How the dream state can help us shake our external identifications
Kartik Subbarao
share with you and hear any thoughts that you might have. Here is the
main discussion thread:
http://integrallife.com/member/ken-wilber/blog/therefore-be-consciousness?show=all
Here are my specific comments:
I think that pondering the dream state is a useful way to shake the
exclusive identification with the waking state and its GIVENs of
external reality. My dream self sees the dream characters and places as
being external to it -- it's a subject interacting with external
objects. My dream self can have internal thoughts, ideas and feelings
too -- but these are clearly distinct from the interactions that it has
with the dream world in which it moves around.
My waking self, of course, can easily recognize that the entire dream
experience -- internal thoughts and external interactions alike -- all
happened within my mind. If my mind can create such a convincing
experience of external interaction while dreaming, how can I be so sure
that it can't create that experience in the waking state?
After all, can I not say that everything that I experience as being in
the outside world is mediated by my own mind? Is there in fact any way
for me to experience "externality" without my mind being involved? My
dream mind was powerful enough to control this switch -- it convinced me
that some things were external to me, which I only recognized as being
internal after I woke up. Who but my mind is the arbiter of what I deem
as internal vs external?
Is not, therefore, any experience of the outside world, equivalent to an
experience of my own mind in an infinite variety of forms?
To me, these are very compelling pieces of string to pull on, to see
what they eventually unravel. Spirituality, philosophy and psychology
help me to unravel this string in ways that make sense to me. They're
maps that I can consult and put away whenever I want. They free me to
surrender to experience itself.
mysr...@aol.com
Dear kartik,
Kartik Subbarao
passing this on!!
-Kartik
On 05/27/2011 11:04 AM, mysr...@aol.com wrote:
>
> Dear kartik,
> Recently I have published a book (which is a translation of a Kannada
> novel) that deals with spiritual issues of interest to this group.
> Please see the details below.
> Nataraja
> *Dr. M.S.Nataraja’s book “The Void and The Womb”*
> Dr. Nataraja has translated a Kannada novel (“Bayalu-Basiru by Dr.
> Vasanth Ananth Diwanji) into English.This book was released on April 30,
> 2011 in California during a Kannada literary convention.The central
> theme of the novel is *“self realization.”*The main character of the
> novel is an American who goes to India during the sixties seeking
> enlightenment.He faces several challenges and gets utterly confused but
> eventually finds a Guru who leads him towards spiritual life.Once he
> attains a certain spiritual status, he assumes the name Swami
> Aniketananda and becomes the head of an Ashram.His main disciple,
> Vinayananda uses his talent to expand the Ashram into an international
> institution of considerable fame.He attributes miraculous powers to his
> Guru and presents him as an incarnation of Buddha. How does Aniketananda
> really feel?Does he attain enlightenment?You should read the novel to
> find the answers!The narration style is unique; the entire story is told
> in the form of a series of dream sequences and introspections and mental
> dialogues. The book has been hailed as an excellent translation by
> critics and writers such as Prof. Amur, Dr. H.S. Raghavendra Rao and Dr.
> Sumateendra Nadig, who are themselves, well-known translators. Want a
> copy of the book?Please contact Dr. Nataraja via e-mail at
> mysr...@aol.com <mailto:mysr...@aol.com>. The book may also be
> ordered(soft-bound, hard-bound and electronic/kindle versions are
> available) directly from, iUniverse, Inc., 1663, Liberty Drive,
> Bloomington, IN 47403, (by mail); www.iuniverse.com
> <http://www.iuniverse.com/>(by e-mail); 1-800-288-4677, by phone. Books