Power of Dream ~How to Meet a Dinosaur?~

When you were little, what did you dream? When you recall your dream what do you discover yourself? Are you excited or unexcited?

Moshe Feldenkrais, the pioneer of Feldenkrais Method mentioned how important for us to have a dream and utilize our imagination in order to become a self-directed learner which is one of elements of this method.

Until my little son started to love dinosaurs, I didn’t even think why people including kids and adults are so attracted by them. But by listening to my son’s questions such as “how big is dinosaur?” or “Is he still alive?” when I read the picture book and encyclopedia of dinosaur to him, I started to notice he dreams to meet dinosaurs. His dream has been inviting him to be more curious by utilizing his imagination such as who dinosaur is, which dinosaur is the biggest and strongest one, what kind of food they eat and how fast they can run etc...

I recently watched the documentary of Susan Hendrickson who is an American explorer and fossil collector. During her interview, she recommended kids to follow their dream by trusting intuition because she always follows her instincts and is truly living in the moment when she is doing her work. She also said she loves the thrill when she finds something new like a 4-yr old an egg hunt. That’s her passion in life to look and find things. By listening to her inner voice, she discovered one of the most complete skeletons of Tyrannosaurus in 1990.

This documentary as well as my son’s curiosity about dinosaurs have invited me to understand how the power of dream facilitates us to become a self-directed learner. During my recent Zoom ATM lesson, my participants performed the lesson with imagination only on one side of their arms after they completed physical movement on another side. Many of the participants were surprised how they discovered the changes in their body with only imaginary movement.

The power of dream forms our imagination. Why don’t we utilize the power to make a step to become a self-directed learner to feel, move and live our life better?

Reference: Anat Baniel (2009). Move into life. Imagination and dreams – Create your life. P206. Harmony Books.