top of page
Dreaming Wide Awake logo

"No one should negotiate their dreams. Dreams must be free to fly high. No government, no legislature, has a right to limit your dreams. Never agree to surrender your dreams." - Jesse Jackson

 

Dreaming Wide Awake is about learning to live in two worlds - the world where we are in competition with with one another, where money determines our value, and we are taught to be afraid to make mistakes. In this world, work is not supposed to be fun. It's just something we have to do to survive. Happiness, satisfaction, and self-awareness are beside the point. In addition, trying to share our dreams with others - to be different in any way - is seen as egotistical and delusional. "What makes you think you're so special?" the adults in my life used to ask me when I talked about wanting to become an artist. I was too young at the time to verbalize what I knew instinctively - that everyone is special with a unique path, purpose, and gift to contribute to our collective story.

​

In the second world, dreams are alive and well, and creative self-expression is encouraged. The goal of education is to help each child discover, develop, and share their one-of-a-kind gifts while learning to live in balance with other humans, the planet, and the web of life they share. If you are born dreaming wide awake, as I was, the whole notion of comparison, competition, and the need to perform to earn approval and the right to exist is both alienating and deeply painful. Dreaming wide awake means you are able to see and propose alternatives to the status quo, offer new ideas, and create beautiful stories that can teach, allay fears, and break down walls. Those who dream wide awake are hardwired to not only create but help others find their own creative outlets.

​

It has taken me most of my 69 years on the planet to figure out that what most people call the "real world," is actually a dream and a bad one at that. Rumi, the visionary 13th-century poet, Islamic scholar, theologian, and Sufi mystic said it best:

​

"This place is a dream.
Only a sleeper considers it real...

​and though we seem to be sleeping,
there is an inner wakefulness
that directs the dream,
that will eventually startle us back
to the truth of who we are
.” - Rumi

​

On this site you will see examples of some of the work I've done to startle myself awake. I hope you enjoy and benefit from it as much as I have and that you too will begin to dare to dream wide awake. I look forward to learning, creating, and sharing with you.

​

With Love,
Jena​

​

bottom of page