A few nights ago I found myself dreaming about my relationship to All That Is. In the dream, I was deeply embedded in All That Is. From that place, I could see that all of my concerns were unimportant, that all was well; there was simply nothing worth worrying about.
Then my perspective in the dream changed. I still felt firmly connected to All That Is, yet I was more individuated. I became aware of my perspective as a human animal, filled with longing and apprehension. I could feel myself as a young person driven by hormones and anxiety, desire and dread. Then, suddenly I was something close to my chronological age, unsure of the future, experiencing pain, and attempting to work out some relationship to aging, and eventually, death.
At this point in the dream I became cognizant of my brain, the organ of cognition and awareness that has been both a boon and a bane to human existence. I was shown clearly the ways the brain allows for individuated human experience, and creates the illusion that we are separate from All That Is. I was also shown that my apprehensions for the world were unnecessary, and that my fear that death will separate me from loved ones and places has no basis in reality.
Then I awoke. I lay for a while considering the dream, and thinking about the world. I found myself wondering how to balance the wisdom of the dream with the moral imperatives of being a human being living in difficult times. In the days following the dream I have found myself going in and out of that dream awareness. Sometimes I wonder whether the challenges of life are simply expressions of All That Is, and as such, the play of something immensely larger than us. Other times I am enraged at the greed and callousness of so many, afraid for the future generations, and filled with grief at the destruction of a world I love deeply. Right now, as I write, all of this is present.
I am aware the dream spoke to to the life of the brain, but did not directly address the knowing of the heart. I wonder, is not the heart, beneath whatever hurt it holds, always connected to All That Is? Surely the heart and brain are linked. Is not the brain most dangerous when it ignores the wisdom and compassion of the heart, and the heart most vulnerable when the brain pays no attention to need?
The dream remains close, both a reassuring statement and an unanswered question. It seems a great, if unfathomed, gift.
Dreaming the World 
Thank you Michael for sharing your profound dream. I share the dilemma of the dual outlook. Quite painful at times. For me it is always contains the opportunity to see with my heart. That path taken…the pain subsides. All is so simple but we have trouble being there….don’t we. Many blessings, Gretchen
Gretchen, being in two worlds is always challenging. Sounds simple but is often very difficult. Yes, following heart does reduce the pain, but only after one sits for a while with one’s heartache.
I agree with you.
Michael, Thank you for sharing your dream. It is a gift on which I was called to reflect.
What first spoke so clearly to me was when you wrote “there was simply nothing worth worrying about.” Indeed the brain does seem to create an illusion of separation. In my own journey, I often remind myself that, All is as it should be. Om mani padre hum ~ The jewel is in the lotus. Zacciah once asked the question, “what if all we needed to do, was BE?” I revel in that notion at times and feel it. I have recently come to more deeply understand that the challenges in life offer me great opportunities for growth in all realms; body, mind, and spirit. I recognize that my pains and struggles are quite often a product of my mind, and so ask if they are truly serving me. I also recognize that my worry and desire are natural, and if properly channelled, will drive me towards fulfilling prosperity and connection as a human being. Perhaps it is through my heart and it’s emotions that I am able to reason with my mind, although surely they are One! For is it not the mind and the heart which decides our reality or experience in the end? The placebo is my favorite example of the power of the mind (and heart!) over reality. It is the most effective known drug and yet the only potent ingredient is the belief system of the patient! The patient must believe it in their heart. What if we could harness that ability of belief consciously? How would that shift our realities?…
Blessings, Love, and Light,
Raphael
Hi Raphael,
There is not much I can ad to your fine post. I’ve been reading Chinese zen poets who might echo your worlds. Others would point out that even as we realize everything is as it is, we are also called to intervene in suffering. So life remains a conundrum.
As I was reading your post I kept saying, yes. I am so familiar with the struggles your dream portrays.
Yes, Pat, we seem to share these struggles. There are other pilgrims on this road as well. Good company. I am grateful.
Dear Michael,
Isn’t it amazing how much we know that we didn’t enough know that we knew?
For me, sometimes a dream is a nudge from the heart to the brain, either informing me of what I might not consciously realize, or a kick in the pants to act upon something I am trying very hard not to acknowledge. Wishing you peace in both your heart and your brain and relief from all pain.
Thanks, Naomi. I love also Bateson.
Michael 🙂 There is no doubt that suffering is an integral part of the human experience. Like a smile or a frown, none can escape it. In the end, is it not how we respond to the trials of life that defines our experience? Perhaps by embracing the suffering, we might quench it’s thirst and in time, return to joy. Knowing the depths of fear may allow us to more deeply appreciate the heights of love. Or perhaps it is through knowing the heights of love that we find ourselves bound in the suffering (i.e attachment?). My personal work has been to strive towards mindfulness in the quality of coherence of my emotions and how they are serving/affecting me. I have found that through placing awareness on my mental states (my mind) and embracing love (my heart), I am able to release any “dark clouds” overhead. Returning to gratitude and trusting in All That Is to provide me with all that I need, has also been crucial in my own healing. It seems the true challenge comes from the unknown. I have experienced this as a fear of loss or change. However, when life catches me off guard, I try to remember laugh and howl
:-0 aoaoaooooo
Raphael, I could not have said this better. Thank you.
This is a profound dream and your exploration of it touches my heart, Michael, with all the questions we chew on and the sense of a real need to to find a place of comfort and trust before time runs out, if indeed it does. Thank you~
Jamie, perhaps it both does and does not. Increasingly physics suggests both are true. Depends on one’s frame of reference in the moment.
Thank you for sharing. Gave me a blessed reminder of the feeling I had once when I was meditating deeply, outdoors under a beautiful starlit sky. It seemed that my skull became completely empty and that the universe rested within it. In that fleeting moment, I became directly aware of the me embedded in All That Is. Or should I say ever so briefly, dissolved the illusion of my seperateness from All That Is.
Lee, I have come to treasure those moments of vision and lucidity.They are indeed precious gifts. Thank you for sharing your vision.