Владимир Светлов – The Path to Yourself, or the Road to Happiness: First Steps. Vladimir Svetlov (страница 5)

Thirty years ago, I laughed at such ideas. I dreamed of becoming a "proper" communist, believed in five-year plans and party congresses. Until I realized: blind faith in the system kills the soul. Knowledge healed me. Not abstract knowledge—specific knowledge. Like the fact that if you stare long enough at the wings behind your back—they begin to rustle.

What distinguishes a human from an animal

Animals are smarter than people these days. Remember that joke about the warrant officer and the banana? But animals don't dream; they don't have that ability. They don't create, they don't dream. They are not creators or dreamers. And a creator must be a dreamer. That is the difference between humans and animals.

We say: "Happiness is this. Let's run toward it." Then someone tells us: "No, what are you talking about? Happiness is that." And then: "You don't know what happiness is. Happiness is this."

A person in search of happiness

And so we rush after happiness in all directions. We dart around chasing it. Like a monkey with a grenade. And we end up treading water, torn apart, like the swan, the crayfish, and the pike. In the end, you see plenty of pensioners, but happy ones—they're a rare few.

Happiness should multiply. There's this concept: the "level of happiness." That means it's not enough to simply be happy; you need to understand what level of happiness you're on.

People at different levels of happiness

When a person has a dream, they are aware of it and seek ways to achieve happiness. They then begin to formulate a goal. Step by step, they outline what they will do to attain that happiness. Therefore, the direction of their goal must align with the direction of the dream.

Sometimes, a person knows exactly what they dream of and what they want. They say: "I dream of this, but I want that." And they yield to their desire, forgetting about the dream. They waste their time on emptiness. If you find yourself in a similar situation, where you have both a dream and a desire, desire what will bring you closer to your dream. Desire in the direction of your dream. Sure, you can deviate from the goal a bit, stray a little here and there, but every action of yours must be directed toward the dream. Always. And it doesn't matter what kind of action it is: useful, useless, harmful… It must be directed toward the dream.

You know this. And you teach it to your children. But you don't use this knowledge for yourself.

So, your child says to you: "Dad, I want this." You say: "Okay. But why?" You ask a question. You're checking the awareness behind that desire, its usefulness. Or, for example, your wife says to you: "Vasya, I want this." And again you ask: "But why?" She responds: "Well, I just want it." What can you say to that? You see? That's how people live.

And how often do you ask yourself "Why?" or "What will you do with it once you get it?" The second question is very important. Firstly, it checks the desire for rationality, and secondly, it guarantees that you won't be disappointed when you get what you wanted. Because if you answered it, you know what you'll do with it once you have it. And your action is already directed toward the next step in achieving your dream.

Wise people see 3-5 steps ahead. But a person with a dream sees everything. And they move toward their dream. Step by step. From one result to the next.

Some consider me irrational, they don't understand me. But I live precisely in this form: dreams and actions, from result to result. It seems to me that this is actually the most rational form. And those who scatter themselves with their desires consider me irrational.

So what is a dream? Everyone knows this word. Many use it. But only a few—correctly.

A dream is a specific goal that lies beyond a certain boundary of worlds. Ordinary people cannot look beyond that boundary and therefore say: "It's impossible." But you can look beyond it, so for you, it is possible. And you feel it. Because it exists within your inner potential, which you were born with and have not lost. This potential was placed in you before birth: it is why you were born. To realize it. That is the dream. And it was instilled in you.

Being born into this world, everyone knows why they were born. It's later that they forget, or this knowledge is beaten out of them, and they live their whole lives not knowing why. They are offered a new life program: school, university, job, retirement. And they accept it, forgetting why they were born and why they live.

People should not live like this. Not like this at all, but differently. I've been retired for 20 years now and I know exactly what I'm talking about. I didn't even bother taking the pension; I just walked away.

So, what is a dream? It is the meaning of life. And one's purpose. The meaning of your individual life. Everyone has their own dream, their own life task. A task whose solution allows one to be unique. And to become great.

At seminars, I am often asked: "Can a person have only one dream?" Yes, one. But it can unfold in an infinite multitude of images.

Imagine that right now you dream of going to the sea. Can you picture it? And what sea is it? Where will you stay there? What do you want to see there? Cliffs? Seagulls? A white steamship? Are you on a yacht or standing on the shore?

And now you are already expanding your dream, filling it with specific images, specific desires. And thereby bringing its fulfillment closer. And you have many of these specific images, gathered in one place.

And now, imagine that you dream separately about the sea, about a yacht, and about a little house by the sea. What will happen?

Nothing will happen. You'll spend some money on the yacht, some on the house. But not by the sea. Because you are here now, and the sea is there. There, where everything is concentrated into a single point, where your dreams take shape. There, where there is a clear image of your dream.

But in reality, this is not the dream. At best, it's a stage in life. This is not the dream, because it doesn't change who you are.

One of my students dreamed of buying himself an iPad and went to Moscow to earn money for it. He went, earned the money, but he didn't change as a person. Although he did a good thing: he showed courage and determination in achieving his goal. Others just sit around, dream, and say: "But I don't have the money," "Oh, and how am I supposed to go to Moscow right now?" And they just sit. They wait for the weather by the sea. Do you understand how that is?

In the beginning, you need to find the positives in small victories. A child, when dreaming, focuses on small wins. And if you allow them to achieve them, instead of cutting their efforts off at the root, they will learn to achieve, they will become great. But if a person is broken from childhood, what do we expect from the adult? They no longer know how to dream: their hands have been beaten, their heads have been knocked, they've been punished not just once, but another fifty times they've been labeled a psychopath, a schizophrenic, a sectarian.

So, a person like that starts, for example, fasting, and immediately they hear: "Did you join a cult or something? Are you insane? Look at Vasya, he drinks vodka — he's a normal person. Well, he gets sick, yeah, but he's normal. And you decided to take up yoga, go on a fast. Have you lost your mind?" And that kind of thinking, unfortunately, is the norm.

And here's another norm: "What, are you studying? What's wrong with you? We're all normal here, we don't want to learn."

All of this is the mindset of primitive people. People who would never come to my classes or buy this book. "Like I'd pay money for this!" they'd say. When you see someone like that, run far away from them immediately.

Life is a continuous search for and achievement of goals that lead to our dreams. But it's important to understand that a dream is not just a desire. It is a conscious striving for something greater than ourselves. There must be a clear sense of certainty and structure within us to move in the right direction.

The question arises: can a dream change over a lifetime? A dream can be adjusted during its realization, but it can only truly change after you have achieved it. Otherwise, it wasn't a dream, but just a desire not connected to real action.

A dream without action turns into an illusion a person lives in. Therefore, a real dream is something that ignites you, letting you neither sleep nor eat, and pushing you to act. A true dreamer burns out, destroys themselves for the sake of achieving their dream. But in the end, after achieving it, they regain health and strength, but of a completely different quality and resource.

So, rest assured that dreams are not just desires, but a conscious striving for something greater than ourselves. And it is only through action that we can achieve our goals and attain what we truly want in life.

Chapter 4. Skills, Abilities, and Knowledge in Problem-Solving

A dream is a shining star, illuminating the earthly path of every person. The goal directed towards the dream must be clear and definite, so that a person can move forward with confidence. A dream can change over time, correlating with life experience. But it invariably ignites a person, prompting them to act, rather than remaining in an illusion.