The Dreamstate Flashcards
There is no difference between dream and the waking state, except that the dream is short and the waking state long. Both are the result of the mind. To awaken is to inquire and seeing what’s really true, and to do what we have to become progressively less asleep. The more you realize the dreamstate nature of reality, you start to develop a sense of detached observer quality. A sense of detachment from the character and the dream.
What is our natural state?
The lack of a physical body is our timeless natural state, and existing with a physical body is as temporary as a dream.
We are incredible and powerful spiritual beings having a human experience, and not just humans having a limited spiritual experience.
How will death feels?
Death will feel literally as waking up from a dream, and realising, “Oh, this is my real reality”, and then the dream just sort of fades off.
Death is like that with regard to physical reality. You wake up and suddenly remember who you are and that you where having this physical dream.
- Bashar -
What is Maya?
Maya is the complex illusionary power of Consciousness which causes Consciousness to be seen as the material world of separate forms in its place.
What is the Dreamstate?
The dreamstate is an illusionary reality. In a way, the whole of life is a great big dream. This is a dream, a dream world -there is no reality to it all.
Within the dreamstate everybody is holding false beliefs and false perceptions, and the false personality that’s based on them.
“This so called “waking” reality is only a dream, a “day dream”, somewhat longer, more stable, consistent, and “logical” in structural patterns, and more consensually verifiable -it is more a “mutual dream” than the night dream, which is less commonly shared as a “mutual dream” by other dreamers—but it is a dream, nevertheless.”
Nisargadatta Maharaj (1897-1981)
“The apparent world is caused by our imagination, in its ignorance. It is not real. It is like a passing dream.
Creation is but agitation in consciousness; the world exists in the mind! It seems to exist because of imperfect vision, imperfect understanding. It is really not more than a long dream…”
Sankara (c.700)
Usually considered the most brilliant sage in all Vedanta tradition.
“There is no difference between dream and the waking state, except that the dream is short and the waking state long.
Both are the result of the mind. Because the waking state is long, we imagine that it is our real state.”
Ramana Maharshi (1879-1950)
“This reality is only relatively real. At night, while you dream, everything is very real, but when you wake up it turns out to be unreal, and the waking stage seems to be real. But both are dreams—one a night dream and the other a day dream.
During both dreams you are present and you experience both. So you, the “I am awareness” remains; the rest is a mixture of true and false….”
- Babaji -
To awaken is to become progressively less asleep.
To realize that you are dreaming is all that is needed. To awaken is really nothing more than the process of waking up from the dream. To inquire and seeing what’s really true and become progressively less asleep.
“Treating everything as a dream liberates.”
As long as you give reality to dreams, you are their slave. See all as a dream and stay out of it…. all you need is to realize that you are dreaming. When you have seen the dream as a dream, you have done all that needs to be done.
-Nisargadatta -
Do we need to change the dream to wake up?
“Don’t try to change the dream. Be aware of the dream. Become more interested in the awareness of the dream than in the dream itself. “
- Adyashanti -
How seriously you take other people in the dreamstate?
Just imagine, if you woke up inside a dream, how would you see other people in the dream?
How seriously would you take things?
Of what real importance is any given situation in a dream?
Is there any need to rescue each other from sleeping and dreaming?
So most people you see are sort of not really present, sleepwalking through their roles. They are fully in character and don’t know any other way. I don’t see it as my role to save or rescue anybody any more that regular people feel the need to rescue each other from sleeping and dreaming.
The “detached observer” quality.
The more you realize the dreamstate nature of reality, you start to develop a sense of detached observer quality. That means constantly perceiving life as a movie, as a day-dream, as a stage drama, as a dreamstate.
Cultivating a sense of amused detachment from your own character and the dream, perceiving life from a free and expansive perspective, without been lost in likes and dislikes, attachments and aversions.
Don’t take your role to seriously…
“You’re in the dream but not of the dream.”
It means you know that you’re playing a character in a staged production, but you don’t confuse your role with the detached observer or the stage with reality.
You are playing a character role but all importance is illusory.
“The wise man who sees the world as an illusion does not act as if it is real. Therefore he does not suffer.”
- The Buddha -
The Lucid dreamer of life…
- Adi Da -
When one realizes life to be a dream appearance, one becomes equanimous about the content of one’s life, and one’s focus of attention opens up to include not only the play of forms—this body-mind and all “other” body- minds—but also to intuitively include the formless matrix, context, or ground for this play: namely, the pure, absolute Being-Awareness, the witness in its formless no-thingness, which mysteriously, playfully gives rise to the play of forms. Thus, in the awakened state, “One witnesses the dream while the dreamless (awareness) goes on”.
