In our small community of six, we have a January custom of sharing our vision for the coming year which we did this evening.
When I was growing up, life seemed to get fired at me point blank, and it just had to be dealt with on the spot. I lived in a dramatic household; emotions could run high and voluble, and behaviour was moodily unpredictable.
I never had any experience in creating vision plans, but I did have a lot of daydreams.
When I walked onto the yoga stage – a 10 week YMCA beginners course – I was touched and inspired by my teacher, and I started to think, “I’ll have what she is having.” I was longing to enjoy some of the peace she emanated.
I think I began to create a vision that I wanted to make real, but I didn’t have any idea of how to do it, how long it might take, or even if I could.
Yoga is an excellent path to walk to manifest your dreams of who you want to be and what you want to make of your life.
Following the precepts and philosophy seems to be the key, but it doesn’t mean you have to be on the straight-and-narrow or even that you necessarily have a timeline. You just keep one foot in front of the other, even when you go backwards at times, and meander off the path from time to time. You’ll get the result according to the effort you put in.
That’s why practice is all-important, as the tapas – the discipline – will shape your dream and make it real. Nineteenth century poet, author, philosopher Henry David Thoreau said it well:

You cannot dream yourself into a character: you must hammer and forge yourself into one.