I invite you to explore some of the ideas in a new interactive journal I am now developing called Dream Seeds: A Journal for Planting Your Hopes. It will provide a special place - a book ''garden'' - for people to recognize and write down some of their deepest hopes and dreams. When a person starts filling in this book's pages, she plants her own ''dream seeds'' for future harvest. And in cultivating a garden of dreams, readers will find sunshine entering their lives and scattering the clouds

Below are several Dream Seeds question prompts to help people express what they hope will bloom from the seeds they plant.

This is a dream seed for something I wish to accomplish in my life. What I want to accomplish is to:

This is a dream seed to grow smiles. When it flowers, I will present it to:

This is a dream seed to cure ills. I will use the petals of its flower for:

Its stem for:

Its roots for:

I plant this dream seed for someone I love. Here is what I hope will blossom from the seed:

A dream seed I plant in memory of the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. (This seed can be an action or thought or deed you perform; write what it is). And here is what I hope will flourish:

The Dream Seeds journaling book also will include tales about the power of seeds that appear in stories from many cultures around the world. These stories have been gathered and written by famed storyteller Laura Simms. Here is one:

FROM A BUSHMAN TALE

In the earliest times there was no night or day.

The earth was covered by a grey mist.

At that time the people built fires between villages for warmth and light and food.

One day a little girl saw that the fire had died.

The ashes were mixed with seeds, still burning softly.

She picked up the ash and seed in her small hands and threw them into the sky.

They became the first stars.

That dawn there was sunlight for the first time, but you could not see the stars because the sky was red.

Day followed for the first time, but the sky was white and you could not see the stars.

But when the sun set the sky turned black.

There was night and the stars she had made were seen for the first time.

©Laura Simms 2004. Visit Laura Simms at www.laurasimms.com

We will post some of your responses to the questions above on the BLOG With Bill Zimmerman feedback page.

Please include a screen name (up to 8 characters) that we can use if we post your response.

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Dream Seeds has not been published yet. We welcome your thoughts and suggestions for this book. Send them to WmZ@aol.com.

To find more new treasures, go to the Become an Escape Artist page and also to 100 Things Guys Need To Know.

Illustrations for Dream Seeds by Joe Dzialo. Illustration above by Tom Bloom.