SOURCE OF ALL BLESSINGS,
you bless us with dreams —
dreams while we sleep and dreams
in our most wakeful moments.
May I be responsive to both forms
of dreams and pass these blessings
on by living a life that is faithful to
their guidance.
Sense how it feels to honor our dreams, intuitions, and visions. When we pay attention to the wisdom that is available to us through more subtle realms and senses, our perception of reality, and therefore what is possible, opens and expands.
“May this patchwork quilt of blessings help to sharpen your taste for the gift of life in its innumerable facets,” Br. David writes. “May you grow ever more blessed, ever more able to bless.”
Should you be inspired, please leave a reflection below…
Enjoy the full eight-day Summer Blessings II practice series.
Br. David Steindl-Rast, OSB
Brother David Steindl-Rast — author, scholar, and Benedictine monk — is beloved the world over for his enduring message about gratefulness as the true source of lasting happiness. Known to many as the “grandfather of gratitude,” Br. David has been a source of inspiration and spiritual friendship to countless leaders and luminaries around the world including Desmond Tutu, the Dalai Lama, Thich Nhat Hanh, Thomas Merton, and more. He has been one of the most important figures in the modern interfaith dialogue movement, and has taught with thought-leaders such as Eckhart Tolle, Jack Kornfield, and Roshi Joan Halifax. His wisdom has been featured in recent interviews with Oprah Winfrey, Krista Tippett, and Tami Simon and his TED talk has been viewed almost 10,000,000 times. Learn more about Br. David here.
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Thank you for today’s reading/ inspiration. I need that reminder to focus on my intuition and my dreams both awake and asleep.
I’ve struggled to envision dreams as blessings. And through those struggles, I’ve come to realize by way of the Holy Spirit that they are indeed blessings. They are God’s manifestations to bring us to His reality, His existence, and His presence, and ultimately to our seeing, hearing, and even feeling senses. He utilizes our dreams as a manner of instilling needed change in one’s heart, mind, and soul. And we begin to change to the good when we pause to listen to Him. I’ve come to learn and accept the reality that the uncomfortable, alarming, and scary dreams I may have endured in the midst of the night are not so bad after all, but a revelation that a loving God is trying to reach out to me to whisper in my ear to redirect my ways of thinking, to turn to prayer, and above all, to let me know that I’m never alone for He is always with me! I look forward to good dreams and I will not be deterred by bad ones, for both are true blessings from a loving God who is eternally preventing me from going astray! I am grateful to be able share these thoughts with you as I sincerely wish you an abundance of blessed dreams in your unique personal journeys!
I wish I felt refreshed, but the weight is heavy today. I don’t know why life’s traumas are so randomly appointed or thrown about in certain places. I’m grateful only for gratefulness.
Earlier, I had written and submitted a lengthy reflection on dreams as a blessing and eventually deleted it in error. Rather than trying to reconstruct and resubmitting it, I have chosen to respond to your submission. Like Cheryl, my heart too, was touched by your entry, Two Bible verses come to mind: “Come to Me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30), and “Bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:2). Please know that my prayers are with you and my dream and vision for you is for you to feel better!
Thank you for thinking of me and sending comforting words.
Barb, your entry touched my heart. Lay down your burdens. Life is traumatic at times- sometimes, oftentimes. The practice of gratefulness will continue to open your heart to the healing that you desire. I wish you every good thing. Hang in there. I hope these words are only encouraging to you.
Thank you. I appreciate your kindness.
I confess that I dream rarely — awake or asleep. But this meditation inspires me to pay more attention.
I have been pondering lately about a truth and reality that is so profound my mind can’t really encompass it. That is that everything in my life, in the world about me, in the universe is a miracle and a mystery. I look at the simplest thing like a flower or a tree, I wonder how does this grow? Now we have all the science and biology, but that doesn’t explain why things are the way they are, why does something start from a seed and become as huge and marvelous as the live oak tree in my backyard.? The interconnectedness of everything is a holy mystery. These thoughts are part of my renewed understanding of God as in a way but hardwiring undergirding reality. The ocean and intentional field of gravity/attraction/inter connectivity love which permeates all and out of which all arises, how can I not feel blessed beyond words to express.
https://poets.org/poem/miracles
“Miracles” A poem by Walt Whitman
Inspirational sharing! Thank you!
Truly feeling grateful for those times when intuition and dreams touch me, present themselves and over-ride my obliviousness. I wear an OM pendant as my go-to jewelry. On my last morning on a beloved island, only my second trip there after my husband’s death, I literally stumbled on one rock, of the thousands on the beach, w/a weathered barnacled pattern in the OM shape, with a barnacled ‘c’ on the backside, my initial. In those moments, something truly beyond breaks through, and I am left with the signature reaction of gratitude: breathlessness, and a heart that has dissolved all borders and boundaries. Thanks for this lovely reminder that “Biden or unbidden, God is present.” And we are blessed
I was so happy and inspired by today’s blessing. I’m presently taking a course in intuitive healing, so it felt especially pertinent to me. I realise how much trust one needs to follow our dreams and intuitions, but by opening our minds and. heart, we can truly experience life in all its many beautiful ways, knowing that we are held and loved.
Blessings and sweet dreams to all.
after i read this mornings gratitude entry i thought about (and have been thinking about often) an experience i had recently on my first trip to Ireland….while visiting the Uragh Stone the most amazing thing happened…the entire universe spoke to me….the past and the present…it took away my fears of death and i felt so at peace….i really felt connected and lifted and holy. It seemed like people from many centuries were speaking to me with their energy and wisdom, making me feel safe and free and fearless. I have never felt anything like it before, and there really aren’t words because it was sensory and somatic…my practice now is to bring back that feeling especially if something unnerves me or upsets me and go to that safe and heartfelt and uplifting place in my body.
Write about it! Such a wonderful blessing and experience. I had a similar experience when I visited my grandmother’s unmarked grave.
Thanks for sharing that uplifting experience.
What a wonderful experience to treasure and saviour! Thankyou for the inspiration., Ogden.
xoxo
Ogden, thank-you for sharing your beautiful experience! It makes me think of Shakespeare’s quote, “There are more things in heaven and earth, then are dreamt of in your philosophy”. Many blessings to you.☮
why thank you! have a beautiful day!