UTLOYD Discussion and Study Guide€¦ · CHAPTER NINE ... people who desire to read and discuss...

UNCOVERING THE LIFE OF YOUR DREAMS

AN ENLIGHTENING STORY

Discussion and Study Guide

Based on Bruce D Schneider’s Book


Copyright © 2018 Bruce D Schneider & the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching (iPEC) 1

UNCOVERING THE LIFE OF YOUR DREAMS: A Study and Discussion Guide

Contents INTRODUCTION–FACILITATOR NOTES ................................................................................ 3

NOW: SETTING THE STAGE...................................................................................................... 6

SIX MONTHS EARLIER: SCOTT’S JOURNEY ......................................................................... 7

CHAPTER ONE ............................................................................................................................. 8

CHAPTER TWO ............................................................................................................................ 9

CHAPTER THREE ...................................................................................................................... 10

CHAPTER FOUR ......................................................................................................................... 11

CHAPTER FIVE .......................................................................................................................... 12

CHAPTER SIX ............................................................................................................................. 13

CHAPTER SEVEN ...................................................................................................................... 14

CHAPTER EIGHT ....................................................................................................................... 15

CHAPTER NINE .......................................................................................................................... 16

CHAPTER TEN (Portal of Awareness) ....................................................................................... 17

CHAPTER ELEVEN .................................................................................................................... 18

CHAPTER TWELVE (Awareness, Revisited)............................................................................. 19

CHAPTER THIRTEEN (Portal of Acceptance) ........................................................................... 21

CHAPTER FOURTEEN .............................................................................................................. 23

CHAPTER FIFTEEN (Acceptance, Revisited) ............................................................................ 24

CHAPTER SIXTEEN ................................................................................................................... 26

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN ............................................................................................................ 27

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN................................................................................................................ 28

CHAPTER NINETEEN (Portal of Knowing) .............................................................................. 29

CHAPTER TWENTY .................................................................................................................. 31

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE (Knowing, Revisited) ..................................................................... 32



CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO ........................................................................................................ 36

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE .................................................................................................... 37

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR (Portal of Presence) ...................................................................... 38

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE ........................................................................................................ 40

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX (Presence, Revisited) ........................................................................ 41

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN .................................................................................................... 43

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT (Portal of Freedom) .................................................................... 44

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE........................................................................................................ 48

CHAPTER THIRTY ..................................................................................................................... 49

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE (Freedom, Revisited) ........................................................................ 50

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO .......................................................................................................... 52

NOW: SCOTT FREE ................................................................................................................... 53

SUMMING UP ............................................................................................................................. 55

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES...................................................................................................... 56



INTRODUCTION–FACILITATOR NOTES

A. PURPOSE OF THE DISCUSSION GROUP:

The purpose of this discussion group is to provide structure for a gathering of like-minded people who desire to read and discuss the concepts put forth in Uncovering the Life of Your Dreams. This will serve as a platform for sharing ideas, feelings, and insights on the material in an open, non-judgmental setting.

B. SETTING UP THE DISCUSSION GROUP:

In terms of logistics, it is the responsibility of the facilitator to make all the necessary arrangements for the discussion group. There are a number of important factors to consider:

1. Who will participate in the discussion group?

• If this is a company-driven initiative, the organization may provide a list of people who will participate. In other cases, the facilitator may need to generate interest in the group independently through some type of marketing strategy.

• Social media is a great way to get the word out with little to no cost, as is networking or partnering with local entities.

2. How many participants?

• The number of participants is flexible. However, keep in mind that there should be enough people in the group to provide an interesting variety of comments, but not so many people that the discussion becomes unruly.

• As a general guideline, consider having 5 to 15 participants in the discussion group. 3. When and where should the discussion group meet?

• When and where the discussion group meets is critical to the success of the group. The time and place have to be relatively convenient for all of the participants in order to ensure their attendance.

• In the case of a company-driven initiative, the company or organization may offer to have the discussion group on the company premises during working hours or lunch break. If the group needs to meet after working hours, consider setting the first meeting at a specific time and location. Query the group to determine, going forward, the best times and places to meet. Ideas for meeting places can include: company meeting rooms, public libraries, restaurants, and coffee houses.



4. How often and for how long should the discussion group meet?

• How often the discussion group meets is flexible.

• The discussion can focus on one chapter, or several, depending on how many times the group is meeting. The book contains 33 chapters of varying lengths and complexity. Look at this guide and decide which chapters you can combine and which to discuss on its own.

• The length of each meeting is flexible as well, however, a good rule of thumb is 90

minutes. When deciding on the duration of the meeting, consider the number of participants. If the group is very small, 60 minutes may suffice. If it’s a larger group, 2 hours may be needed.

5. Does everyone have a copy (or access to a copy) of Uncovering the Life of Your

Dreams?

• If this is a company-driven initiative, the company may provide copies of the book to all participants. If this is not the case, then it is important to make sure that participants know where to purchase or borrow the book.

6. How should the facilitator keep in contact with discussion group participants?

• It is the facilitator’s responsibility to communicate any meeting reminders, cancellations, changes in time or location, etc., to the discussion group members. Therefore, it is important to gather basic contact information for each participant.

C. CONDUCTING THE MEETING:

The facilitator’s role is to lead the group and guide the discussions. The facilitator ensures that discussions stay on-point, and that the group remains focused on the material at hand.

1. Agenda

• Since the group has a limited amount of time, having an agenda can be very helpful in keeping the discussions on track.

• The facilitator can use this Discussion Guide as a foundation for the agenda. Start with the chapter “Summary,” go over “Key Points,” and then lead a discussion using the “Discussion Starters” questions (feel free to use one, some, all, or make up your own).



2. Ground Rules

• It’s important to establish ground rules for the group so that participants are aware of what’s expected of them. The facilitator should inform participants of the ground rules at the start of the first meeting.

• Ground rules can include the following:

o Meetings will start and end promptly.

o Participants are expected to come prepared to each meeting, having previously read the chapter to be discussed.

o Cell phones and other electronic devices should be off or on silent for the duration of each meeting.

o Participants should be respectful and courteous to each other. This includes not talking while someone else is speaking to the group.

o Participants are encouraged to join the discussion.

o Have fun!

3. Wrapping Up

• Once the group is finished discussing the material and questions, it’s important for the facilitator to wrap up the meeting by thanking everyone for their time and participation.

• The facilitator should also remind the group of the date, time, and location of the next meeting, as well as the chapter to be discussed.



NOW: SETTING THE STAGE

SUMMARY

The story begins with Scott (not yet identified) sitting in an abandoned playhouse. His unusual clothing is described, and the reader is intrigued by the promise of finding out the answer to life’s most important question.

The following poem is found at the beginning of the chapter:

Sooner or later you will awaken to realize that you've spent nearly your entire life worrying about things you could not control, bothered by insignificant annoyances, and distracted by self-inflicted challenges.

On that day, you will also realize that you've missed seeing a beautiful and entertaining world; a world filled with mystery, suspense, drama, comedy, and an unlimited opportunity to engage in and fully appreciate the human experience.

Hopefully, that day will come soon, because when it does, you will smile as your body fills with a warmth that you will recognize as joy, and you will be incredibly grateful that you are alive and can choose how you want to spend the rest of your life.

DISCUSSION STARTERS

1. What does this poem mean to you?

2. How might your life change if you were to live the life that the poem promises?

3. What questions did you have while reading this first, brief chapter?

4. What other insights or feelings came up for you?



SIX MONTHS EARLIER: SCOTT’S JOURNEY

There are many garden paths. On each, there are beautiful flowers to pick. A particular path may not be yours, but do take the flowers with you when you leave.

DISCUSSION STARTERS

1. What does this poem mean to you?

2. What questions did you have while reading the poem?

3. What other insights or feelings came up for you?



CHAPTER ONE

SUMMARY

Uncovering the Life of Your Dreams takes us along on Scott Billing’s journey from sleepwalking through life to living the life of his dreams. As the story begins, Scott is in his office, trying to distract himself from the emptiness he feels. We meet his boss, Damon, and learn that, although he’s just given Scott a big lead, he is very dissatisfied with Scott’s performance.

Just as Scott decides that he’s giving up on finding the purpose in his life, he sees a bright light across the street. Upon searching for the source of the light, Scott encounters a beggar who sees through Scott’s façade to reveal the fear and pain within him. While speaking to the beggar, Scott experiences “amazing and deepening sensations and emotions that seemed both brand new yet familiar …” Scott recognizes that he would do almost anything to have that blissful feeling again, and the beggar tells him that what he seeks is “only a dream away.”

DISCUSSION STARTERS

1. Scott is unfulfilled in his life and work. How fulfilled are you? What would you say is the most fulfilling aspect of your life?

2. Scott is drawn to the light he sees outside his office “like a moth to a flame.” When in your life have you been drawn to something without yet knowing why?

3. The beggar tells Scott that “There are signs, everywhere, and it’s your choice to read them or not and then determine what they mean to you.” What types of signs do you see?

4. What kind of pain are you hiding from the outside world?

5. When, if ever, have you experienced a state of bliss like the one Scott felt with the beggar?

6. What insights, feelings, or questions came up for you while reading Chapter 1?



CHAPTER TWO

SUMMARY

In this chapter, the character of Scott’s best friend, Larry Phillips, is introduced. We learn that they first met in middle school when Larry defended Scott against Chris Flaggart, the school bully. Scott and Larry have dinner at Las Puertas, a restaurant near Scott’s office that he visits often. Scott is greeted by the waitress, who calls him compañero, a term he doesn’t understand but doesn’t ask about. Scott tells Larry the story of what happened with the beggar. Larry listens and asks Scott coaching questions (open-ended, empowering questions that provoke insight) to help Scott decide on his next steps. Larry mentions lucid dreaming to Scott, who agrees to do some research on the topic in the hopes that he can figure out what the beggar meant by his comment about Scott’s answers only being “a dream away.”

DISCUSSION STARTERS

1. Larry truly listens to Scott and allows him to find his own answers, much like a coach does.Who in your life does that for you? Why is that important?

2. Scott says that he doesn’t remember his dreams. How often do you remember your dreams?What is the most profound message you have received in your dreams?




CHAPTER THREE

SUMMARY

In this chapter, the character of Karine, Scott’s administrative assistant, is introduced. She is known as the “sexretary” by others in the office and although Scott feels badly about that characterization, he does nothing to counter it. Scott counts on Karine greatly; in fact, she does his job of meeting clients while he does the back-end work. At one point, he showed her his appreciation by giving her a pearl bracelet.

At the beginning of the chapter, Scott researches lucid dreaming and finds a workshop about it. He attends the workshop a week later and learns about the process and its benefits. During the workshop, he encounters a man holding a book and wearing a gray outfit with a black baseball cap covering his eyes. Scott was “seriously frightened” by the man and reacted to him with a deep, almost painful shiver (unlike a pleasant chill he experienced when he first found the workshop).

DISCUSSION STARTERS

1. Scott experiences many incidents during which his bodily sensations gave him messages.For example, on page 7, he felt “a powerful tingling,” on page 24 a “strange butcomforting chill” and on page 27, a “different kind of chill than the pleasant one I’d feltwhen I’d read about the workshop. This one was like a deep shiver and it was almostpainful, causing the hairs on my arms to stand up.” How tuned in are you to the messagesyour body gives you? How can you become more aware?

2. Scott knows that Karine’s nickname of the “sexretary” isn’t accurate, but he does nothingto defend her to the others in the office because he “just didn’t want the confrontation.”When have you been in a similar circumstance, either not defending someone or beingthe one who was not defended. What did that feel like? What did you learn about yourselfand your values by being in that situation?




CHAPTER FOUR

SUMMARY

Scott goes home from the workshop and has his first, very brief, lucid dream. He reaches out to Jean Carlson, his former therapist, to make an appointment. In this chapter we are introduced to Scott’s neighbor, Greg Allen. We learn that they used to be close friends and Scott wants to rekindle the relationship, but he “had decided to keep things the way they were rather than to force the issue or worse, find out that I was right and that he no longer wanted to be my friend.” We also meet Nowell, the maintenance man at Scott’s office. Scott doesn’t ever say much to Nowell and is surprised when he sees Nowell and Karine in a lively conversation.

Scott and Karine discuss Eric Concord, the potential huge lead referenced in the first chapter. Karine does little to inspire Scott’s confidence, but she’s never let him down before. We learn more about Scott’s attitude toward meeting clients when he says that, “Other than actually going out and securing the account myself, the thought of which scared the crap out of me, I really had no other option [than to let Karine handle it], anyway.”

At the end of the chapter, Scott, who hasn’t had a lucid dream lasting more than a few seconds, remembers a technique to stay lucid and decides to try it that night.

DISCUSSION STARTERS

1. Scott regrets that he and Greg are no longer close but doesn’t do anything about it. Whatrelationships do you have that aren’t as fulfilling as you’d like them to be? What have youdone to change that? If you haven’t done anything, what is stopping you?

2. Scott clearly fears meeting clients. In your personal or work life, what are your fearspreventing you from doing?




CHAPTER FIVE

SUMMARY

Scott has his first lucid dream that lasts for more than a few seconds. He finds himself on a boardwalk and gets his first glimpse of a beautiful woman. When he wakes up, he recounts being “amazed at what I had just felt and the fact that the dream lasted as long as it did. I was also amazed at its clarity and detail. I felt the heat of sun, the pain from the fall on the boardwalk, the smell of the ocean air, and the softness of the woman’s body, all at least as real as anything I’d ever experienced.”

Scott visits Larry to tell him about the dream. We meet Larry’s daughter Ginette, an aspiring cellist applying to the prestigious Stonebridge School of Music for college, and his wife, Paula, who doesn’t seem convinced that Paula will end up there.

Scott talks to Greg, who tells Scott what has been on his mind. Scott says he’ll be a better friend, and Greg invites him to a party, possibly to test Scott, and also invites him to a bike trip with his friends in the summer.

In the final scene of the chapter, Scott has a lucid dream in which the blond woman from the beach comes to his office. She kisses him and takes off her dress, at which point Scott notices Karine watching them and shouts, “What the hell are you looking at?”

DISCUSSION STARTERS

1. When Scott tells Larry about the dream, he leaves out the part where the woman touchedhim, “not because he would judge me, but only because when I verbalized those things, Iwould judge myself more than I normally did.” When have you judged yourself? Aboutwhat? How does that feel? (Possible assignment: Keep a “self-judgment” journal and seewhat insights you get.)

2. Scott said that “the thought of [Greg] actually being upset with me pushed my “I’m notgood enough” button, which made me very uncomfortable.” What pushes your “not goodenough button”?




CHAPTER SIX

SUMMARY

Scott goes for a run and encounters the man in the black baseball cap from the workshop, getting a “confirming chill of recognition.” He is unnerved and goes home to try to relax. That night, he has another lucid dream in which the woman appears. They make love in a tent, and Scott is a “happy camper.” He has more lucid dreams over the next few nights, acting out fantasies and flying. During a fly into space, he sees something unusual—an entryway or portal. He feels a strong pull to get in, but is unable to do so. In the last dream of this series, he and the woman are lying on a yacht, looking at the sky, and he asks her about the portal. His alarm clock rings before she can answer. Scott has his appointment with Jean, the therapist. He tells her that he’s been disengaged and stressed at work and that he “doesn’t feel any purpose when I’m awake.” She asks him about his dream life and his relationships, and Scott realizes he never asked the dream woman’s name. He makes one up—Skye—because of the scene from the yacht. Jean pulls no punches, telling him that his dream fascination is disturbing because it will take him away from dealing with his real-life issues. She tells him that his self-image causes him to “re-create your life as a self-fulfilling prophecy, or more accurately, a self-defeating one. This is evidenced by your history of superficial relationships and staying at a job you say you don’t enjoy.” She goes on to say this is due to an old wound that he must heal. She educates him on the purpose of dreams and does a regression with him, taking him back to the age of three when he sees his parents fighting. Scott has a great deal of anxiety. The session ends, and though he makes a follow up appointment, he doesn’t plan on going back. DISCUSSION STARTERS

1. On a scale of 1-10, with 1 being not at all and 10 being completely, how much do you relate to Scott feeling disengaged, stressed, and purposeless? Why did you answer as you did?

2. What childhood experiences are embedded in your self-image and are still affecting you

today? What impact do they have on you?




CHAPTER SEVEN

SUMMARY

Scott meets with Larry at Las Puertas and fills him in on his real and dream life. They discuss the “stalker,” and Scott brings up the portal and not being able to get into it. He finally shares about the dream woman and Larry asks him what exactly he’s doing. Larry challenges Scott gently, saying “My friend Scott thought he might have seen God and maybe even felt heaven. That guy told me that he would do anything to have that experience again and answer some of life’s most probing questions in his dreams. So what has he learned?” Scott contemplates the question.

He takes the next day off from work. Larry visits and gives him an idea for how to get into the portal, suggesting that Scott deal with his guilt around not being true to himself in his relationship with the dream woman. Larry says that he needs to do something different, and that “in order to get to the future, you need to let go of the past.”

DISCUSSION STARTERS

1. When in your life have you been out of integrity?

2. What causes you to feel guilty?

3. What do you need to let go of in the past so that you can get to the future you desire?




CHAPTER EIGHT

SUMMARY

Scott takes Larry’s advice to heart, and before bed, he sets an intention to focus on what really matters to him. When he dreams that night, he apologizes and finds out that the woman’s name is Lucena. Lucena says she is “here to remind you that the answers you seek are already within you, waiting to be revealed. All you need to do to access them is to ‘re-mind,’ or reconnect with the part of you that knows.” Lucena answers some of Scott’s questions. She tells him that the portals he’s been wondering about are the windows of his soul that allow him to see into, and then move through to, a deeper level of reality. She tells him that if he makes it through the portals, he “will reach enlightenment, that is, the remembrance of the truth.”

She tells him that in order to get into the portal, he needs to have the right frame of mind—he needs to be curious, open-minded, and optimistic (COO) so he can prove to himself that he’s ready. She also explains to him that he was being human by concentrating first on his desire for pleasure. Lucena leaves him, saying that if he makes it though all the portals, he will uncover the truth and she will be there.

KEY POINTS

“Your reality is the world you see through the filters you have developed over your lifetime. When you experience something, you create a belief about it that filters your view of everything that happens thereafter. The deeper your state of awareness, the more likely the information you receive and translate will be unfiltered. You will develop a sense of knowing the difference between your reality and the reality.”

DISCUSSION STARTERS

1. Lucena tells Scott that she’s reached out to remind him in many ways—in books, songs,workshops, nature, etc. Share a reminder that you’ve received—something that has madeyou remember more of who you really are.

2. What beliefs do you have that filter your view of reality? What events in your life led toyou creating those beliefs?

3. How curious, open-minded, and optimistic are you? How can you embody more of thosetraits?




CHAPTER NINE

SUMMARY

Scott misses Greg’s party—Greg is very upset and Scott feels awful. Scott’s dreams stall. Weeks pass, and on the day before the big meeting with Concord, Karine has a heart-to-heart conversation with Scott, telling him that he will be the one to meet with Eric Concord and secure the deal. Karine admits that she’s been acting and pretending to be someone she’s not. Scott asks how he can repay her, and she asks him to be Nowell’s friend. Karine gives Scott the huge file she has compiled regarding Eric, but Scott decides to learn about Eric in his dreams.

The next day, Scott arrives at work and Karine gives him a polka-dotted tie to wear, telling him it’s reminder that the key to success starts with you getting out of your comfort zone.” Eric shows up in a similar tie and they have a good first meeting, ending at Las Puertas. They agree to meet the following week. Scott is excited to dream that night, as he believes he demonstrated the COO required to get into the first portal.

DISCUSSION STARTERS

1. Karine tells Scott that she is “tired of the charade” and that it’s “draining trying to be theimage of what others want me to be.” In what ways is your life a charade? How are youcompromising who you really are by pretending to be something you’re not? What masksdo you wear?

2. Karine tells Scott that she “genuinely [tries] to make each potential client I meet with afriend for life, regardless of whether I get their account.” What would happen if you didthe same in your business?

3. Karine “forces” Scott to face his fears and do something that is uncomfortable for him.Share a situation in which you went out of your comfort zone.

4. Scott demonstrates curiosity, open-mindedness, and optimism—COO. How much do youexhibit those characteristics? How might you display them more often?

5. What was your reaction upon learning that Scott didn’t read Karine’s file but insteadlearned about Eric in his dreams?




CHAPTER TEN (Portal of Awareness)

SUMMARY

In his dream, Scott goes through the first portal and finds himself in an ancient village. He meets a boy, whom he recognizes as being the beggar, and learns he is in the Portal of Awareness. After having an intriguing conversation, they visit the Colosseum, seeing a “violent and horrible” sight, then sit by a brook, which is “beautiful.” The boy tells Scott that the two experiences are no different, saying that “Nothing is as it appears to you to be … Everything just is.” When Scott questions him about that, stating that they must be seeing different things, the boy tells him that “The only difference between us is that I know who I am, and you do not yet remember who you are.” He goes on to say that when Scott remembers, he will know that he is Awareness.

KEY POINTS AND QUOTES

“How long do you think it will take for you to find you?”

Awareness is about what, “and also of who, where, when, how, and why. It is about seeing

what is, not the illusion created from the mind.” “You have been dreaming all your life. You just do not remember … every aspect of your life

is a dream, and … you do not remember who you are and why you are here.” “How do you know that you are not just a dream character within someone else’s dream?”

“The only difference between us is that I know who I am, and you do not yet remember who you are … I am Awareness. I see everything.”

DISCUSSION STARTERS 1. The boy tells Scott that “Awareness is about seeing what is, not the illusions created from

the mind.” What kind of illusions do you hold? What do you think you’d see if you let goof those illusions?

2. What would change for you if you knew you were a dream character within someoneelse’s dream?




CHAPTER ELEVEN

SUMMARY

Scott has another heart-to-heart with Karine. Damon tells Scott that he’d better do a good job. Eric and Scott meet on the subway and take a long ride. Scott is stunned when Eric asks if he and Karine have considered starting their own firm. As he’s formulating an answer, Scott sees the man in the gray outfit and black cap on the subway platform. Eric plays a game with Scott in which they look at people and objects in the subway car and tell each other stories about them. They decide to meet after Eric returns from a trip out West. Eric says he will be ready to make a decision about his account by then, and Scott promises to think about Eric’s proposal. When he returns to the office, he tells Karine about the conversation and lets her know that he doesn’t know what he’ll do.

DISCUSSION STARTERS

1. Karine tells Scott that “being aware, to me, is the ability to see the world and all thepeople in it as it is and they are, not as we want it or them to be.” What situations orpeople in your life are you seeing as you want them to be, not as they are?

2. After playing the game on the subway, Scott tells Eric that “this was an enlighteningexperience. I’ll never look at a train the same way again. Actually, I’m not sure if I’lllook at anything in quite the same way again.” What experiences have you had in yourlife that completely changed the way you saw the world?

3. Scott and Eric are seeing the story behind what they see. Take turns trying that game.Pick an object in the room and tell its story.




CHAPTER TWELVE (Awareness, Revisited)

SUMMARY

Scott is back in the ancient village with the boy. As he’d done with Eric on the train, he tells the story behind lanterns he sees. The boy turns out the lanterns, and challenges Scott to try seeing without using his eyes. Scott soon understands that his “perceptions have been limiting me and that there’s more to see than meets the eye. Even in the dark.” The boy urges Scott to look at what he’s really seeing with no thoughts at all.

Scott has the opportunity to see a memory that has tainted his current view of reality. The boy explains the difference between being aware and Awareness and being conscious and Consciousness. He also talks about how the “outer world you think you know is also a lucid dream, dreamt up by the One Dreamer, Consciousness itself.”

This chapter ends with Scott receiving sandals, the key to the next portal and a “reminder that life is a journey and to tread lightly on your perceptions.” He summarizes the first portal’s lessons in his journal: Portal 1—Aware is what we can be. Awareness is the way of Being.


“We each see what we expect to see,” said the boy. “Our outer view is a reflection and projection of our inner view. If you expect darkness, you will be in the dark.”

“How can I see things as they truly are?” “Ah,” said the boy, “that takes some time. All your life, you’ve been seeing your own version of reality. At least right now you are seeing past your prior assumptions. Continue the practice of looking deep into the story of what you see. Just keep asking, what am I really seeing? Do not just accept what your past or your senses tell you. Question everything, curiously, including whatever I tell you.”

“There is only one world, Scott; just different dimensions of it.”

“Continue to let go of your past assumptions and now try to let go of any current interpretations and creative stories. Instead, just see. No thoughts at all.”

“Being aware is simply about seeing. What you do with what you see is up to you. The more aware you are, the less fooled you will be by the illusions of the mind, with its built-in expectations that shape what you are looking at. The less fooled you are, the more open you are to seeing the absolute perfection of reality; of seeing the whole of Consciousness.



“Being aware is about what and how you see. Being Awareness is about understanding who is seeing. To be Awareness, you have to awaken to your True Nature, that you are the seer … Awareness is not some thing; it is everything. Awareness is synonymous with your True Essence; it is the eye of Consciousness; the vision of God. Since Consciousness is all there is and so it is also all that can be seen, the answer to the question ‘What do you see?’ is, ultimately, ‘I Am.’”

“Learn the lessons of the portals. They are a path to enlightenment, to seeing the light of Truth. That is what you truly want and are being pulled toward ... [the pull is] caused by your Essence beginning to awaken to the truth, remembering yourself as pure Consciousness.”

DISCUSSION STARTERS

1. The boy tells Scott that “We each see what we expect to see. Our outer view is areflection and projection of our inner view. If you expect darkness, you will be in thedark.” What is your inner view creating in your life?

2. What assumptions and interpretations color what you see?

3. What would it be like to see, without thinking?

4. Scott chose to become lucid in his dreams, but the boy tells him that he “could havemeditated or adopted any other method or discipline for awakening. Some people look toreligion for an answer. Some study metaphysics. Some explore philosophy or science.Some listen to the voice within, and some prefer to listen to other’s voices. The path doesnot matter.” Which path most appeals to you? Why?




CHAPTER THIRTEEN (Portal of Acceptance)

SUMMARY

In his “real” life, to practice awareness, Scott observes his life as if it were a movie and views it from a detached perspective. In his “dream” life, he passes through the second portal, the Portal of Acceptance, and finds himself in a medical tent in the middle of a war scene. He encounters the beggar who is now a nurse. Scott watches a gull and crab and learns lessons about programming and judgment. The nurse takes him to watch babies, then toddlers, then older children to learn about separation, ego, and fear. They talk about non-judgment and the role of the mind, and what it would be like to be live as Unconditional Acceptance. The chapter ends with the nurse urging Scott to reach out to someone (it’s not clear who, until the next chapter). KEY POINTS AND QUOTES

“We all want pleasure and we all seek to remove pain, and we will kill for either. Until we raise our level of consciousness by understanding the idea that we are all One, we will continue to perpetuate our ancestor’s conditioning, which tells us to kill or be killed. You are correct that most people judge and so live from old ideas instead of new ones. In that sense, most people are just sleepwalking in a nightmare from which they are not yet ready to awaken.”

“All beings are on a journey. All journeys are part of a normal, natural process. They all lead

to Consciousness. We are all the same, just at different stages of awakening.” “Conflict is derived from fear and that all people are afraid. How can we not be if we do not

remember our True Essence?” “The ego creates a sense of self, which continues to separate them even more. Separation

causes fear … this is a purposeful process. Everything is purposeful, or it would not exist. The children are supposed to forget. Their current experience of isolation and vulnerability will help them awaken to their True Essence as One and invulnerable. We all fall asleep and forget, and we all awaken and remember. That, too, is part of nature, a natural process.”

“No matter who a person might be, no matter what they might do, know that they are just like all of us, all just young children trying to feel acceptance, peace, and love—all trying to feel safe. Regardless of how it appears, we all want the exact same things, and we are all on



the same path. See this, and you will no longer judge others, and no longer judge yourself. See this, and your level of consciousness will move closer to its natural state.”

“The mind only seems to be separate, but it is not. It is one with nature at all times. There is no way that it cannot be, as nothing is truly separate … The mind is the part of you that does not remember the truth, so … it believes that if you find your True Self, it will lose itself, its identity as Scott.”

“Acceptance does not render you a victim. The opposite occurs. Unconditional Acceptance empowers you to see the God in all others. It removes your suffering and brings peace your way.”

“Portal 1 was about seeing without interpretation, meaning seeing without the filters that cloud your sight. This portal is about experiencing what you see without judgment.”

“Most of your emotional suffering comes from nonacceptance. Once you unconditionally accept the people, places, and things in your life, you will release yourself from the confinement created from deep within your mind that keeps you stuck in the illusion of a painful, unjust, and disappointing world.”

DISCUSSION STARTERS

1. The chapter starts with Scott observing his life as if it were a movie. If you did the same,what would the title of your movie be?

2. The nurse tells Scott that “we all want the exact same things, and we are all on the samepath.” How much do you agree with that statement? What would happen if more peopleheld that belief?

3. Answer the same question the nurse asked Scott: “How well do you accept your life,including all that you are, based on all you have experienced, including yourupbringing?”

4. What would happen if you were more accepting of the people and circumstances of yourlife?

5. The nurse asks Scott to imagine relieving himself of pain that no longer serves him. Whatwould that be like for you?




CHAPTER FOURTEEN

SUMMARY

Scott has dinner with Larry’s family and solicits their opinions on the offer from Concord. They discuss forgiveness and Larry shares that he has forgiven Chris Flaggart, who had been turned down for a counselor position at his school the previous year.

Scott meets with Jean in an attempt to learn more about forgiveness and acceptance. Jean again questions whether Scott’s dream life is harming him. She challenges him to find out information in his dream that he couldn’t possibly get elsewhere. When he gives her this information the following morning, she gets angry and tells him never to contact her again.

DISCUSSION STARTERS

1. Think of a time that you needed to make a difficult decision. How did you go about doingso?

2. Jean tells Scott that “This fantasy of yours could cause you to lose your mind.” Whatmeanings can “losing your mind” have? Is losing your mind something to aspire to, orshy away from?

3. How do you think Scott learned the information about Jean? How possible do you thinkthat is to do?




CHAPTER FIFTEEN (Acceptance, Revisited)

SUMMARY

Scott revisits challenging phases of his life and the nurse helps him release his self-judgment. Scott is back in the war scene and uses his experience with the gull and crab to help him see Acceptance through the nurse’s eyes. Scott feels an amazing sense of awe and fascination and wants to experience more of everything, even the situation he’d previously thought of as “bad.” He was welcoming all experiences. The nurse tells him how to continue to cultivate that on his own. She tells him he will get the key to the next portal when he wears his description of Acceptance as his own.


“We all do the best we can at all times, all the time. No exceptions. Even if we are ignorant at the time, ignorance does only what ignorance can do, and accepting that as normal was the first step to peace.”

“I looked around and saw everything exactly as I saw it all before, but it felt different. It felt like a surreal dream. Instead of disgust, I felt a sense of awe and fascination. I closed my eyes and even more deeply felt the Essence within her—within me. It was perfect. Complete perfection.”

“Instead of wanting everything to go away, I wanted to experience more of it. It wasn’t a thought, but a feeling that I wanted it to be brought to me, as if I welcomed it with open arms.”

“If Awareness is seeing what is, then Acceptance is the surrendering of judgment around what is seen. It is the unconditionally loving perfection of the Universe. It is actually embracing everything, absolutely, with an unbridled passion for any and all experiences, regardless of how we would judge them with our minds.”

DISCUSSION STARTERS

1. Think of a situation in your life where someone “wronged” you. How would yourthoughts around the situation change if you realized that the person was doing the bestthey could in that moment, given everything they knew up till that point in time?



2. Now, think of a time when you did something for which you “beat yourself up.” How canyou stop judging yourself by understanding that YOU were doing the best you could atthat time?

3. What was easier for you—accepting others or accepting yourself?

4. To begin to experience the awe of Acceptance, the nurse tells Scott to “First, practicenonjudgment, simply by being aware of the judgments you make. Do not be too harsh onyourself for judging; it is normal. But by becoming more aware of your judgments, youwill be able to lessen them and eventually prevent them. When you begin to feel lessjudgmental, remember the idea of bringing life on, meaning, do not just accept whathappens, but actually look forward to any experience, even a truly painful one. Justwelcome it all and be grateful to be able to have such experiences. Like you said,experience life open-armed, with a sense of joy.” How can you begin this process?(Consider having participants keep a judgment journal and reviewing it in your nextmeeting.)




CHAPTER SIXTEEN

SUMMARY

Scott tells Karine he still hasn’t decided what he’ll do about Eric’s proposal to start their own firm. He meets with Eric at Eric’s restaurant, and Eric tells him that he’s going to introduce Scott to his costar, Rose. Scott shares that he’s going to stay at the firm and give Damon another shot. He explains that “It’s not about my owing him anything; it’s more for me than him. I’d like to try to accept him for who he is, and in the process, I hope to see myself as more of who I’d like to become. We’re all on a journey, and I think accepting him is part of mine.” Scott pauses, having “no desires, no attachment to any particular outcome, no thoughts at all.” He experienced a sense of peace like he had with the beggar. Although disappointed, Eric says that he’ll bring his business to the firm, with the proviso that only Scott and Karine attend to his business. DISCUSSION STARTERS

1. Make a list of your desires and attachments, in general or in relation to a particular situation.

2. When have you made a decision and then been completely at peace with whatever occurred?

3. What would it be like to have “no desires, no attachment to any particular outcome, no thoughts at all”?




CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

SUMMARY

Scott sees the third portal but he hasn’t yet found the key to get into it. Thinking about his upcoming bonus check, he flies over NYC in one of his dreams to check out where to live. In Central Park, he sees the man in the black baseball cap and firmly tells him to go away. Scott believes he is finally rid of him.

DISCUSSION STARTERS

1. What is the significance of the man in the black baseball cap? Do you believe Scott isfinally rid of him? Why or why not?




CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

SUMMARY

Scott tells Karine of his decision and she’s excited. Together, they tell Damon that Scott secured the account and confidently and firmly relays Eric’s condition that Damon not be involved. Scott gets to work on the Concord account. Jean comes to visit, looking relaxed and happy. She tells Scott that she now believes he got the information from his dreams; something that “rocked her a lot.” She gives Scott a gift to rock his world—a Bruce Springsteen tee shirt which Scott immediately recognizes as the key to the next portal.

He adds an entry to his journal:

Portal 1—Aware is what we can be. Awareness is the way of Being.

Portal 2—Accepting is how we can act. Acceptance is the open arms of the Universe.

DISCUSSION STARTERS

1. When have you delivered a difficult message with confidence and conviction? Whatallowed you to do so?

2. Jean tells Scott that “You asked me how to accept yourself and others, and the thing thatcame to me was that we are all different and that instead of resisting those differences,accepting them is the key to peace.” What does this statement mean to you? How able areyou to do this?

3. Discuss Scott’s second journal entry: Accepting is how we can act. Acceptance is theopen arms of the Universe. What does this mean to you?




CHAPTER NINETEEN (Portal of Knowing)

SUMMARY

Wearing the Springsteen tee shirt, Scott goes through the third portal and finds himself in a 5th grade classroom. He soon learns that it’s not a typical 5th grade classroom. The teacher, who reminds him of Larry, is the beggar’s next manifestation, and the children (Sammy, the blue-haired boy, Elyse, the pig-tailed girl) are very wise. They recite what they all know as true: “I know that I exist. I know I am here. I know that I Am. This I know as Truth.” They discuss the mind, and the teacher talks about being one idea away from a new reality. Scott learns about belief systems and the importance of consciously choosing one’s own beliefs according to one foundational idea. Scott is told that he’ll find that foundation from the “peculiarities of genius.”


“Only the mind requires proof. Without the interference of your mind, you are the Knowing that permeates the Universe.”

“‘I might exist as a character in your dream, or we both may be characters in someone else’s. I could be just about anything. I might even exist as an illusion. But I know that I exist. We all experience that one same thing as Truth. First, have faith in that idea, and then know it to be Truth, from a place beyond cognition.’ By her answer, I understood that she meant that when one is able to still the mind, there is a sense of knowing that exists in the void between thoughts.”

“…the mind is—a construct of memories that creates your world and self-image. That is also why we are in this portal, because we are helping you change your mind. Even if you change only one thought, your inner computer changes, and so then does your experience of the world.” The teacher jumped in. “Remember this very important point: You are just one idea away from a new reality.” He turned and wrote on the whiteboard, “One Idea Away.”

“And here’s another thing to remember. Because your mind has created a singular viewpoint of reality, it lives within the illusion that what it believes is the only reality. Each of us sees our world, but we do not see the world.”

“The only thing preventing you from understanding is that you don’t remember who you really are. Know also that mind, self, personality, ego … all really the same; just different words for the same concept. Words are also, of course, recognized patterns created by our



minds. Patterns that keep us limited and separated from our True Self. Focusing too much on words will keep your mind full. You’d prefer to be mindless, trust me.”

“When a belief system works for you, it brings you toward your True Nature. It works against you if it takes you further from it. You can believe anything you choose, but realize that up until this point in your life, your current beliefs have mostly been chosen for you by others. You really have not been actively involved in that process. Until recently, those beliefs have created a very unhappy and unfulfilling life for you.”

DISCUSSION STARTERS

1. Some people tend to rely on proof and others on faith. Which is your tendency and why?

2. The teacher makes the point that “you are just one idea away from a new reality.” In aninterview with the author, he states that it’s “not just any idea—it’s an idea that raisesyour consciousness. When you attach to that type of idea you are no longer operating byyourself. You have the energy of everything around you, people around you. You areoperating in the flow. Things just happen. Synchronicities occur. It’s automaticabundance so the ideas that really help people manifest the life of their dreams are theones that they probably haven't thought of because they’ve been using their mind in away that limits them.” What kind of ideas have changed your reality? How might youfree yourself of doubt, worry, and fear so that these ideas may arise? (Check outwww.OneIdeaAway.com for inspiration.)

3. Discuss the difference between keeping your mind full and being mindless. Where doesmindfulness fit in here?

4. Start to explore your belief system. Write a list of your beliefs about yourself, otherpeople, and the world. Where did these ideas come from? Which are consciously chosenand which are not?




CHAPTER TWENTY

SUMMARY

Scott and Nowell meet at Las Puertas. Scott learns that Ava is the owner, that her greeting for him, compañero, means partner, and that she and her son Lennon, the chef, live in the back. Nowell also tells him that the restaurant will be closing soon. Scott realized how unaware he’d been all those years. Nowell gives Scott an education on belief systems, and Scott realizes how his assumptions about Nowell have prevented him from seeing the person he truly was. Scott tries a new dish and realizes how much he’d missed by always ordering the same thing. Nowell tells Scott that loving-kindness is the foundation of his belief system. Scott calls Nowell “a very wise and peculiar genius.” KEY POINTS AND QUOTES

“People are very protective of what they believe in, that they are often ready and willing to fight, sometimes even kill or die, rather than admit or even consider that they aren’t very sure of what they believe or why they believe in whatever they do … they are afraid of being wrong and therefore appearing ignorant or vulnerable. Pride can hold a lot of people back … most people identify and define themselves from within their self-created projections and cannot handle any challenge to the foundation of their world. If they lose their self-created image, they believe they will lose their entire sense of being; their entire self.”

“I believe in loving-kindness. I think people should love themselves, love others, love nature,

love everything. When I think, feel, or act, I try to do so in a kind way.” DISCUSSION STARTERS

1. When Scott learns the truth about Las Puertas, he asks himself How could I not have realized what was really going on here? How could I have missed so much? When have you had a similar experience? What do you suppose you might be missing right now?

2. Scott realizes that we are creatures of habit. “So much potential, and yet, so limited in realizing that potential.” What habits do you have that keep you from realizing your potential?

3. What are you willing to fight, kill, or die for? 4. How much do you practice loving-kindness? In what ways might you practice it more? 5. What insights, feelings, or questions came up for you while reading Chapter 20?



CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE (Knowing, Revisited)

SUMMARY

Back in the classroom, Scott shares that he’s learned that loving-kindness to everything and everyone, including himself, must be the basis of all belief systems. Scott and the class witness what seems to be the big bang and is told that not all beliefs matter and that he should learn to cultivate the beliefs that work for him. They discuss “true vs. Truth” and many concepts are introduced (see Key Points and Quotes). The class takes a trip on a train to get the answer to the question that Scott posed about whether it was possible to “create a world of [his] choosing by altering his belief system.” Scott also learns a lesson about pain being inevitable but suffering optional. Scott receives the next key, blue jeans to remind him that he is still learning and growing. Scott adds another line to his journal:

Portal 1—Aware is what we can be. Awareness is the way of Being.


Portal 3—Belief is what we think we know to be true. Knowing is our Truth.


“If you keep loving-kindness as a guide, it will help you release suffering and move you closer to your True Nature. That’s because loving-kindness is closer to your True Nature.”

“You have beliefs about everything. Some work for you, and those are the ones you want to cultivate. Some beliefs work against you, and those are the kind you want to change. And some beliefs simply do not matter. You need to learn the differences between them all … focus your energy on the things that do matter to you.”

“… the nature of conflict really comes down to shoes, or more specifically, people’s reluctance to try on any pair besides their own.

“… continually question and discern between the temporary, limited fantasies that your mind creates and the Knowing that is unlimited and permanent. It is a process of uncovery, that is, uncovering the truth from all that it is not. This is what all awakening people do, and we call it … ‘True versus Truth.’”

“True is what you think you know; it’s what you believe with your limited, finite, and logical mind … All things that are true are true for an individual or even a group of them. Those



meanderings have no permanence to them. Truth is Knowing—that which does not change. Its permanent nature can be intuitively felt within every soul in the world, but only when we surrender the control of our minds. Truth is beyond limitation, separation, or individuation.”

“One way to think about Knowing is to relate it to intuition. Your intuition will help you. Listen carefully to it. Until you can distinguish intuition from self-created thought, you will need to continually test and refine what comes to you … Intuition comes in many forms. You’ve been experiencing yours through various forms of chills and feelings. You have also resonated with concepts that just felt correct to you. Additionally, you have just known some things and have questioned how you knew them. You didn’t even understand or necessarily agree with what came to you. All of that is your intuition speaking to you. Keep refining yours, as it is your way of providing you with directional signs to Truth.”

“The thing that has rung most true so far is that there is a conscious universe, creating all I see. With that thought, I can see all that is before me, without my filters, which allows me to experience more of what the world offers. Also, the idea of Consciousness being unconditionally accepting is very peaceful, and my being more accepting of myself will help me rest a little easier, even when I think I screw up a bit. Speaking of which, I believe nonjudgment is the only way Consciousness can be, so that is a goal that will always be a work in progress for me. Loving-kindness is a great sounding board for how to treat myself and others. Besides the obvious, is also means appreciating every person or experience for what it can offer. I also relate to the idea of an intelligent universe, one that I can connect to when I quiet my mind.

“As you release your preconceived notions, the truth will be revealed … Like the statue whose true nature is uncovered only when the outer layers are removed.”

“The mind’s purpose—and it achieves it wonderfully—is to allow you to experience life in your own unique way. Tap into the creative genius of yours and manifest the world you want to experience. That way, you can turn your dreams into reality.”

“We live in the world of possibility … Choose and create your experience. That’s where your power lies, in the ability to choose your reality. Once you truly understand this power, you are more likely to understand your nature as both creation and Creator.”

“In anticipation of the destination, it is more often than not that our journeys are not appreciated. We could all use a little more enjoyment of the ride,”



“Thinking is like trying to feel with your mind. Know with your Essence instead. You were doing that before in front of the cabin. Your intuition was speaking. You were listening without your mind and hearing without attaching any labels, judgments, or thoughts onto what you heard.”

“I was not trying to know; I just knew. In that mindless moment, I understood that Knowing was something to which I always had access and that the voice that spoke to me is the same voice that speaks to all humans, animals, plants—everything. I recognized then that the voice had always been there, but I’d been so busy thinking that I hadn’t heard it.

“She shared her wisdom by sharing her Essence. By being. There was nothing that needed to be said. Knowing is not of the mind and cannot be understood through the spoken word. It is a shared sense of Truth that resonates within each of us, within all of us.”

“… no matter what beliefs I have about the world, it is still just the mind’s dream, and that when I am Knowing, all the human drama fades and nothing is unknown.”

“We do not see the world as it actually is but instead see it with the filters of the mind. Just because something is an illusion it doesn’t mean you should ignore it. Whether something actually exists or not is irrelevant, because you are having a real experience with it. So yes, until there is no longer suffering and drama, you do need to learn how to handle it. Raise your consciousness not only by remembering that you’re connected to the One Mind, but by knowing that you are the One Mind. Feel it as your Essence. Know it as Truth. Do this and you will never again suffer.”

“Remember, in whatever you experience, decipher true from Truth by separating your ego from the experience. Ask yourself “What does my intuition tell me is Truth, and what has my mind conceived that is only true?” Keep challenging yourself. Your intuition can be trusted only if you do not have an attachment to any particular outcome. Just be curious and inquisitive, desiring only Truth, nothing else.”

“Think of what might happen if, in your waking life, you believed that you were unlimited … When you can imagine it, you will create your own miracles … I understand that nothing replaces the value of personal experience. You can consciously choose which world you see, but you must believe it to be so to be able to truly see it … ‘Believing is seeing!’”



DISCUSSION STARTERS

1. How do you resonate with the idea that loving-kindness needs to be the basis of all belief systems? How much do you practice loving-kindness? How can you practice it more?

2. Scott considers forcing his ideas on others and remembers what the nurse told him in the Portal of Acceptance: that conflict derives from a feeling of being separate. He realizes “that it takes two separate people to create a conflict and that I didn’t need to be one of them.” How much conflict are you experiencing in your life? How might Scott’s realization help you reduce your conflicts?

3. The teacher says that “Whether it is through religion, an inner voice, or the guidance of teachers, each of us must find our own path to Knowing, which is the essential understanding of all things. … follow whatever path you feel will help you remember the truth.” What paths are you on now? Which might you like to explore?

4. Elyse says that “to distinguish between true and Truth, remember that any idea that separates you, limits you, or attempts to define you in any way is an idea that moves you further from Truth. The people, places, things, and ideas that unite you are those that move you closer to your True Essence.” Discuss the concept of “true” versus “Truth.” Give examples of things that are true for you and things that are Truth.

5. How does your intuition “speak” to you? How might you develop it and learn to trust it more?

6. Scott realizes that “in all his incarnations and even when I referenced our first encounter, the beggar never revealed to me who he really was, though he didn’t make any attempt to hide or deny it either.” Why do you suppose this is?

7. The old woman “shared her wisdom by sharing her Essence. By being. There was nothing that needed to be said.” When have you experienced someone doing this? When have you done it yourself?

8. What would happen if you believed you were unlimited?




CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

SUMMARY

Scott is puzzled to see the jeans from his dream in his closet and texts Larry to discuss. Larry replies that they got bad news and he needs Scott’s help. Scott says he’ll go over later and goes about his day. He gets to his office and notices his clock is not working, which makes him wonder if he’s dreaming. Karine comes in wearing her “no kidding look,” and Scott realizes that she and Nowell are dating. We learn that the firm is doing well and that Damon is grateful. Nowell has the idea for Scott to invest in a restaurant. Scott and Eric meet later that day, and Eric gives Scott the okay to allow Damon and anyone else Scott trusted to work on the account. Eric invites Scott to his movie premiere.

DISCUSSION STARTERS

1. Scott wonders if he knew “those jeans were there and so thought them up in the dream, ordid I think them up in the dream, which created them … out of thin air?” What do youthink happened?

2. What is the significance of the clock not working?




CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

SUMMARY

Scott travels to Larry’s on the subway. He has a conversation with an old woman that leads him to the conclusion that making a difference was about being, not doing. Larry shares that Paula got into Stonebridge but didn’t get a scholarship so can’t attend. Scott shares some comforting words with Larry and Ginette and offers to pay for Paula’s tuition. They are touched but refuse the offer. Larry makes Scott promise never to offer him money again.

KEY POINTS

“… since we are all connected—all One—then our thoughts and feelings, our Essence, would be felt by everyone else, always. So making a real difference was at least as much about resonating with awe-inspiring power and love, or being, as it was about actually taking action or doing.”

“… regardless of how important or disturbing things seem to be, we are all here together, on different journeys perhaps, but on connected paths that lead to the same place. I’m not asking you to believe the same or do anything for that matter, but for me, I will work on no longer trying to figure out what I’m supposed to be doing or trying to force what I desire to happen. Why would I think I know what’s best for anyone, including me? I think it’s time for me to embrace all experiences, stop judging everything, and just observe and experience the awe and power of life.”

DISCUSSION STARTERS

1. Each time Scott took the subway, he would turn to someone and ask what difference inthe world they would make that day. How would you answer that question? (Activity:Ask the group to try this and report back on what happened in the next meeting.)

2. What would happen if you embraced all experiences, stopped judging, and just observedand experienced the awe and power of life?




CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR (Portal of Presence)

SUMMARY

Scott is in the fourth portal and after a long walk, finds a building with a sign reading “The Mind Game” on the door. He enters into an ornate room, greeted by two twins who were another manifestation of the beggar. They tell him that he’s in the “Portal of Presence. That is, Presence in the moment, this moment, the only moment there is.” There are three golden curtains above him. He’s told that they are ‘life review and edit’ curtains, and that when he gets a certain number of points, he can choose to keep a memory or change his past by trading it in for a new one.

They discuss the illusions of time and space, the role of the mind in forming memories, and the difference between experiencing and experience. Scott amasses points and gets enough to open up one of the golden curtains. He sees Karine’s pearl bracelet and, feeling guilty for taking advantage of her, changes the memory and gives her a diamond bracelet instead. He later learns that when he changes something for himself, it may or may not change something for others.


“You have the ability to ‘rethink’ a particular memory to be the way you’d like to remember it. When you do that, you actually change the brain to store the revised version of the memory. When you reinforce that by continually focusing on the new version, that version becomes your reality. So, for all intents and purposes, you will have changed the past.”

“Your mind dwells in the past and explores the future, but neither actually exist. Your mind does both of those things only in the present moment.”

“You have not had, and will never have, any experience where you are not here and now. The place called there doesn’t exist. Your existence and experience is timeless.”

“When I awaken to Truth, I no longer experience time and space. I can find Truth within the moment, the real moment. That’s when I’ll remember my True Essence as the One who dreamed of a man called Scott.”

“Experience, along with existence, are the only two certainties in life.”



“When I’m having an experience—experiencing something—it means my mind is usually creating a story from what is happening in the moment. The story isn’t about what is actually happening; it is derived from my past experiences, which interprets the current one though filtered eyes. My current experience could also be interpreted by what I want to happen in the future. In either case, I’m not present, as my experience is not about what is, it’s about what I make out of what is.

“Experience itself is the nonjudgmental Observer, knowing itself in the moment. It is Absolute and all-encompassing, the totality of I Am.”

“The key difference between experiencing and experience is now. In the moment, interpretation and judgment fade, and only reality exists. The deeper I am in the moment, the closer I am to Truth. Anything that takes me out of the moment shifts the actual experience into something that I am mentally experiencing. In that case, I see what’s true for me, but no longer know the truth.”

DISCUSSION STARTERS

1. Scott is given the opportunity to change a memory. If you were in front of the goldencurtain, what past event/memory would you change? What wouldn’t you change?

2. How often do you think you are truly present? What distracts you from being present?




CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

SUMMARY

Scott sees Karine the next morning and is stunned to see that she is wearing the diamond bracelet. He panicked, as “everything [he thought he] knew about life and reality had just blurred into obscurity.” After his fear subsides, he’s left with the feeling of bliss he experienced with the beggar. Karine picks up the phone to call for help and Scott assures her he’s fine. When he asks her when she got the bracelet, she gets concerned again and asks Scott if he’s “playing some sort of mind game” with her.”

DISCUSSION STARTERS

1. Again, the lines between dream and reality blur. Did Scott dream of the new bracelet andthen change the past and the present? What do you think happened here?




CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX (Presence, Revisited)

SUMMARY

Scott is back in the Portal of Presence. He is first asked to answer his own question: Is there more to my life than this? Then, he’s asked about the purpose of his life and the difference between being present and Presence. He realizes that in the phrase, “I Am here now,” both now and here are irrelevant and redundant and that all that remains is “I Am.”

Scott has enough points for the second golden curtain. He chooses not to change his traumatic childhood experience with Chris Flaggart, as doing so would mean that he’d have never become friends with Larry. He realizes that he doesn’t yet have the key to the next portal and is told that “You will find that key when you take a risk and make something that was old new again.”

As the game show ends, Scott sees the following on the teleprompter:

Portal 1—Aware is what we can be. Awareness is the way of Being. Portal 2—Accepting is how we can act. Acceptance is the open arms of the Universe. Portal 3—Belief is what we think we know to be true. Knowing is our Truth. Portal 4—Present is what we can experience in the moment. Presence is the authentic expression of the Oneness of experience.

He asks about the third golden curtain, and though the twins say they’re not sure he’s ready for it, they reveal the scene where Scott was standing outside his parents’ bedroom. He wakes up from the dream.


“I wasn’t sure if I’d ever really understand how she ended up with the dream bracelet, but there was another part of me that didn’t care to know, and instead, remained amazed and yet, perfectly content with, and accepting of, the mysterious experience.”

“For as long as I remember, I’ve asked if this was all there is. The word ‘this’ referred to my life as I knew it—unexciting, uninspiring, and unfulfilling. So the answer to that question is yes; it was all there was, as my life was what I understood it to be …And yet, I now know that life as I knew it did not exist other than in my mind’s dream. But my new answer is still the same. Yes, this is all there is. However, now ‘this’ doesn’t refer only to my perceptions of



my life. It’s everything. The totality of Consciousness. Yes, this is all there is, and it is perfect.”

“All that I Am chooses to experience all that there is, now. Experience. That is the purpose of life. One Dreamer, experiencing numerous limited dreams, all to remember the unlimited nature of Truth. From a more relative perspective, the purpose of … the life I’m living now, is to share my experiences with others … There’s nothing I ‘need’ to or ‘should’ do. That said, I can choose to share myself, including my gifts with others, not because I have to, but because I can. Through loving-kindness, almost anything I share will make a difference in other’s lives. I can choose to live a life of authenticity, of Truth, as I understand it. Doing so will help others, and me, to enjoy the ride.”

“There is duality in the dream, but unity in the Dreamer,”

“Present is a temporary state of being for me. The separate Scott is present, and then Scott is not present. Presence, on the other hand, is the state of Being. The permanent state of Consciousness. It is the connection and oneness of all things, all at once.

“The path to Presence … is to be as present as possible … let the mind go and awaken to reality. I am listening to my intuition without imposing any of my judgments or interpretations on it; without searching for proof to confirm what I already believe. I am letting go of the illusions of time and space, as well as the idea that there is any difference between my dream or waking world. As I do all this, ‘true’ fades into ‘Truth,’ and I will be home again, or more accurately, I will remember I am already home. I never left.”

“… to be as present as possible … By breathing deeply into the moment. Feeling my body. Noticing what is around me with appreciation of what I see. Whenever I feel my mind interfering, I will narrow my focus to breathing, feeling, and observing.”

DISCUSSION STARTERS

1. How would you answer the question “Is this all there is?”2. What is the purpose of life?3. What painful experiences led you to something that you treasure?4. How could you become more present in the moment?5. What insights, feelings, or questions came up for you while reading Chapter 26?



CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

SUMMARY

Scott can’t deal with his childhood memory but decides to deal with “the Greg issue.” He buys a new bicycle and helmet and hopes that Greg recognizes his efforts. He realizes that he never let Greg, or anyone else, know the unconfident and insecure person he was and vows to change. As he rides his bike home, he experiences a tremendous feeling of fear and arrives home to see an ambulance in front of his building. A friend of Greg’s sat outside and reaches for Scott. Scott sees visions of Greg which begin with him as a young boy holding a magnifying glass, and ending with a driver running a stop sign and, apparently, killing him. Scott is shaken, asking himself “What’s the point? ... Regret was my teacher, and guilt was the lesson of the day. I never resolved things with Greg, and now never could.”

The man gave Scott a memento from Greg, the magnifying glass Scott has seen in his vision. Greg’s old tool, which was new to Scott, was the key to the next portal, reminding Scott to share himself, not play small or hold back, and be fully present and fully himself.

DISCUSSION STARTERS

1. What are you hiding from others?

2. What unresolved items could you resolve now, before it’s too late?

3. Scott says that “I decided that things would be different. Very different. No holding backanymore. No longer letting fear be my guide. I’d be me, unconditionally.” Where do youhold back? How do you let fear guide you? What would you be like without fear andholding back?




CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT (Portal of Freedom)

SUMMARY

Scott enters the fifth portal and finds himself “in a place that I had never been before, nor could even have imagined.” The presence of the beggar was with him, and they had a nonverbal, intuitive conversation. They were in the Portal of Freedom, freedom from mind-created limitations. Scott remembers important lessons, including those about attachments, relationships, the illusion of separation, and love. Scott learns he must face his deepest fear in order to be truly happy and free. The chapter ends with Scott feeling the presence of the man in the black baseball cap.


“Just as light refracts to experience itself in many colors, your True Essence refracts into everything you could possibly experience, all aspects of you, to experience yourself in every way imaginable. When you, as a seemingly limited, fragmented color of Consciousness, remember the truth and become ‘enlightened,’ you once again merge into your limitless Self, with the Knowing that you were never separated … Oneness. That is what we are right now. That’s what we always are. But only when we fully awaken do we experience it.”

“Freedom, as it is defined in a world based on duality, exists only with its opposite, which would be incarceration or limitation. Absolute Freedom, however, is the nature of Awareness, Acceptance, Knowing, and Presence. It is the unconfined, unopposed, unlimited expression of Consciousness. In order to experience Freedom, as is the case with all the other portal concepts, you first work on being free, that is, freeing yourself of the many fear-based illusions that blind you from Truth. When you are free from all that you are not, your True Self as Freedom is revealed.”

“Like a shadow intrinsically desiring but deeply fearing the experience of the light of dawn, the egoic, limited mind fears the revealing of its True Self, as it believes that its identity will die in the process.”

“Everyone feels less than whole. We all feel incomplete. We attach ourselves to anything we possibly can that we think can ground us and give us some security and are very resistant to letting those things go. But the truth is that nothing outside of us can do that for us, and if we continue to search for wholeness outside of ourselves, we will, sooner or later, suffer.”



“Know that the illusion of separation is within everyone and that the suffering people feel from it is caused by the dissonance between true and Truth … people feel a conflict. It is a conflict between what their minds tell them, which is that they are separate, alone, and vulnerable, and their inner voice, which tells them that they are one with all, eternal and invulnerable. That conflict creates the feeling of isolation and loneliness, which is actually purposeful, in that it causes or pulls people to want to learn the truth. We all inherently know that the truth will indeed set us free.

“…love does not reveal Truth. Truth is that which reveals all things, including love …That said, love is the uniting energy that moves us away from beliefs that keep us fearful and instead moves us into the oneness of Being. It is the connection between us all … it’s not even another person that we actually love; it’s the love within ourselves that another person helps to bring out. So, in a sense, love is a powerful means, but not an end. We’re actually not even interested in love, only connection, which is derived from the experience of love. Once we feel connection, true connection, we are never alone, never separate, and never afraid.”

“You are not blocked. You are blocking. Where is your conflict?”

“Greg’s body died, but it never really existed as anything permanent. Nothing that doesn’t last is Truth. Only his inner Self is permanent. His Essence, Consciousness, is not of body or mind. It is his body and mind that is of Consciousness.”

“I am eternal. It is only when I let my mind go that I am truly alive. Surrendering to this understanding is the path to fearlessness and Freedom.”

“How do I know that I’m not just a dream character within someone else’s dream? I believe the answer to that question lies in the word just. Consciousness has a dream, and I am a character within that dream. However, I am not just a character, because the dream never actually ends. Nothing begins, nothing ends. I permanently exist both as Scott within the dream, and as Consciousness, observing the dream.”

“Consciousness is fearless, as it is existence, itself. When I realize my True Nature, I will never again fear death, as I will remember that I exist as I Am, always and in all ways. Within that Awareness, I am the Knowing that is eternal.”



“You already know that you are both the awakened I Am and the not-yet-awakened human being. Living authentically means accepting all you experience yourself to be in any given moment … I did not say any part of you was better than any other. Just see your whole self in your parts, and you will eventually awaken to the truth that there are no separate parts.”

“It is very normal to feel the fear of judgment. Everyone does. Everyone hears the same voice telling them that they are not good enough. Some are just better at blocking it out than others. Though we all have it in common, that voice is not born from Truth; it is learned during our early experiences in life.

“People might like or dislike you because doing so reinforces their belief about who they are or could become. They may like or dislike you because of how what you think, feel, act, or believe compares to how they think, feel, act, or believe. Or they may like or dislike you just because of the way you look, which was a preference they learned before they met you. In any of those cases, their judgments of you, even the positive ones, really have nothing to do with you at all.”

“When you are ready to face your deepest fear, you will strip away the remaining control of your mind, removing that which you are not and have never been. What is left will be pure; everything; the Absolute; Freedom.”

“You are happy, but you are not yet happiness. When you clear your mind from the remaining fear-based blocks, true happiness will be revealed.”

DISCUSSION STARTERS

1. Scott is told that “only when you are free from attachments, resistance, obsessions,addictions, and other mind-numbing distractions can you clearly see your True Self.When suffering is released, you experience Absolute Freedom. How can you begin torelease your attachments?” What attachments do you have and how can you begin torelease them? (Note: Have them look at what the attachment does for them and realizethat it is keeping them connected to ideas that limit them.)

2. Scott says that he’s had trouble connecting with others and maintaining fulfillingrelationships because he’s felt like he was broken and was relying on others to make himwhole. How much do you relate to that sentiment?



3. The fear of authentic self-expression is at its core, is the fear of judgment. Scott says hehas “tried all my life to be what others wanted me to be and it has never worked.” Howmuch do you try to be what others want you to be?

4. Scott is told that what stops him from knowing the truth of Freedom is the voice insidehim that tells him he’s not good enough. How do you feel “not good enough”? What typeof self-judgments do you make?

5. What would people experience if you were authentically you?”

6. Scott is told “The only way to let go of something is to first grab hold of it. How readyare you to face and let go of what you are not?” Answer the question that was posed toScott. How ready are you?




CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

SUMMARY

Scott reaches out to Larry, who says he can’t meet because he’s interviewing for a new guidance counselor. Scott realizes he loves the feeling of peace and that by avoiding pain, he protected peace. He knew that he had to face his fears and envisioned that new reality.

Scott meets Eric and reviewed a plan, then visits Stonebridge to ask why Paula didn’t get the scholarship. Finally, he goes to Las Puertas and lets Ava know that he’d like to invest in the restaurant. Ava and Lennon are overjoyed.

Larry called, very upset, and as Scott rides to his house, he sees the man in the black baseball cap nearby. Larry and Ginette are angry because they feel like Scott broke his promise, but he assures them that he didn’t; he just gave the money to Stonebridge so that Paula could attend college there and then share her gift with the world. Paula is overjoyed. When Larry asks Scott how he can repay him, Scott knows right away.

Larry has set up an interview for Chris Flaggart at his school, and Scott goes to tell Chris.

DISCUSSION STARTERS

1. When have you done something for someone else, just for the joy of it?

2. Scott says that “security does not come from owning something around you. It comesfrom owning yourself.” What does that mean to you?




CHAPTER THIRTY

SUMMARY

Scott’s clock is still stuck at 11:10. Karine comes to work to find someone at her desk. She gets upset and she and Scott go to Damon’s office, where she finds out that she’s been promoted to partner. Scott gives her an envelope with a large check, approximately 1/3 of his bonus (the other 2/3 went to Paula’s tuition, the Las Puertas investment, and a Rolex). She is incredibly grateful. Scott and Damon go out to a preview lunch at Las Puertas. Scott realizes he’s living the life of his dream. Ava and Damon meet and are enchanted with one another.

DISCUSSION STARTERS

1. Scott was extremely generous with his bonus, giving almost all of it away. What did youthink of what he did? When, if ever, did you or would you do something like that?

2. Scott realizes that, between his renewed friendship with Damon, “Karine’s bracelet, thejeans in my closet, Nowell, the connection with Greg, feeling a part of the beggar withineveryone, and probably everything else that was manifesting in my life,” he was living thelife of his dreams. What would the life of your dreams look like.



50

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE (Freedom, Revisited)

SUMMARY

Scott returns to the Portal of Freedom, but this time, everything was clearer and he was able to see, hear, and speak. Scott tells the beggar that he’s ready, and the beggar changes appearances to become the man in the black baseball cap, telling Scott “I am your suffering. I was raised in fear and have been following you your entire life. I have been waiting for you to release me.”

He shows Scott the title of the book he’s been carrying, The Witness, and tells him that the title holds Scott’s pain and the secret to releasing it. In the next scene, Scott is at Eric’s movie premiere. The title of the movie was also The Witness, and Scott finds himself in the movie. In the first scene, he’s back in the office with Lucena, with Karine watching. In the second scene, Scott is watching as his parents argue and his father shouts “What the hell are you looking at?” (the line that Scott has heard several times throughout the story). His father tells Scott that it’s his fault that they fight and that he wasn’t wanted.

As Scott’s father goes to hit him, Scott grows bigger and taller and stops him, telling his father that he won’t like how it goes and explaining what is truly going on. In the next scene, Scott and his parents are on a rowboat, having fun. They stop into a store where the man in the black cap tells him he hopes Scott has created a fond memory. Scott has and asks for a memento of the trip. The man takes off his cap and turns it into a fisherman’s hat like the one Scott’s father is wearing. The final scene of the movie shows Scott’s father comforting him after the water fountain episode.

Scott sees a program on the floor which says: Portal 1—Aware is what we can be. Awareness is the way of Being.


Portal 3—Belief is what we think we know to be true. Knowing is our Truth.

Portal 4—Present is what we can experience in the moment. Presence is the authentic expression of the Oneness of experience.

Portal 5—Free is the release of all that you are not. The Absolute is Freedom.

Scott sees the dream woman in the theater. He tries to get to her but loses her in the crowd. He goes over to Eric and meets Rose, realizing that they’re dating. Scott asks who the woman was, but can’t describe her more than that she was beautiful, which Eric laughingly tells him that doesn’t narrow it down.

Copyright © 2018 Bruce D Schneider & the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching (iPEC)




“Your intention is not to hurt each other. You love each other very much. What you are doing is projecting anger onto the person closest to you. Many people do that. But know that it isn’t your anger that drove you to this point; it is your fear. You are together but still feel isolated and separate, not only from each other but from everything and everyone else. You are afraid because you feel you are alone and vulnerable. Because of that fear, you believe your life to be random and meaningless, with no purpose. That is what you learned as children, and it has been haunting your dreams ever since. Have comfort in knowing that dreams are of your own creation and that you can awaken any time you like. When you do, you will feel the connection of love within you. You will feel the truth … That there is not two of you.”

“Remember, you can manifest the reality of your choosing.”

“I will always be with you. We are never apart. When you look into the mirror, you will see the truth: I Am. We Are.”

DISCUSSION STARTERS

1. What is going on in this chapter? What is “real” and what is “a dream”?

2. Throughout the book, the theme of “the witness” appears in many places. For example,Karine witnesses Scott and the dream woman, Scott witnesses his parents arguing, and theman in the black baseball cap’s book and Eric’s movie are both titled The Witness. We aretold that the title holds Scott’s pain and the secret to releasing it. What is the significanceof “the witness”?




CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

SUMMARY

Scott is in his office, looking outside, but instead of looking for a distraction as he had at the beginning, he is now enchanted with all he observed. He felt a pull to Karine’s office and asks her how she knows she’s not dreaming. They talk about freedom, and looking out the window, he sees a cloud that looks like a woman’s torso. He runs out, saying he needs to meet a woman. He goes to Central Park, expecting to see his dream woman. When he doesn’t, he sits by the fountain in Central Park, seeing and experiencing all that is around him. Upon leaving, he sees the woman from the movie premiere. They talk briefly and she ends up getting in the cab. Scott snaps his fingers, the scene replays, and they get in the cab together. She smiles “just as she did when we made love for the first time” and introduces herself as Skye.

DISCUSSION STARTERS

1. Scott tells Karine that he sees freedom everywhere and that he knows “I can experiencethat any time I choose by letting go of any attachments, desires, goals, doubts, or fears.As I release all that I think I want or think I am, I uncover and reveal the freedom of thatwhich I truly am.” What attachments, desires, goals, doubts, or fears do you have? Whatcomes up for you when you think about releasing all of them?

2. What happens in this chapter? Does Scott make time go backward? Is Skye the “real life”manifestation of Lucena, the woman of Scott’s dreams?




NOW: SCOTT FREE

SUMMARY

Scott is standing before the portals. They shake and merge into three portals, then the three portals merge into two, then into one. The sole portal was awe-inspiring, with a mirror-like quality. Scott reflects, then hears a question from the portal, “Who am I, really?” Scott walks through to find himself with the beggar, who takes his hand. They find themselves in front of an abandoned playhouse, which comes alive after the beggar tells him it’s closed only if he dreams it to be. A neon sign reads: This Moment Only: Who Am I, Really? They find themselves in the seventh row, in the center. The stage is empty and lit, and Scott sees hundreds of people there, including Skye and Jean, who asks how ready he is to finally lose his mind. The beggar tells him to close his eyes and count to three, and that when he opens his eyes, he will experience Absolute Truth.

We are back at the beginning of the story. Scott counts to three and when he opens his eyes, he is on stage, looking at all of his friends and family, including Greg. When Scott shares who he really is, each audience member is bathed in a “unique hue,” and “Scott sees his Self through the blend of their colors.” “All heaven then broke loose” and then the colors in the audience turned to pure white light.

As the story ends, Scott is in the office, watching the clock change from 11:10 to 11:11. He then sees the light reflecting off the clock’s face. He closes his eyes and when he opens them, he is on the other side of the street with a blank cardboard sign in his hand and a bucket on the ground in front of him.

KEY POINTS

“By first asking if this was all there is, I was questioning my purpose and meaning in life. This was the beginning of my awakening. I sought to remove the pain of the human drama. That was also part of the journey. I then made a new quest, which was to replace that pain with peace, joy, love, and bliss, all of which were closer to my True Essence, but now I realize, still all limited as emotional experiences. As the nurse told me, we all want pleasure, and we all seek to remove pain. Awakening, however, has nothing to do with pain or pleasure, as both are still part of the dream. Although it might feel glorious to awaken, being awake isn’t anything other than the remembrance of Truth. Not a hope and not a feeling, but a Knowing that I am more than the reflection in the mirror.”

“I Am Awareness. I Am Acceptance. I Am Knowing. I Am Presence. I Am Freedom. I Am white light refracted into all beings.”



DISCUSSION STARTERS

1. What is the Absolute Truth that Scott experiences? Does he learn it, or remember it?

2. Who is Scott, really? Who are you, really?

3. What happens at the very end? Is Scott the beggar? Was he the beggar all along?

4. What insights, feelings, or questions came up for you while reading the last chapter?



SUMMING UP

SUMMARY

Now that you’ve read and discussed the whole book, what’s next?

DISCUSSION STARTERS

1. What transformations (major or minor) have taken place in your own life since completingUncovering the Life of Your Dreams?

2. Which Uncovering the Life of Your Dreams concept(s) really resonated with you and why?

3. What steps will you take to incorporate the concepts of Uncovering the Life of Your Dreamsinto your daily life?

4. How will your life be different going forward?

5. What other final thoughts, insights, or feelings came up for you while working throughUncovering the Life of Your Dreams?

NEXT STEPS

This is up to you! Next steps could include having the participants:

• Join the One Idea Away community• Complete the online companion program individually or as a group• Do group or one-on-one coaching• Take the ELI• Discuss Energy Leadership as a group (a discussion guide is available)• Do the Law of Being, Energy Leadership Development System, or COR.E Dynamics

programs• Attend meetups, retreats, etc.• Take part in other offers you come up with—be creative and have fun!



ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

SUPPLEMENTAL QUESTIONS These additional questions appear in the book club discussion guide for the public, found on www.OneIdeaAway.com

• Did you like Scott? Why or why not? To which character did you most relate?

• On page 5, Scott is “searching for answers to make sense of it all” and returns, again andagain, to one question: Is this all there is? Later in the book, Scott’s focus shifts to life’smost important question, which he says is “Who am I, really?” What is the one questionto which you’d most like the answer? What do you imagine would be different if you hadthat answer?

• In the preface, Schneider talks about the process of uncovery: “removing all that is mind-fabricated until only purity remains. The uncovery process requires first questioningeverything, especially that which is considered to be reality, and then continuallyidentifying and eliminating any ego-generated thoughts or beliefs that cloud or distortwhat is truly real.” The author mentions the role of the mind many times in the book.Throughout his journey, Scott is warned and asked about “losing his mind” (pages 115,215, etc.), he is told that he’s “not yet ready to let his mind go” (page 147), and in theend, he is eager to do so (page 233). How constrained are you by your thoughts and ego-generated beliefs? What would happen if you let them go?

• On page 80, the boy tells Scott that “the world is an illusion, but your experience of it isreal.” Some of the illusions mentioned in the book include separation, limitation, timeand space. What would be different for you if you believed that these were illusions?

• Some of the aspects of the story are confusing. For example, did Scott dream of the newbracelet and then change the past and the present? How did Scott learn things about Ericand Jean in his dreams that turned out to be absolutely accurate in real life? Schneidersays that “nothing is impossible except in the mind’s eye.” What would you do if youbelieved anything were possible?

• In the last scene, Scott finds himself on the street, holding a blank cardboard sign with abucket on the ground in front of him. How did you interpret that scene?

http://www.oneideaaway.com/



EXCERPTS FROM INTERVIEWS WITH BRUCE – MORE DISCUSSION POINTS

Archetypes

“There are many archetypes in the book. In an interview with the author, he says that “An archetype is a universal symbol. I believe that each one of us has all of them within us. They don’t all come out all the time but I believe that each of us has a protagonist and an antagonist and a hero, and each of us is a damsel and a damsel in distress. Each of us is a sage and each of us is in a sense a victim, a bully. They are all there. There is the archetype of the intellect and the archetype of the emoter, the person that comes from the heart. There is the small child. They are all representations of who we are. They’re all representations of me.

“So the character of the beggar, one of the main characters in the entire book, the beggar is simply someone that we look at and we judge. And yet when you look past the limiting beliefs, or past the assumptions, the interpretations we see something within each person especially with someone like a beggar that is beautiful, powerful beyond belief.

“How do you relate to that character? What aspect of you comes up? What does he say, seemingly think and do that you do? When people start to relate to these archetypes, they realize, we are all the same. This is not a guy’s story. This is not someone’s story, even the main character Scott. This is just the journeyman.”

Energy

“There is also some representation from every energy level, so there is the gremlin and there is the angry person and the person that just makes it work and the giver and the opportunist. It’s all there as well.”

For more information on Uncovering the Life of Your Dreams, visit www.OneIdeaAway.com and join the Facebook page, One Idea Away.

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