A shopping mall in a dream is the very best symbol for an environment which is the exact opposite of jail. Prison is about lack of opportunities, lack of control, lack of choice, lack of power, lack of “freedom”. Malls, on the other hand, are about an abundance of opportunities, abundance of choices, abundance of power to do as you wish.

When I think of the difference between prison and malls, I think of the dark & cement conditions in jails contrasted to the bright & sunny atmosphere in malls. I think of the limited way a small group of men are forced to share a small space with one another contrasted to the variety of space and comfort in a mall.

Jails are cold. Malls are warm. Jails are dark. Malls are bright. Jails have only the very basics in food & hygiene products available. Malls have every food choice imaginable and anything you could ever need for health & well-being.

So when an inmate dreams of a mall I take notice. Essentially, the dream is reminding the dreamer that even in the most controlled & negative environments, we still have choices. We choose how we think, how we feel, how we experience the day. The problem with living in a real prison is that the negative force is so powerful it really can zap the energy right out of you. The key to keeping an open and free mind, even in this kind of environment, is being able to visualize positive potential even if there is no evidence of it in the present moment.

People who remember their dreams have the ability to visualize well. When we hold a positive vision in our minds, even as we endure an external challenge, then we very well may be able to create in our surroundings the image we hold in our minds.

Regardless, when we hold a positive image in our mind of where we are going or where we want to go in life, then we are much more likely to be able to make it happen. The best part is, we don’t have to wait until some future date. We can start today. Start now. We can do one small thing today which urges on forward in the direction of our dreams. We can do that. And when we do then we will be creating in our outer enviroinment the very thing which we hold tightly to in our minds.

The vision comes first. Then the action next. This is one of the reasons why Dreamwork is so effective – because dreams give us positive visions for where we want to go. They help us see things that we hadn’t taken notice of before. They help us to open our eyes to new possibilties and this is what Mall Dreams are about.

Being in a positive state of mind. Releasing that in any given moment we have a choice about what we do and where we go and what we say and how we say it. We do have complete control over our own lives and the way we react to the situations which show up in our lives. No, I’m not saying we can control everything. That wouldn’t even be advisable. In fact it’s the opposite. We want to surrender to our life circumstance and then have the Empowerment and Strength to live in our life circumstance in the best way possible. That is where we find our Empowerment, when we stop thinking of ourselves as a victim and start seeing ourselves as helpers of victims. We can turn our whole lives around with this simple flip.

When we shop, we have an image in mind of what we want, such as a new jersey, and then we look around for the right size, right team, right colours, right price. When we find the right combination of factors then we buy the thing right? Right. Well, this is an excellent way to think about moving forward with positive volition. Have an idea in mind of what you want for your Self and those you love. Then move forward in life, confident that you will find what you seek, and have the Determination to strive for the vision until it is achieved.

Now, I’ll just add one small caveat to this approach. You know how when you’re shopping and you see something on the rack which looks like it’s exactly what you wanted but then you try it on and it just doesn’t fit right – too small in the shoulders, or too long at the waist, whatever it is, you realize it’s not the right fit for you. This happens in life too. Sometimes, when the thing you are going for brings disappointment then it’s time to change the vision. Keep the approach – but change the vision. This is sometimes hard to do because we tend to get attached to the image of what we want and we can get dispppointed easily when it doesn’t happen. But the disappointment is a sign that the vision needs to change, expectations need to be lowered. It’s hard to do at first but gets easier with time.

So that is all that I wanted to say about shopping dreams. Cheers.