I’m starting over with Dream Book. Fresh new book. Re-doing all the pages.

I’ve always wished I could combine my planner with my Dream Book but that felt complicated… but during the Structure Habits Routines prompts I saw a way to do that. At least for the next 5 month until the end of the year, I can experiment with this.

THIS FEELS SO DAUNTING.

To re-start. To really sit with…. what do I want? Why do I want it? How will I feel when I have it?

I know these are the questions I sit with every week in the Dream Status Reports, but it feels different to start over and answer them FRESH, not working from what I already have figured out,

My dream is being the writer + artist I want to be.

(Of course I already am this. And of course there are still so many ways I want to do this.)

The heart of this doesn’t change, but some of the specifics of what this looks and feels like for me are changing. I do need a new Dream Page for this.

And, even though I have been doing this work so for long, it still feels sooooo vulnerable.

Like, I can’t believe all the ways my mind is trying to run from this.

So, let’s explore the resistance then.

Hey resistance, can we talk!

Sure! I mean no. Let’s go to the store and get milk and make coffee. 

Well, yeah I want to do that but I also really want to do this!! It feels like you are putting this off to go to that.

No I’m not. We’re sleepy! Some fresh air and coffee would really hit the spot!!!

OK, if I agree to go that, when we get back, you agree to work with me and start the new Dream Book?

Ugh. Well…. yeah ok. 

*

*

OK I am back. With coffee.

That little bit of fresh air and 1 cup of coffee have not magically transformed into a person who feels ready to do this. 

But I am showing up. But before I can start the Dream Book I need to set up the actual book...

First - the paper. I have this ultra heavy weight paper I used for my planner. I have to remember where I put that when I re-arranged my space….

Found it. Or rather, found ONE SHEET of it, with my other printer paper. Did I use it all? Put it in a special place?

NOT LETTING THIS STOP ME, going ahead with regular printer paper…

Hole punched… (I use the happy planner punch which can only punch a few sheets at a time, so this is a bit of an effort) (My planner is disc bound, so I can move and add pages very easily though, once properly punched) 

Removing the first 6 months of this year from my planner…

Arrrgh it all comes to a screeching halt.

Looking back through my planner there are so many pages I love! I want to take pics! I want to save this! I always add my planners to my stack of finished journals, I don’t want to rip this year apart.

WOW. OK. I did not anticipate this.

But actually there is room to add a bunch of pages, and if I run out of space in a few months I’ll figure that out then. I could always switch out the discs for bigger ones.

Added the new blank pages to the front of the planner….

Well holy fuck!!! Here is the rest of the heavy paper I was looking for!!!! I had already hole punched in and put it in here to use for journaling.

I ALREADY HAD EXACTLY WHAT I WANTED.

I HAD IT THE WHOLE TIME.

I want to laugh and cry.

Adding my thinner paper to the thick paper at the front of my planner…

I made 2 quick messy tabs - a rectangle of cardstock folded over, glued on, with “dream book” on one and “planner” on the other. Making nice tabs would be a fun creative project, but not today! It doesn’t have to be pretty! Let’s just do this!

Now I’m in the Dream Book classroom, going through the main checklist. Printing out the Dream Page, Dream Self Page (which includes the Project page) and Un-Sticking Station Page cutouts.

There is a printable for the Table of Contents, but I like to make my own.

Whew!!!! I DID IT.

I mean I haven’t done anything in my Dream Book yet, but I got ready to do it! So many little steps and so far my resistance hasn’t gotten in the way.

It’s just happily sipping coffee, watching me take all these steps.

Sitting here, holding this dream book/planner hybrid in my hands. Tons of blank paper to re-start everything about my Dream Book, the cutouts to get me started, my scissors and glue stick nearby, this feels amazing.

One more thing - the Year of Dreams 2023 planner had 1 page at the beginning with an incubator to put your BIGGEST dream for 2023 in it. I had put my income goal. This is no longer my biggest dream, or a dream at all, so I tore it up which was very satisfying.

AND making it in the first place, claiming the income I want for the year, that felt satisfying at the time too.

Nothing we do in this work has to stay true/relevant FOREVER.

We are alive! We get to grow and our priorities will enviably change as we do.

(There is this video on starting a new journal in Dream Book - when you have pages you are still working with in the old journal. What I'm doing now is re-starting completely, taking nothing with me for a fresh start. I've never done it this way before, but right now I am really feeling like I need a fresh start with everything.)

Dream Book members:

Come to the forum to share your thoughts or start a conversation about whatever you're working with. Or go to the Structure Habits Routines class (it's staying there so you can go through the prompts in your own time)

Get your next Dream Book lesson.

Go the Library of Creative Dream Alchemy to find a practice that fits for where you are or use the Dream Lab which is what I am using for my dream meeting drawings.

Check out the calendar of upcoming calls.