One Great Dream of a Single Dreamer
The Buddha, which literally means "the awakened one," said "My form appeared like a dream to sentient beings who are like a dream. I taught them dreamlike teaching to attain dreamlike enlightenment." When we begin to awaken to the dreamlike nature of reality, we realize we are all characters in each other's dream. Like reflections in a mirror, we are all interconnected aspects of each other's being.
To recognize the dreamlike nature of our situation is to recognize that we don't exist as isolated entities separate from the universe, but rather as relational beings who only exist relative to each other. We are all related, parts of a greater family, the living multifaceted expression of a singular divine being. When we begin to awaken to the dreamlike nature of the universe we realize that the "dream ego," which is who we've been imagining we are, is only an un-reflected-upon and assumed model of who we are and is not who we really are, but is itself being dreamed by a deeper part of ourselves.
There is a deeper Self which is dreaming us. Like emanations of a meditating Buddha, we are the dream of something deeper, what I call the "deeper, dreaming Self," which is who we really are. There's only one deeper, dreaming Self and it is dreaming the whole universe. We are its dream. The deeper, dreaming Self expresses itself through and is not separate from the forms of the dream; we are simultaneously the dreamed and the dreamer. In the words of the German philosopher Schopenhauer, "one great dream of a single dreamer in which all the dream characters dream, too." The deeper, dreaming Self is having a dream, and we are it!
Waking up to our identity with the deeper, dreaming Self, we snap out of the self-perpetuating, egoic delusion that we exist in a way in which we simply, in reality, do not. The question then becomes: how do we best serve who we have now discovered ourselves to be? How does the deeper, dreaming Self which is dreaming us want us to dream itself into incarnation? How does the dream itself want to unfold through us?
People who are imagining that if they became lucid in the dream they would become a billionaire, or lose twenty pounds or something of that nature, are still caught in the dream of ego which imagines itself its own master. They are still attached to, animating and monopolizing a deluded identity of being the commander-in-chief, the one in charge, which is the ultimate power trip. Trying to manipulate the dream is a compensation for and expression of the fear of the separate self. In attempting to control the dream, one is still acting out of an assumed reference point where one imagines oneself to be an objectively existing entity whose situation is seemingly binding and problematic and whose agency is apparently separate from the whole.
Both the dreams of our ego and the dream of the deeper, dreaming Self, when invested with our attention, can materialize in, as and through our lives. The difference is that when we dream up our egoic fantasy into reality, it doesn't ultimately alleviate our suffering, but rather, reinforces it. When we are the vessel for the dream of the deeper, dreaming Self to incarnate, however, we have gotten out of our own way and become an instrument serving the whole. The energetic expression of this realization is compassion, the hallmark of lucidity. The whole universe, which we are a part of and not apart from, heals itself in the process.
Awakening in and embracing the dream, instead of trying to strategize and control the dream, we can get in phase with each other, I imagine, and co-operatively offer ourselves in service to the highest intent of the deeper, dreaming Self, whatever that may be. Our awakening is always a mutual and reciprocally shared co-awakening due to our infinite interconnectedness. Moved by something greater than our imagined self, we become an instrument of something much vaster than our own limited version of ourselves. Recognizing the dreamlike nature is the very act which empowers us to become in-sync lucid dreamers who can change the world. To quote an indigenous elder, one who is fluent in the dreamtime, "There's a dream dreaming us, and we must get back to that dream, and the vision, the power, and the energies at the disposal of man's dreaming self will help us to win the battle."
You can contact Paul at paul [at] awakeninthedream [dot] com; he looks forward to your reflections.
Photo of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva by Yeshe Samten, courtesy of Creative commons license.
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- 1-16-09
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Life is not a dream.
"reality can seem like a dream but it in fact isn't"
"this reality" that yu have grounded into is not something which is separate from that of Spirit-- denser, slower perhaps but not dualistic--rather, complementary and inclusive. Being stuck in Spirit or stuck in the Physical is of no use to anyone. To move in between the two is yoga or skill in action. The movement of Kundalini ideas and manifestation.
The only reason yu can be grounded here is because of yur Spirit Nature or Consciousness. There is no Shakti without Shiva. All is the dream of the Great Meditator and dreaming is not separate from any belief in a reality.
om peace
be in love
hi damien, would you care to
I find the 'Dream' analogy
I find the 'Dream' analogy to be a Neptunian/Age of Pisces psycho-remnant, a way of dissolving ones presence in order to lessen the impact and visceral immediacy of life on Earth. Its function is that of a drug, helping to further nebulize consciousness to the point where engagement is mitigated and any real attempt to affect progress, change or innovated is simply misted away.
It's a perspective
well..
To Dream Up a Reality
Vedic Sages of lore are well known for their ideas of "Transcendence" ... being beyond both the Waking state - sleep with dreams - and deep sleep {without dreams}state
Not that Spirituality is it's own state separate from these other experiences, but that "Spirit" is the background for their infinite flux ... one can contain all three possibilities within ones awareness.
My definition of the word "reality," based on direct syllable analysis would be ... to re-establish what already always is
In other words reality is what we tell ourselves as each of these stages of transition ... the truth of each/any/all of these being beyond their relative interaction.
"I have been up all day, therefore the reality is I need to sleep" ... I have been sleeping for so long the reality is I need to wake up.
Dreaming is often taken to be phantasmagorical in relation to the waking state.
Yet if one dreams of being chased by a Tiger ... he can wake-up in a cold sweat ... falling off a mountain etc
... if a male dreams erotically he may have a nocturnal emission ...
How is a wet dream not re-al {re-all}
How is this "reality" any different from the waking state ... as the body responds identical.
This could be applied to any "pre-entheogenic" hallucination state as well ... reality only until transcendance.
Like the seasonal changes, their constant cycling giving us the illusion we can linear plan our activity based on their interaction.
So our minds can tell us we are beyond their flux.
The "reality" of such however is that the mind itself is in similar flux ... this is why every culture calender has flux as well .. leap years ... leap months etc.
Even the cultures that use the 360 day {like degree's of a circle} which one would naturally tell themselves that this is perfect logic, still have to compensate at some point.
No perfect circle ... because the very point of knowing such becomes a "line of reference"
For the mind to know ... is for the mind to experience change.
In Taoism they say things like to know is to loose ... the "way of change itself" being "all"
Reality is claimed by our minds every time we adjust to flux ... as we are re-establishing for ourselves the sense of what "already is"
Humanism is when this notion is mistaken for actual understanding.
There is absolutely not one active human scientific endeavor that is not at present but in flux ...
Unless and until the mind latches on to a particular stage of transition.
The reality is I'm Hungry ... the reality is I'm full ... will the actual knower of reality please stand up.
At the top levels of Quantum Physic Thought, humans have reached the end of the rainbow in regards to such speculative assumptions.
Reality only being the recognition of ones nescience
When I am "intent" upon looking to measure reality, it seems to be composed of "particles"
... when I relax my need to measure only wave forms exist ...
sun shouts
We are to be as all are be.
We are to be as all are be. :)
Black Hole Dreams
Can Humanity ever dream a collective peace amongst ALL earthlings? Can humanity dream into existence a more enlightened world spirit? Can humanity dream oppressive governments out of existence? Can We the People dream our environment into a healthier, saner realm? Can the synchronistic human conscious awaken out of the deep slumber of apathy and involuntary servitude to banking cartels and their tax collection machinery? Can we ALL awaken to the dreamtime of star being evolution? Or is this the time where we fall asleep as wars rage, innocents die, economies are looted, above the law lying politicians, as the meltdown of civilzation takes place at the altar of self destruction by the hands of the few at the apex of the all seeing eye pyramid that connects with sirius? Let's get serious and tap into the next energy wave of our collective evolution...Dream Peace!
visit Myztico's Visionary Psychedelic Surrealism Gallery at: www.myztico.mosaicglobe.com
recommendation
paul. thank you for the article.
i have been readin' the replies to the article above and, although i find them interesting, i am findin' it difficult to fully understand the concepts discussed. i would like to learn more 'bout the above, which is why i would like a reference i can refer to. having said that, what source would be good to refer to for a 'beginner' like myself?
Know thyself.
Keep a dream journal. Meditate. Turn on, tune in, drop out. Take a walk in the woods. Look in someone's eyes for an hour. Hug strangers on the street. Pray. Offer your beliefs to the Lord. Grow some plants. Let go of your old selves. Live in the moment. Never be bored. Practice affirmations.
No reference you find outside yourself will ever be of any use until you have done the work inside yourself to prepare.
And, ...
You could also ask questions. People will answer.
Not to contradict anything Folkabout just said; Just that I find that asking people "what did you mean by that," or, "what do you think that that means" can help out as well.
I don't know of a single good reference that would help you decode all of the above; The "EnlighteNext" people could help you-- if you showed them this article, there are a lot of people who'd be happy to explain it to you.
There's a movement (a motion through people) at work right now -- many many people are realizing what "the deepest Self" refers to, and openly speaking about it.
(This didn't used to be obvious; Many people spent decades or even their whole lives to figure out what was being referred to. It took me 5 years to piece things together. It won't be that long for you; "Word is getting 'round." Gotta love the Internet; It is the cheat-sheet to everything.)
From there, people are split: "Does this mean we just meditate on Beingness all the time?", or, "Should we engineer a new world?" You may want to google the question, "What happens after enlightenment?", to get a sense of that conversation. (Many gurus are absolutely mute on the question. "After enlightenment? But there is no after enlightenment; There is just one moment. And your question -- it is a mental form. Mental forms do not arise in the enlightened." Weak beer. Push the guru out. Next!)
The author here, (Paul Levy,) is saying, "Well, we can retain humility, while we remake the world. It's not about our power really; It's about the deepest intent, which is making the world whole. Beware any totalization that is unresponsive to the spirit."
I think he was a bit heavy on the people who want to lose 20 pounds ("must a man not lose weight, upon realizing the deepest Self?", I could quip,) or who are trying to make more money -- can't we do anything with our intention? Must we just wait "for spirit to exude through our eyes?", as an old teacher told me is correct?
But I realize what he's saying: "Once you realize the deepest Self, it doesn't mean that the Universe is your personal playground." There are deeper levels of intent within the perpetually unfolding Heart, and if we don't connect with them, and if we don't serve them, first and foremost -- we're not only doing a serious disservice to the world, we're doing a serious disservice to ourselves.
This is all part of a "super-discussion" playing out in the cultural space right now. There is no real good reference, because this is like a wave front, a particular point of attention that a huge society is absorbing. When these waves pass, they're "new" (or new again,) and the books just haven't been written yet and put on the stands.
You can find pointers in various religious traditions (for example, Christianity, words of Jesus) and spiritual paths (for example, Tibetan Buddhism,) but they don't speak the same language, and it can be very difficult to learn all the lingo and how it meets up, especially if you don't know what they're talking about already.
From the 1960's-1990's, much of the discussion was around realizing the deepest Self, but then many people did that, (yep! the quests aren't at all impossible!), and then... ...not much happened after that.
There is a change now, such that we are realizing that what you do after you realize "the deepest self" (Consciousness) is very important. This is a very profound shift, and I see it as a major part of our evolution, but it can all seem a bit esoteric from the outside, with all the names, differing opinions, perspectives, and so on.
Keep reading, ask questions, look into your heart, etc.,. Folksabout's advice is not bad, too. Just make sure you don't go getting obsessed with the arcane details of astrology or something; It won't necessarily help you understand this article. To understand this article, you want to identify the deepest self. "Who is watching who is watching who is watching who is watching, ...?" After that, the heart.
dreamtime
One good source i can think
One good source i can think of is Eckhart Tolle's "Power of Now". It offers several ways to get closer to our original sense of connectedness and peace, and "the end of suffering" as Buddha defined what all his teaching is about.
> "Our awakening is always a mutual and reciprocally shared co-awakening due to our infinite interconnectedness."
This brings to mind what Robert Burton once said: "There is a secret that is almost too sacred to tell. The secret is: what one gains, all gain". I didn't understand this, no matter how hard i tried to contemplate it.
Years later, under the influence of a mild entheogen, an acute thought pattern started to run itself in my mind: why can't we just decide to let go of our illusion of separatedness? Why isn't the good universe offering us a paper that we could just sign to end all the suffering and confusion? Why is all this struggle and pain necessary?
The answer came as a vision, where a kind of higher self had "expanded" itself, forming these sleeping entities out of its own essence or spirit, entities that did not remember their connectedness with their source. When one entity awakened and rejoined its source, it was the source itself that awakened with it, or in it, rejoicing. And when the source rejoiced, it was everything that rejoiced.
My interpretation of this was that the source can't offer us an instant liberation because it is actually asleep in us / with us. Thus, some personal effort - work inside - would be necessary.
The Limits of Mysticism - Eckhart Tolle meets anthroposophy
For those who would like to read an interesting article that explores Eckhart Tolle in the light of a more comprehensive spiritual path, this one is viewable on the insight21 website:
The Limits of Mysticism - Eckhart Tolle meets anthroposophy
(Anthroposophy versus mysticism - a comparative exploration of key modern spiritual paths, using the perspectives of Eckhart Tolle, Rudolf Steiner, and Georg Kuhlewind.)
Visit the article through this link:
http://www.insight21.net/insight21_026.htm
Josef Graf
Earth Vision + Insight21
I love you life!
Aah, synchronism strikes again ... the last comment, by Elgon, leads in perfectly to the observation I wanna make. If we truly are the Universe awakening to itself, truly are the Divine, then how can the following be true?:
'People who are imagining that if they became lucid in the dream they would become a billionaire, or lose twenty pounds or something of that nature, are still caught in the dream of ego which imagines itself its own master. They are still attached to, animating and monopolizing a deluded identity of being the commander-in-chief, the one in charge, which is the ultimate power trip.'
Reason being, (and it answers the question of what comes after enlightenment, although a more apt question might be what comes after we have embodied enlightenment?) surely the entire point of the cosmic process we are all in is to become the drivers, the initiators the directors of that process, within the scope of the joy and interests and desires that we source from our own individuated aspect of it? Thus at the point of full alignment with the cosmos, surely the boundary between personal power and cosmic power dissolves?
Not to suggest there isn't a 'bigger picture' unfolding too in life, but as far as I can see we can hold our own, guide our own journey without interfering or being at war with that.
Also, if we surrender our power, our drive to some Other, in this case the Universe, how then do we have the will and agency to take life forward, to create and fulfill, as Damien suggests? If matter, and the Earth, is one of the most realised forms of Spirit, then surely engaging as fully as possible at that level is, ultimately, the greatest form of service, of self-expression, of Cosmic expression, which are ultimately all the same thing?
A lorra questions! : )
Politics: Our Shared Body
It's not only personal power and cosmic power that dissolves; The distance between us, you and I, "each other," dissolves as well.
The only thing we can really surrender to, is our hearts. It is unavoidable, though we stubbornly drag our feet, imagining that we enrich ourselves. No person can escape his or her face in the mirror.
We're used to thinking that we "have" our hearts, but another way to see our hearts, is as above and ahead.
Ahead, because our heart evolves through time, and ages. And above -- where our high ideals come from, and where we work as equals.
I can think of no better command than to follow your heart. Doing this, we inevitably connect with others' hearts.
The fruit of individualism is the development of the individual moral code, and eventually, I believe: voluntary collectivism.
Remember, it is only externally imposed moral codes that individualists are opposed to, after all -- not moral codes themselves.
And people only believe in individualism because they wish to protect others, as much as it may embarass them to say it. This is a moral inclination evolved both from authentic spirit within, and through external life experiences.
Our destiny is politics.
To roughly paraphrase Doc
To roughly paraphrase Doc Hawkins when he was having his experience in the Void: "... then a voice told me, ' all power is yours, own it ' ; to which I responded: 'Sure pal, but who would want it' ?"
Then he passed through the remaining levels of distortion ( The 800s ) into Full Enlightenment.
This experience also reminds me of the Ancient Wisdom Teachings where they speak of the 'Rendering of the Causal Body' or the 'Opening of the Third Eve of the Buddhic Body'.
I agree with LionKimbro in that once those levels are attained, all sense of the separated self dissolve into a state of Oneness.
the dreamer and the truth seeker