On Dreams, Visions and Positive Thinking…. aligning the Ant and the Elephant

The great enemy of the truth is most often not the lie, deliberate, dishonest, and underhanded, but the myth, persistent, persuasive and unrelenting.

We grow great by dreams. All big men are dreamers. They see things in the soft haze of a spring day or in the red fire of a long winter\’s evening. Some of us let these great dreams die, but others nourish and protect them; nurse them through bad days till they bring them to the sunshine and light, which comes always to those who sincerely hope that their dreams will come true.
~ Woodrow T. Wilson

Man can succeed at any number of things…even beyond our wildest dreams. But first a dream.

There is much in historical, biblical and extra biblical literature that supports the notion that a dream is primary in achieving success in our lives, however that may be defined. However, it is not the power that is within the dream itself to change the fate and future, it is the actions that the dreams inspire that produce the result. The conduit between the dream and the action is the thinking that the dream triggers in the mind. So at the end of the day, the dream, or the imagination triggers the thoughts, which lead to positive or negative action.

The extent to which the dreams become a reality will depend largely on the ability of the dreamer to think. A dreamer with poor, broken thinking, with no ability or desire to act can dream all day long, and will get no further than an adventurer in a rocking chair.

This is the utter failure of the \”Positive Thinking\”, \”The Secret\”, and \”Prosperity Movement\”

Good thinking is a prerequisite to dreams becoming a reality through action.

As a man thinketh in his heart so is he. Proverbs 23:7

Out of a mans thoughts come his actions

“Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”
Margaret Thatcher – \”The Iron Lady\”

I think therefore I am. – René Déscartes

There is an enlightening and accurate perspective on the subject in chapter 4, Alignment of \”Resolved – 13 Resolutions for Life\” by Orrin Woodward.

Among many other profound insights, Orrin quotes one by Jack Canfield:

You only have control over three things in your life – The thoughts you think, the images you visualize, and the actions you take.

It can be proven over and over again. When our thinking is directed towards positive and effective planning, inspired by great vision, dreams and imagination, our actions will follow.

When our thinking slips, our actions will do the same.

The brain is incredibly powerful, and yes, there is far more stimulus on the neurons in our subconscious (dreaming and imagination) activity than in our conscious (thinking and action) reality. Science has proven that the the subconscious, not the conscious mind is the prime mover of our thoughts by two million to one! Our conscious thoughts and observations stimulate 2,000 neurons, while our subconscious dreams, visions and imaginations stimulate 4 billion neurons, activating thoughts and actions that produce desired results. (Could this be the motivation behind the many subconscious subliminal images in the Secret DVD?)

Consequently, those without dreams, vision and imagination are doomed to mediocrity and as Thoreau states, \”Live lives of quiet desperation\”. Small wonder that the wisest man who ever lived said \”Without a vision the people perish (run naked, cast off restraint)\” Proverbs 29:18

In \”The Magic of Believeing\” Claude M Bristol writes about the first step to achieving success:

“creative forces come only when there is a completely rounded-out thought, when there is a fully developed mental picture, or when the imagination can visualize the fulfillment of our ambition and see in our mind a picture of the object we desire…”

\”This subtle force of repeated suggestion overcomes our reason. It acts directly on our emotions and our feelings, and finally penetrates to the very depths of our subconscious minds. It\’s the repeated suggestion that makes you believe.
~Claude Bristol, author of \”The Magic of Believing\”

Conversely, however, there is extreme danger in the idea that if one simply perseveres with the dream, and constantly applies positive energy to their lives, all evil will be negated and only good will result.

The \”secret\” according to Woodward, lies not the hidden or \”gnostic\” insight of the new age prosperity gurus, but rather in the skills required to rightly align the subconscious with the conscious mind, or as he puts it \”ending the civil war between the Ant and the Elephant\”

So as I see it there is a trichotomy here:

-No dreaming, no thinking, no action, no results.

-Dreaming, leading to positive thinking, dwelling without driving, no results.

-Dreaming (the stimulator of the subconscious mind), leading to positive, proactive thinking (the currency of the conscious mind), followed by stimulated, consistent action, leads to positive results.

Where the existential comes into play, and this is very important, is that the thoughts and actions stimulated by the dream are not always self evident. They become manifest in our actions, reactions, deeds and responses as our all powerful brain now begins to direct us towards the activities that will ultimately bring about the visualized result. So passages and promises in Scripture can be validated in reality without becoming mystical and metaphysical defying natural law. Psalm 37. Delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desire (dream, imagination, vision) of your heart.  Luke 14:13 and others \”You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father.. All of these imply some sort of change in the persons thinking. Delighting in the Lord requires a repentance from delighting in the world, and a renewal of thinking in terms of a lifestyle pleasing to God. Asking in Christ\’s name coincides with some other biblical prerequisites, i.e. \”not hiding iniquity in the heart\” \”glorifying the Father\”, asking \”according to His will\” and so forth. There is no room in solid hermeneutical examination for the \”name it claim it\” teaching prevalent in the current prosperity, positive thinking trend.

So, contrary to the proposal by adherents and promoters of The Secret, that success, wealth and achievement are available only through secret or exclusive information (gnosticism), it is and always has been freely available through oral and written biblical tradition. These Positive Thought and Name (or dream) It, Claim It gurus have simply packaged the old, old story in a very lucrative commercial package and made it appealing to those who are so hungry that they will swallow anything that may satisfy their craving for value, no matter the cost.

What I am writing of here is no secret at all. It is available to every single individual. The capacity for which each of us has to absorb and apply will depend on something that has remained the same over the eons. Hard work, smart work, over time. The capacity for the ability we have to accomplish two and three of this universal trilogy will depend on our capacity to identify, and repair broken thinking. Thus Paul in Romans 12:2 states \”Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God\’s will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will.\”

In FreedomShift, Oliver DeMille identifies the action it will take for the American Dream to become a reality in our lives once again. Presupposing the necessity for \”first a dream\” we can effectively accomplish the rest and fulfill our God given purpose by becoming voracious, discerning readers, pursuing entrepreneurial enterprise, and developing a tribal mentality. Read more on this in Oliver DeMille\’s \”Freedom Shift\” or get the CD here.

After decades of excellence in credibility and competency building in the area of personal development  in the 8 fundamental areas of quality life enhancement- FAITH, FAMILY FINANCE FITNESS FRIENDS FOLLOWING FUN AND FREEDOM, Orin Woodward and Chris Brady have emerged as world renowned Leadership Gurus.

So much for Dreams and Visions. What about Positive Thinking and the Law Of Attraction?

Look out for Part two shortly.