Be brave enough to live your dreams

Like Matthew McCaughey says, you should ask yourself where you're going to be in 10 years from now. Work for it. And when you're there, look up to see yourself ahead of the next 10years. Keep working. Dreams don't work until you do. If this is a dream, who or what is dreaming it? Whomever or whatever it is, is very detailed oriented. This morning, I wish it was a dream, and I would wake up before 12 noon when I have to give a presentation for which I am not prepared. But reality is going to smack me in the face at 12. Hard. As far as those who think this is not reality and all a dream, they are in what we call mental institutions. So, yeah. It’s real.

According to the accepted definition of real, which is: “Reality is the sum or aggregate of all that is real or existent, as opposed to that which is only imaginary. The term is also used to refer to the ontological status of things, indicating their existence. In physical terms, reality is the totality of the universe, known and unknown”. The only dream you have as a devotee is to be reconnected with Krishna’s eternal pastimes.

You usually pursue something you like. But what ever you pursue, trust me, it will become boring. Anyway, then I met the Hare Krishna clans, and for the first time in my life I found something worth pursuing - something that didn't end in disease, old age and death. And the wonderful thing is that the more I pursue Krishna the more interesting and lovable He becomes. Krishna is like... never ending, and He allows you increasing awareness of His exquisite, lovable personality. The love we are always looking for is in Krishna, no doubt.

Anything else I had pursued, sense gratification, it always ended up getting boring. Even sex gets boring when you have enough of it. People are like mad after sex, but as soon as you get it, you have had it already, and its over. And then all you can do is wait for it again. It's like eating or going to the toilet, you just have to relieve yourself - it's simply a bodily necessity, and afterwards, after you've had it, it's nothing. Like, how many times have eaten yourself into a stupor and promised yourself - never again? Or after sex? You just want to get the hell out of there.

You live your dreams everyday. You might want to ask yourself. What thoughts are typically on the forefront of my mind? Do you tell yourself; “someday I will be happy, when I have this or that.” Or “If I date this person, I will finally be happy.” Or “If I make this amount of money, then I will be happy.” These are all projections of the future. So in the meantime, until you get, whatever it is you think you need to be happy, you won’t be. Moreover, when you do get what you desire, the “happiness” is usually short lived and then you find something else that you think you need in order to be fulfilled. It’s like being on a hamster wheel.

If you think you need is the key phrase here in essence, “what you think” is a big part of the dream or nightmare or the mediocrity in your life. These thoughts control how you see life. So if you see yourself as needing, this or that to be happy. That is the dream you will live. Moreover it comes from a place of lack. It is like you are saying I am not complete until I have this or that. so you end up living your life always feeling incomplete until you get this or that. And once you get it, the good feeling is fleeting at best. Then you are on to the next thing to “complete” you. Nothing will “make” you happy and complete you. You are already complete.

As the late Wayne Dyer says. “Your thoughts are your reality. Change your thoughts and change your reality….. You can change your thoughts about something in less than a second.” This may sound overly simple. But how you see yourself and the world is all in your mind. It may not seem this way, but you indeed have a choice on how you see things. Ever have an epiphany? It’s great example of how a perspective can change in a moment.

Krishna is not like that. Krishna just gets better and better. It's a demonstrable fact. All you have to do is apply yourself to the process - bhakti-yoga. Krishna says: I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds. Everything emanates from Me. The wise who perfectly know this engage in My devotional service and worship Me with all their hearts. (Bg 10.8).

The thoughts of My pure devotees dwell in Me, their lives are fully devoted to My service, and they derive great satisfaction and bliss from always enlightening one another and conversing about Me. (Bg 10.9). To those who are constantly devoted to serving Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me. (Bg 10.10) To show them special mercy, I, dwelling in their hearts, destroy with the shining lamp of knowledge the darkness born of ignorance. (Bhagavad Gita 10.11) Jay Shri Krishna!