Is It All A Dream? - August 2007

SOME RECENT EXPERIMENTS and theorems have highlighted the brains way of depicting reality. In the DVD the Bleep several references [and in the Rabbit Hole] that the brain once having experienced an event when visualised produces the same neuropeptides, blood readouts and so forth.

An experiment some years back evidenced that while relaxing and imagining exercising it had the same affect as having done it. See also Nobuo Shioya [google in for website] as another type of 'mind' game or healing. This then questions the nature of reality. Should we wish to put together a scenario from our graphics, our internal memory banks then we can in our internal world feel them as a reality, another step further we reverse the above to produce the outside 'as it were reality', this then come into the category of intention and its latest craze manifesting or intentionising.

A few famous models in the fashion world thought themselves thin, although eating no special diet or training. The Buddha talked about the world of illusion, and the Course of Miracles mentions about the dream like quality of reality. My feeling is that the ingrained programmes of many incarnations plus the constant barrage of this Life through media, the internet bringing the collective unconscious to conscious awareness steeps the programmes into depths of compressed auto habits. Many of today's programmes are subliminal and get behind the rationale. These compactions of concepts, facilitated by clever marketing advertising media, seduce with vivid glamorous imaging and catch phrases the almost irresistible compulsion to comply.

The seduction completed the mind stores these images and because of the appeal and pleasure and the identification with super heroes takes a general population of asleep people, hypnotised and appeased to believe these improvised highly emotionally charged pictures as reality. The mammon and capitalistic materialism divides the population into have and have not's. The Have not's feel lack of self worth, lack of privileges with the Have's feeling superior and relatively safe. The out come being that the Have Not's are fed the longing to be as the Have's and so the media feed the materialistic dream which can become obsessive and add to global rape of resources and mental illness. This feeds what the Buddha described as the pleasure pain principle,

If we are constantly seeking pleasure then a failure to gratify this becomes in many instances failure and therefore pain, we then try to remove pain by seeking more pleasure and so the wheel of Samara continues [samsara, Hindu and Buddhist terms for the constant round of suffering, birth and death] this being the world of illusion or of a dream like state. When we think or memorise we make brain neurone connections, a network of electrical tendril like connections [see the 'Bleep' or anatomical brain atlas] these have been found to 'click' or download electromagnetic fields, which like tuning into the channels on the TV or such like produce the holographic visuals in the brain or mind screen. Once again we see the illusion of reality. The Bodhisattva who came to China from India, was constantly asked during his six year stay in a cave waiting for his successor, please help me in some form or other? He remained in meditation. Hueng Neng who later became the successor, asked "My Mind is Troubled with the constant stream of thoughts and they torment me, how can I stop this intrusive flow" The Bodhisattva felt the time was right and said to Neng, "cut out your mind, put a thought in my hand and I will liberate you" Neng realised the illusionay dream like substance of thought and his mind fell to inner peace and silence. Where upon the Bodhisattva died and Neng became the first Chan Patriarch of China.

When observing the mind with alert attention, in other words watching oneself watching the mind, there maybe an experience when an emotion is present and we can watch it before it becomes attached or identified with an' outside ' object or an inside projection of the object. This we then see as an energy emotive force which is then glued to the object of its desire. It is indeed an energy field [see Eckhart Tolle 'pain body'] and is the raw emotion before depicting a scenario. Close attention then by mere observation begins to still the mind as we BEGIN TO SEE FOR OURSELVES THE NATURE OF ILLUSION AND THE DREAM LIKE QUALITY OF THOUGHT AND MIND CONTENT. This revelation does not imply changing by will, judgement or discipline of suppression. The very act of Attention without Intention that is Awareness without Bias begins the disentanglement which leads one from the path of delusion, suffering and the eternal round of incarnations to freedom and true reality.

This liberation is then experienced as inner peace and happiness [Sukka in Sanskrit, and its constant state of bliss as Nirvana, Samadhi, and one is said to be enlightened or a jivan mukti, a free soul living in a human body]. Until the mind is completely free, then there are interspersions of ignorance of reality. Reality is then classed as Sukka, Nirvana, Satori, and so forth.

Observing the world political, environmental and aspirations to materialism we can see how the peoples of the world are driven to excitation and madness pursuing more of the outside projections of reality and becoming a slave, addicted to outside perishable forms [including their own bodies] and so becoming inwardly impoverished, out of control and weak. Inflamed by raw passion and sensual gratification the endless search for more thrills and adrenalin rushes, so the helter skelter of craziness spirals. Then culminating in the punitive laws so suppressing the raw emotions which then go subterranean and become volcanic eruptions of violence and hatred.

Perhaps here an education programme in the study of the mind and how it works, definitely not psychiatry by drugs or behavioural correction, which merely substitutes one programme for another, or supervisory detention. What is needed is a way through guided introspection, awareness and meditation with Yoga, Tai Chi Qi Gong, Zen Karate, Judo and Aiki Do is needed to bring awareness of the mind, the illusion of gratification by the ' I want ' mentality and the rewards only in material and sensual pleasures.

Regarding the above it maybe seen and felt that the process of the new energies pouring into Earth, heralding a new spiral of evolution is facilitating the breakdown of the old outward bound patterns. This stripping away of the old as felt by many can be the cause and sensations of the 'new energy ascension or alchemic processes, the headaches, dizziness and so forth '. The confusion between the new downloads and the old programmes, the outside news with the inside feelings of the NEED TO CHANGE. As said so many times before we have TO LET GO, we desperately need new politicians[let us hope Northern and Southern Ireland can be a template] for sensible, generous and not so much tolerant living but harmonious living together. Let The Winds of Change be felt. A Buddhist view is that in many cases suffering can be the key or turnabout needed to push one to change. The question how long will it be for the majority of Humankind to Wake Up before the critical state of the Planet demands it? There is a speeding up a feeling of climax, a boil to burst and maybe that critical mass, the culmination of 'push to change' will be in 2012. Watch this space and wait and see. In the meantime keep on keeping on.

Lots of Love Geoff.

Addendum: So many nations and people have an invidious nature, they are inhomogeneous, and so many intrigante. There is lack of conscience and world inanition. [For the lovers of words]

Addendum: See also Karl Pribram and Harold Saxton-Burr, regarding Holograms and Life Force Fields.

Reflection:- During my time as a Lay Zen Buddhist Monk with my Sensei The Master Zen Roshi Uyenishi[Shuishi Nangoako] from the Butotokwai Monastery in Kyoto Japan, and from my Tai Chi and Qigong Sifu Lei Nei Chong, I heard the following " Grow Like the Tree" " Live by the Do[Japanese the way], live by the Tao by Chinese. Relating to the ethos of the article above, I feel that the way our bodies grow is not determined consciously in intrinsic form. Yes of course we feed it, exercise it and so forth, yet if we just allow it; it will heal, grow and expand, however, the way that dead cells are replaced, the 615 rhythms', the DNA /RNA and so on. This coordination and harmonious collaboration is beyond our conscious efforts.

Reflecting on this we can glimpse 'THE SILENT WITNESS WITHIN' and this silent watcher is the witness to all Life's events. It is when we lose the awareness of the witness, which is our real nature; we get caught in the hurly burley of Life's experiences. Identifying with the Witness, the silent unbiased observer we become free. We can still enjoy Life. The enjoyment comes from a deep peace which adds to the enrichment of the experiences we are offered. The tree grows in its true nature, silent and free, we can emulate this in human form and to our specific role, to grow, to trust and let Nature do its work in us. The less we interfere with nature and its organic process, the innate intelligence at work in us and the world, the more serene and divine we become. Let us hope the world population comes to this awakening soon. There is a shift and awakening, the ice is beginning to thaw. Those who are clinging to the pack ice, who will not let go into a flow and harmony will have to let go as the ice melts beneath their feet. Polar Bears need the opposite!

I was a pupil of the above Masters fifty six years back and the lessons learnt then are coming to fruition now, as if the original 'ah ha' went into the vault of my being, and like the desert seed that lies dormant in the sand, springs to Life when a sparse rainfall, maybe after five years, arrives. Perhaps the new energies are activating our latent DNA [see earlier blog this year] and are the combination signals or codes to release the information stored in our deep vault minds. We are awakening from our dream. Who is the Dreamer? Ask yourself Who Am I? The Answer I am Me, then Who is this Me? Contemplate this long enough and you may have an 'Ah Ha'.

Love Again Geoff