Have you ever had a profound yearning that started in childhood and continues to motivate you as an adult?

Even if you dismiss it or ignore it, it keeps rising up because this wish is part of your soul.

Whenever you see a glimpse of this wish in the world, you will feel either a pang of sorrow for losing your commitment to it or a wave of inspiration for maintaining your dedication to it. I call these “nudges from your spirit”.

These nudges often show up as powerful symbols which remind you of your dream. They attract you, energize you and point you to your higher purpose. You will either notice these symbols or you will choose these symbols and endow them with personal meaning.

For example, if you have longed for a life of bold passion and saw the dragon as a symbol of that inner fire, then every time the dragon motif showed up (or whenever you chose to use that image), it would help you remember the bigger dream.

One of the most important symbols in my life arrived when I was eight years old, when I first saw the animated film “ The Last Unicorn”. In the opening montage, a unicorn kneels down to purify the water flowing from a fountain while the surrounding medieval hunters and forest creatures gaze upon it with awe.

(I later learned that this scene was based on a famous tapestry that is one of seven extremely precious works of medieval art known as the Hunt of the Unicorn or the Unicorn Tapestries.)

This eloquent image, along with the touching story and characters, became symbols of something profoundly beautiful that I could not articulate as an eight year old. However, I continued to keep the symbol alive in my heart and connected to it throughout my life.

Like this past spring, when I suddenly discovered a seller in Russia who was selling a consumer-level reproduction of the medieval masterpiece. My eight year old self was over the moon with delight.

(The originals were woven in the early 1500’s and only the wealthiest royal families could commission such fine works of art for their castles. In 2002, hand-woven reproductions of the Unicorn Tapestries were commissioned for the Sterling Castle in Scotland. That set took 13 years to complete and cost £2 million.)

After four months of delays due to the global pandemic, the tapestry finally arrived in my mailbox. Here is it hanging in my teaching space, where I hope future students will be able to enjoy it with me.

When Yearnings Come From Your Core

We may have cravings but those are not true yearnings. A true yearning comes from your heart and is a reflection of your soul’s deeper nature.

This heartfelt yearning is the longing for your sacred dream.

I define a sacred dream as: an exquisite vision that exists within you, even before you are conscious of it. It is a timeless aspect of who you are and reflects what you care most deeply about.

When you finally conceive of your sacred dream on a conscious level, your childhood self will nod and say: I have always loved or longed for THIS but I couldn’t name it or describe it!

These sacred dreams have been held in your heart since childhood, yet they may not become fully conscious or understood until adulthood.

For me, the medieval Unicorn has been a symbol of my sacred dream of the True, Good and Beautiful within Humanity’s soul. Even in my most cynical years, I held onto that dream and have committed my life to teaching it over the last 15 years.

This tapestry is now another reminder of my sacred dream and my mission to continue helping people find and express the True, Good and Beautiful within their soul.

During this era of great uncertainty, division and distraction, a symbol can remind us of the intangible beauty that we carry inside us, that we need to feel and express in tangible ways.

As Wayne Dyer said: “Don’t die with your music still in you”.

When we forget what is sacred and beautiful to us, we lose our motivation and direction. When we get scared, we get stuck in survival mode and waste our precious days focusing on meaningless tasks or unfulfilling goals. We end up living the “grind” instead of living the “dream”.

But we are not here simply to survive. We are here to love and find ways to honor what we love. We need to understand our higher purpose and express it. We will live with heavy regrets if we become shadows of our true self.

So, what interests or ideas have you denied or delayed due to various reasons, yet you are tired of those reasons?

In what ways are you censoring your voice, creativity and spirit even though you could inspire or help others through that expression?

These are the kinds of questions that I explore with my students and clients. These questions help to initiate awareness, which is the first step of a transformation.

With deep reverence for your life,

How I can help: If you are interested in finding your higher purpose, I would love to work with you! I invite you to book a complimentary 30-min “Dream Mapping” call with me so we can articulate your visions and see if the Sacred Dream coaching program is a fit for you.