about yourself. There's a lot more comprising your entirety than you realize. Thinking that you presently understand yourself is like gazing at the tip of an iceberg and taking for granted you've seen the whole thing. In actuality, most of what you do and say is determined unconsciously.  Most of our behavior, for example, has been learned by unconsciously imitating others. People are strange. It's as if we have an inborn mechanism that automatically makes us imitate anything we see or hear. Believe it or not, almost everything we do and say is because we've heard somebody else do and say it first.

3) Realize no person or situation stops you from experiencing who you are. Your innate self is something you can enjoy in this life right here on earth. It's a rediscovery of what you essentially are and not a rare occurrence reserved for a privileged few. It's an interior growth into spiritual maturity.  With patience and persistence, you'll start realizing who you are and what you're not. Understand that you don't need to start from anywhere than where you are.  No sincere effort on your part is ever wasted. Begin with the thought that having just a little bit of light leads to more light. It always does.

No one goes to a king and asks for a penny. Try applying this same principle to your inner life.  Boldly request to experience your genuine nature. Just dare a lot and you'll get a lot.

What now?

Each human being is in a constant state of becoming.  This includes you.  As you come to sense ongoing changes, you may ask yourself, what are you supposed to do about it?  Are you supposed to sit back and just let things happen?  Would you feel better going against the grain?  Would you be content somwehere in the middle?  Must you really decide at all?

If you take the stance your thoughts exist, period, then you begin to see how you condition yourself to approve or criticize them.  If you do nothing about your thoughts, resist reacting at all, you can stand back and observe how they flow in and out like the tide.  You decide which thoughts you will grasp onto and form into beliefs or let go.

Every thought in your mind has a place.  Each one is a form of energy.  Some thoughts are blocked. If you repress thoughts, this doesn't mean you forget them.  You simply remove them from conscious awareness until you're ready to work with them.  It can be helpful to remind yourself that your thoughts belong to you but they don't define you. 

People allow themselves to meander into murky realms of negative thought when they permit themselves to experience guilt.  The negative imagery you see hides the root causes or underlying feelings.  As you remind yourself guilt was also born as an opposite of compassion, you realize you have alternative ways of perceiving and sensing. 

What you do with free will begins with how you think.   You ask questions and also hold the answers.  What satisfies you next may require you explore motivation differently.

Re-awaken your inner child

Dreams live within us, but sometimes we forget what they are. To awaken or re-awaken your inner child is to give yourself back the freedom to explore the things that mean the most to you.  When was the last time you created an environment to just be you?

You may say, "adults do adult things." But, what does this mean? Are you often serious and focused? Do you allow yourself to smile? Do you hear echos of laughter that bubble up from within yourself? When did you last give your facial muscles a work-out?

Tapping into your inner self involves opening up to let feelings flow. In order to realize how you truly feel toward life situations, you need to experience them with your body and soul.  Dreams appear compatible with how you perceive yourself from inside. 

If you don't know your inner child, that innocent, loving part of you that is untainted by external influences, its less likely you'll uncover what truly means the most.  The reassuring thing is that anyone can become reaquainted with who they really are.

Act on your inner silence

Analysis on dream submitted by Maree in Melbourne, Australia.

Dream- I am in my body and then hovering above my body while it is moving.  I see myself seated in a circle with siblings, my sister's spouse, and two of my deceased grandparents.  I note a persian rug under our feet, my grandmother's black lace dress and shawl.  I'm unsure if the deceased are seen by anyone other than me.  I ask every other person present different things.  Each leans forward briefly, but none offered satisfying answers. When I stepped back out from the circle, into my inner silence, my grandparents looked over at me.   

Predominant Emotions- hesitation, contemplation, preparedness, spirited, trepidation

Interpretation-  The universe is always testing each one of us.  Since we each possess energy, we are the means by which the universe becomes aware of itself and by which we become aware of our true power.  You do this through silent reflection and elimination. 

You are beginning to realize why you have forgotten certain things about yourself and why the time is right to remember.  The guides you need to evolve may not be physically present where you are right now, but you need not confuse solitude with solitariness. 

You have consciously stepped to a new level of awareness beyond that of your immediate entourage.  This is nothing to fear. You have freed yourself from the vicious circle of situations that are incompatible with your soul.  Listen to that, not external disapproval.

As people bend forward, you're reminded of your eagerness to progress your way. As people return to their comfort zones, you have the option to step outside yours. Stop trying to shield yourself from what you assume is a harsh reality. Its not what you think.

Where most people are sitting, they represent your indecisive side.  You sense what you want to do already.  Its a matter of taking action.  Courage lies within. You may have this lucid dream to encourage you to rise above excuses you create to hold you back.

5 Steps of intuitive healing

Judith Orloff highlights 5 points which each of us can use to move beyond the limits of linear thought.  Rather than just following the status quo, it makes sense to consider what feels right, what resonates with you.  Take in what's meaningful.  Discard the rest.

1) Notice your beliefs- People engage in intuitive healing for varied reasons.  We aren't always aware of our beliefs.  We don't always grasp how we act to heal ourselves and others (or we resist).  To discern your beliefs and set issues aside, enables you to help others, and gain new life perspective.  To master beliefs requires transcending ego.  As you do your best to assist others learn their beliefs, you strengthen intuition.  Moving ahead means you feel good to encourage, empower and support, without taking credit.

2) Be in your body- Your intuitive experience guides you even when you're unaware.  Intuition is emotionless information which invites you to value where you are on a learning curve right now.  As you open your intuition, you open yourself to new dimensions and views.  If you get spontaneous intuition, you need to ask yourself whether its appropriate to share what you see.  Accurate feedback may reinforce the truth of your feelings or vibes, but you don't always have to do anything about them. 

3) Sense your body's subtle energies- Are you tuning into your physical body? Its unwise to go about your life intending to heal the whole world. That would be ego-driven and could be intrusive.  Helping everyone and everything is not respectful. Intuition is about picking up what is most accurate about someone.  Its like striking a chord, learning to trust yourself.  You learn when and where to open your mouth.  Its the art of diplomacy.  Having expectations will distort the information you seek from your intution.

4) Ask for inner guidance-This requires you get into a receptive mode and abandon analytical thinking.  You may close your eyes, go inward.  You can ask your intuition specific questions and wait.  You can learn to tune in and depend on your own inner voice.  Use the information you get wisely and sensitively. If you don't get good vibes about sharing it, then don't.  Keep quiet. You control the speed of incoming energy flow.

5) Learn to listen to your dreams- The non-linear, logical mind is out-of-the-way while you sleep.  This permits you to receive an influx of symbols and events without ego interference. If you choose, they can actually help to ground you.  Through practice, you can learn to identify how dreams shape your intuition, from areas of healing and general guidance, to premonitions and emotional issues worth attention.  Even teachers learn.