Do you daydream?

When I was young, I used to daydream a lot. I remember lying on the grass, daydreaming about the clouds and the stories that the shapes of the clouds created in my mind. I also remember getting in trouble at school, for gazing out the window, thinking of something more pleasant as the teacher droned on about dangling participles. Daydreams are an important magic that your mind creates that allows you to see in a different way.

Daydreaming for me is still a short escape from my surroundings, during which I capture a visionary fantasy, usually one of happy, cheerful thoughts, hopes or ambitions, which I have pictured as coming to pass.

Children should be encouraged to daydream, I believe it is great for your soul as well as your mind. Daydreaming, I think, allows me to stay on task, even when I am focused on many things. New research suggests that if you are able to daydream and keep your focus on other tasks you probably have a strong working memory. Allowing your mind to wander and to daydream is giving your working memory a workout.

One sign of reaching understanding, other than auras, ringing bells, and a restorative touch, is that you start appreciating quiet daydreaming as much as you appreciate planning.

Another is that you begin speaking kindly not only to flowers and trees but to automobiles, toasters and other machines.

And, for some reason, you feel gratitude for your current problems and challenges, and compassion for those who don't understand that they need service in their work.