How to harness your fire energy.
A Dream-Maker's Guide to sparking ideas, burning outdated habits and igniting real change.
Maybe it’s this time of year. Maybe it’s more of a birth trait.
Whatever it is; I am a serial fire-starter.
In dream archetypes, the fire-starter is a powerful symbol that represents transformation, creation, rebellion, illumination and destruction.
My friend George Parker (check out George’s Dream-Maker Discussion here) says, ‘If it isn’t broke, break it’. I’ve always resonated with this idea. (This doesn’t mean that come Christmas morning, I see kids with their new toys and instantly break them! No, I usually wait until at least Boxing Day—ha!)
To me, it suggests not to get too comfortable with being too comfortable. That way leads to stagnation and boredom. Sure, we often tell each other that it is best to have a ‘secure’ job, but that sometimes leads to feelings of not living your dream life.
‘A salary is something an employer pays you to abandon your dreams’
See? I am a fire-starter! Shaking things up, burning old ideas down and giving space for new ideas to grow. The very act of creation begins with fire energy and ends when the fire has burned out. A symbol for our own lives.
You’re thinking, ‘Uh-oh, Jay’s drunk the Kool Aid!’ Not quite (or, rather, not yet!).
Instead, I want to pass onto you for your consideration, the idea of turning up the dial on your own fire-energy.
This time of year, with the sun shining and the long days, I find it easier to really let my creative ideas flow. Not all of them spark and many don’t even get a second glance. But having the mindset and creating the right environment for ideas to spark into life and be acted upon, is key to living the life of a dream-maker.
Not sure where you might start? Here’s some ideas from my own life as a creative arsonist!
Fire Starter. Yes, the first idea is to actually start. Sounds obvious, but the term isn’t ‘fire-delayer’ or ‘fire-waiter’. No, it is about really starting creative fires. Use the heat of long summer days to transform your own energy into fire: dream up the idea, start the project, send the pitch, build the team, plot the ‘disruption’!
Burn the old. (Caveat: Not literally! Do not start throwing matches at old folks, especially if they’re lit—the matches, not the old peeps.) Burning is a healthy ritual to let an idea, project, habit or past belief that no longer serves you, disappear from your life. Write it down, set fire to the paper (in a safe and controlled environment) and as it turns to dust, let it go. This allows you to make room for what’s next. So, if you have too much on, too many plates spinning, consider saying goodbye to those that no longer serve you and let the fires consume them (insert maniacal evil laugh here).
Let the heat speak! Fire energy is about passion, and this applies equally well in not only your actions and creativity, but also in your communication. So, don’t hold back. Say it as you mean it. Speak your truth. This saves a lot of time in the long run. People will also get behind your idea if you can communicate it clearly and with passion.
Move, baby, move! Fire moves constantly. Watching fire can be deeply hypnotic. We have many open fires in our home and for years hosted fire-pits in our garden (with a marshmallow sacrifice). Friends would come and sit around the fire. After the energy of the people burned down, they would be silent, hypnotically watching the dancing flames. Therefore, embrace movement. Channel your physical energy into intention and action. Dance while thinking, dreaming or scheming. Ideas love movement!
To finish, here’s the tough one which I had to learn the hard way: Fire ultimately burns itself out. It is vital as a serial dream-maker to prioritise rest, have healthy boundaries and learn when to say No. I used to try and do every idea I dreamed up and ended up deeply unwell. Nowadays, I maintain a sharp focus on what really ignites my creative spirit and use my energy to make that dream happen as opposed to starting fires everywhere!
One particular ‘fire’ I started five years ago is almost reaching its end point. I have been writing and illustrating the life’s work of a wonderful magician called Just Alan, who combines beautiful magic with his Zen-like philosophy and worldly travels. With around 100,000 words and 100 drawings explaining his magic, I have recently started a Register of Interest for magicians who may like to acquire one of the limited Collector’s Editions of this book upon publishing. If this project appeals to you, please click here and register today.
So, as we pass the longest day, I invite you to begin harnessing your own fire energy as you pursue your latest dream. Just make sure you give yourself time to rest and renew and don’t burn out!
Back with your next Feel-Good Friday Fortune Fix in a Fortnight! If you enjoy reading The Dream-Maker’s Manifesto and know of friends who might too, please share this.
Until next time, keep burning with passionate creativity,
Jay.
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Great article. It may sound counter intuitive to a lot of people, especially those who are all about preservation, protection and safety. The danger of being just on that page is that the discovery of something new and as a result growth stops. In the worst case it leads to conflict and wars because you’re not willing to let go of what was in service of a new, emerging reality that is out of the ‘box’ of the old reality. Nature cycles through creation and destruction in different rhythms of course. Of course we have a hard time to disrupt our habits in order to renew ourselves and feel alive (again). So we need disruptors and fire starters to help us.
In Hindu philosophy they even imagined three gods for this process: Brahma (creation), Vishnu (preservation) and Shiva (destruction). It has never been explained more clearly than our dear friend and mentor Eugene Burger did in his famous act: https://youtu.be/Xh2r-vuNAM0