Do you dream your life? Or do you live your dreams? How much of your reality is imposed upon you? And how much of your intention is imposed upon your reality?

We all live in a three-dimensional physical world that’s full of things like news and cars and careers and social lives. Sometimes it can seem like the default world is constructed in such a way that we have little choice in our activities.

But the fact is, you inhabit a universe of choice that offers you a new direction every moment. Your current situation, no matter what it is, is the aggregate sum total of all of the millions of choices you’ve made up to this moment, whether they be big or small.

It’s almost like you have two dimensions of existence, and the life you create depends on how you help them dance together. On one plane there’s everything around you or outside you or beyond you in the world that you can put your attention on, and generally the more time and energy you focus on the externals the less your real goals and desires will manifest.

On the other inter-dimensional plane of existence lies your internal intentions and consciously chosen goals and direction. This area of your life requires that you to carve out time and make space for it. You get to direct your intention in such a way that the universe listens and opens doors of opportunity.

Some of you may be familiar with time management tool known as the Eisenhower Matrix, something I was just describing to one of my one-on-one clients last week. It’s a simple four-quadrant grid for the main categories of your day-to-day activities. In the first quadrant on the upper left are things that are important and urgent, like a crying baby or a flat tire. In the third quadrant on the lower left you put things that are urgent but not important, like interruptions from co-workers. The fourth quadrant on the lower right is where things that are both not important and not urgent go, things like scrolling your social media feed or binge watching Netflix, things you might well choose to avoid altogether.

It’s the second quadrant on the upper right where you have to push back on the world to carve out time in order to make the magic happen. This is the all-too-often neglected area of important but non-urgent activities. If you think about it, the things that are the most important to you in the big picture are rarely urgent. Things like exercising, finishing your book, writing a business plan, or working on your screenplay.

The other three quadrants will fill up every available second of your time, that’s just the way the world works. There is never a lack of things to react to or be distracted by. So to achieve your biggest goals in life, you have to intentionally set time aside to make progress on the big picture things that are important to you, but so easily back-burnered.

This all comes to mind today because of a series of novels I’m currently engrossed in. I like to spend the last hour or so of my day away from screens, turning the pages of a good book. A daily dose of narrative fiction is like a vitamin for the soul, scientific studies have even proven that our capacity for empathy and emotional intelligence is enhanced by it.

The author I’m reading has an inspiring story beyond the books. You might well be familiar with Gay Hendricks and his prolific output on personal development, relationships, and healthy living. But what you may not know is that several years ago he decided to shift gears and pursue a life-long dream of writing noir fiction in the hard-boiled tradition of Damon Runyon or Raymond Chandler. However Gay’s tales are original crime stories with a higher consciousness twist.

The series I’m working my way through is called the Tenzing Norbu Mysteries, stories of a misfit Tibetan Zen monk turned Los Angeles private eye (“dharma detective”). In “The Second Rule of Ten” there is a passage where he’s describing his belief system about the two planes of existence and how we create our lives in the realm where these dimensions overlap.

These Chandler-esque novels of suspense with clever keys to conscious living baked into them are brilliant in their own right, but the bigger picture can be a lesson to us all. Gay is a personal friend of mine, and witnessing him pursue his dream to pivot from self-help writer to noir novelist is more than inspiring, it’s proof positive that you can dream your life and live your dreams.

He recently told me that Netflix has picked up the rights to produce the Tenzing Mysteries, and believe me, this is one series I’ll be happy to binge on! It feels great to celebrate his success and share this with you — may this be a springboard to your own evolution.

I trust this tale finds you in good spirits at the start of your week, have fun dancing your dreams into reality in your second quadrant of desire!

M+

Mark Metz
Director of the Dance First Association
Publisher of Conscious Dancer Magazine

DANCE FIRST MEMBER SPOTLIGHT – Adam Barley

This week’s Dance First member spotlight shines on Adam Barley, one of the 5Rhythms world’s most well-loved and well-traveled ambassadors.

Having gotten his start following the footsteps of Gabrielle Roth in her early days of training teachers, Adam dove in feet first and branded his practice with his own signature style and level of enthusiasm.

From his home base in the UK, he maintains an energetic itinerary and an active calendar leading workshops at home and abroad. Look through the event list below, and you’ll see him touching down all over the map — Dubai, Brussels, Warsaw, Berlin, Toronto, Boulder, the list goes on and on.

Known for bringing a powerful masculine energy to the field, Adam is one of the foremost 5Rhythms teachers traveling the world today. He’s also renowned for his deep musical knowledge, and his enthusiasm for sharing the art of music curation with others.

We’ve been happy to include Adam in the Dance First community since we featured him in Conscious Dancer magazine back in 2011.

Be sure to look for Adam’s workshops on the MoveMap and make a point to attend one if 5Rhythms is your flavor and he’s coming your way.

Thank you so much for all your hard work and kind participation Adam! Dance First is behind you all the way, we appreciate you carrying the Conscious Dance torch high around the world!

Visit Adam Barley’s website to learn more!