Two weeks ago, I shared this post on micro-dreaming to help me with imagination overwhelm. Having so much about the world needing to change while also dealing with the isolation of, well, so many things…
…the isolation of not feeling like I belong is one way I can put it to assume some responsibility and not having to blame it all on capitalism and modernity. Even though I truly thing these systems are to blame.
The process was as follows:
brain dump: think of all the things we want to change about our lives
create a list of 12 things that might be achievable in a week (realistically, given all the demands of life and your actual schedules and so on) I learn a lot about this from Lexi at Pretty Decent Internet Cafe
create another list of feelings you want to feel
a fourth list (I’m a Virgo, I like lists) of ways you can stop yourself. This some sort of pre-trouble shooting
make it fun, make it random maybe.
Here are my lists…
Things I want to change about my life: how my trauma gets in the way, how my family treats me, eating in more often, spending more quality time with my kids, be more dedicated to ritual and practice, write more (prolific is a word that brings so much up for me and I won’t use it), celebrate more in community, make space for myself to create, attune to what I want and how I want to spend my time, more ease around money.
Things that can be achievable in a week: eat in more, spend more quality time with kids, more dedicated to my ritual and practice, celebrate more.
How I want to feel: ease, love, joy, gratitude, honored, appreciated, held, received, listen to, have someone run their hands through my hair
How I might stop myself: borderline personality traits all/nothing, withdrawing to avoid conflict, thinking it’s not worth it, who will want to even read this, “I’m just an Egyptian woman with kids and that’s all I have to be” - I need to be grateful for what I have, there’s no point.
Experimenting with this, I did the following:
For the first week of June, I spent more time cooking at home and got a bit creative with it due to some financial constraints. I also spent more time writing.
June micro-dream 1: DONE
Feel more ease as I spend more time cooking for my kids and eating in
June micro-dream 2: DONE but part of a longer, bigger dream
Feel honored as I offer myself what my family of origin cannot offer me. This is more than a micro-dream but I did engage with it a bit more this week. During the first week of June, my siblings and mother weren’t kind to me and that’s a nice way of putting it. So I spent the second week of June away from them. To honor my eldest child’s wants, I let him go see my family and I pick him up when it’s time for him to leave.
Bonus dream: celebrate more! Share good news I received with community!
I’m part of the Spiral Journey Facilitator Development Program team! And it’s such an honor to join such wonderful humans on this journey doing, learning and living the Work that Reconnects
I received a fellowship to attend the Unexpected Shape Writing Academy (it’s been a dream of mine for a while now!)
I never shared this here but I’m also part of the Post Growth Institute Fellowship this year!
June micro-dream 3: in progress
Feel more held by my ritual and practice (and write about it) . We’ll see how that unfolds.
What are your micro-dreams for the next two weeks? Please share with me.
Finally, I would like to remind you that I’m holding a live cohort of the Not Yet Lab that starts THIS WEDNESDAY! It’s donation based and proceeds go to a displaced family in Cairo after covering my costs. Trades are also welcomed!