Daydreaming about Waltzing in Old Vienna 

Meditation usually involves discipline.  For example, in a Breath Meditation we concentrate on our breaths.  If our mind wanders to something else, we are instructed to gently bring it back to our breathing.  In a Meditation of Contemplation, we focus our eyes and mind on some one thing, perhaps a pretty seashell, deeply and repeatedly perceiving it from all angles.  

But before sleeping at night and right after waking up in the morning, I prefer to let my mind wander in a reverie or daydream. Then, as my mind strolls along, I gently set aside my negative thoughts and memories.  I set each negative thought aside by replacing it with a positive one.  (Of course, this replacement may only last for the duration of my reverie, but that’s okay. “One day, at a time… one reverie at a time!”

At night, this practice of daydreaming first calms and relaxes my mind.  Then, some image will arrive that is clearly unreal — a fictional place, a stranger I’ve never met.  If the image is positive, I let my mind run with it… and I enter sleep, the realm of dreams.  This is a good thing, of course, because sleep is necessary, and dreams are healthful, for all of us.  If the image is negative, I replace it with a positive if I am still awake enough to do it.  Of course, in full sleep we all sometimes have “bad dreams.”  

Upon waking in the morning, I again gently set aside negative memories and also negative fears about the coming day.  I let all my positive images run on — they set up a positive attitude for my day.  Toward the end of my morning reveries, my positive daydreaming often turns into practical, constructive plans for my day. 

Daydreaming at odd times during the day can accomplish the same thing — resting the mind and letting it run in creative directions.

    — J.X. Mason, Continuing Creation Blog of 2-15-22. “Look for me on the Web!”