Midlife Dreamscapes

A Dream Interpretation Dictionary for Insight and Guidance: Exploring the Wisdom of Metaphorical Dreams and Symbols to Uncover Life’s Hidden Messages for Personal Growth

By: Lee Marcotti

Narrated by: Beth Shelly

Creating ideas is driven by imagination and we can use what we recall in our dreams and memories of past events to imagine the future. Interestingly enough, we can be the most imaginative when our minds are quiet or idle. Neuroscientists have found that our brain has a ‘default’ mode to contemplate the future when our mind is unoccupied. That is why taking the time to meditate is so powerful. Even though daydreaming has a lousy reputation, neuroscientists are discovering that a wandering mind benefits our health. For some, meditation can be a struggle. Sitting down, relaxing with eyes closed, doing absolutely nothing, our minds wander to our to-do list waiting patiently for us to complete. We might try hard to empty our minds and turn off the outside world, but our brain never rests. Contrary to popular belief, those often-spontaneous daydreams are beneficial and valuable. For many years, neuroscientists thought that our brain works hard only when given a specific task and then turns off when we are not mentally stimulated. However, our brain is still quite active even when idling, and those daydreams create memories of events that have not yet happened. When our mind is left to wander or daydream, it often focuses on the future rather than the present moment. In other words, our brain is designed to contemplate the future whenever it finds itself idle or inactive. Discovering more about our resting state can change how we look and feel about our brains. For example, we all know how hard it can be to empty our mind as we begin our meditation practice, for example, and how our mind wanders. And while we can gently bring our minds back to our breath, the emerging images that arise can be beneficial. That is why we should not be too hard on ourselves when this happens. The brain is doing what it was meant to do, even if it prevents us from finishing a task on time or getting distracted for a few moments. We should celebrate the virtues of our idle minds.

©2023 Lee Marcotti (P)2023 Lee Marcotti