# Lucid Dreaming > DV Academy > Current Courses > Dream Yoga >  >  fOrceez the Dream Yogi

## fOrceez

Hey there, classmates! 
I think I have been fairly descriptive of how I had attempted (and still do) attempt Dream Yoga in my own way. Now I will try to attempt why;
I find lucid dreaming not something that should simply be approached by the guides and walkthroughs we have on the forums and we have easily accessible by the internet seeing as most of these methods are mostly based from a scientists point of view. These are very "do this and achieve this". I sought a method (lifestyle, really) which improved my self awareness and could also benefit my spiritual life. 
I will be doing the first homework task tomorrow - I shall update then. 

Goodnight for now!

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## fOrceez

I've been doing the level 3 of the first method - sound in every day life. I think it is not really difficult.. but the worst thing is trying to not be distracted. Have you any advice about keeping aware throughout the sleep stages?

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## fOrceez

Perhaps a better question should be, how should I fall asleep?

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## Sivason

> I've been doing the level 3 of the first method - sound in every day life. I think it is not really difficult.. but the worst thing is trying to not be distracted. Have you any advice about keeping aware throughout the sleep stages?



I find that the worst thing someone can do in that situation is allow your mind to wander. Many people use daydreaming or similar things so they will not get bored. Keep some type of focus. I allow myself to drift only long enough to get my body restful. Focus and aware are almost the same word. If you want to enter the stages of sleep and stay aware you will need to be able to intensely focus, but in a  relaxed way.
Focus intensely in a relaxed way? Think of the wrinkled brow serious look of someone cramming for a test. That is exactly the kind of focus you must avoid. Instead think of something like a frog getting ready to catch a fly. It is calm and focused. You do not see the focus as rigidity. I could probably explain more, but it is really Sageous' area for the moment.

Here is are few examples of how it can be done. Gain awareness of your energy body and examine it with your inner preceptions (maybe gaze into the 3rd eye). Mantra. Counting. Visualization.

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## fOrceez

Thanks for the reply! I think for the next week nights, I will try and keep focus on my body/limbs as I drift to sleep, rather than my breathing. Shall update again in the next few days to tell of how it goes; whether i am able to fall asleep while maintain a decent level of focus or not - any lucids, etc.

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## fOrceez

WILD and DILD last night - DILD was just due to daily practice, i suppose. However; i think the WILD was due to the focus on each of the senses. For example, i'd focus on one thing then the next. I then felt my body get heavier and then heard the strong wind transition. Didn't do much in either of the dreams.

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## Sivason

> WILD and DILD last night - DILD was just due to daily practice, i suppose. However; i think the WILD was due to the focus on each of the senses. For example, i'd focus on one thing then the next. I then felt my body get heavier and then heard the strong wind transition. Didn't do much in either of the dreams.



Woohoo! It is nice to get fast results. Many hundreds or thousands of LDs to come. Good job.

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## fOrceez

Thanks  :smiley:  Possibly another lucid just then - i woke up with the thought after the nap, but i can't recall the full dream.

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## fOrceez

Another WILD two nights ago - lasted roughly 20 minutes. Spent half the dream attempting to dream share. Are there any books that you could recommend related to dream yoga? The Tibetan Yoga of Sleep and Dream is starting to seem too religious. I don't particularly want to do energy work.. just.. laziness.

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## Sivason

> Another WILD two nights ago - lasted roughly 20 minutes. Spent half the dream attempting to dream share. Are there any books that you could recommend related to dream yoga? The Tibetan Yoga of Sleep and Dream is starting to seem too religious. I don't particularly want to do energy work.. just.. laziness.



As crazy as it sounds, I have never read a book on the subject. I  did order three or four of them for this class. I have not read them yet, but I plan on posting lessons where I reeview each book. So before long, if any of them are good, I should know.
I was actually thinking of the lessons being a stream lined pouline of the useful stuff minus all of the religious thought. I can read right through a few paragraphs of the religious clutter and tell everyone what they should take from it. I will also leave the threads open, so ppeople can ask questions about things in the books.

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## fOrceez

That sounds like a really good idea. Maybe I'll try and ask around and see if Sageous or R_B have any suggestions.

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## Sivason

Who is R_B? I am always interested in pin pointing the members i should be watching for.

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## fOrceez

View Profile: Robot_Butler - Lucid Dreaming - Dream Views x)

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## fOrceez

Heya sivason, 
How can i adjust how much focus I put into something whilst trying to fall asleep? At the moment, it feels like all or nothing :/

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## Sivason

Try this. If it does not work i will give you something else, but this should work. Learn diffuse vision and watch a tv episode with it. Hold a pencil or crystal or something in front of your eyes about half an arms length away. First look at it normally. Your eyes will adjust to bring it into focus so you do not see two images. Your brain will also rush to analyse the info and the object comes into clear focus. that is normal vision. For difuse vision you want to relax the muscle controlling the focus of the eyes. You should see that things are not so clear and you may see two images just barely offset. You will still look at the object but learn not to focus on it. It is in your field of vision, you are aware that you are looking at it, but you do not allow your eyes to focus on it. You will likely start to see auras when you learn this. Your hand and the object may start to glow, but do not focus on them or it will stop. Seeing auras is a different subject, but in learning diffuse vision you may stumble on them.
When you get that down, attempt to watch an entire tv episode with diffuse vision. Look at the tv but do not focus on it. follow the story and listen. if things are happening on the screen take in the images and know what you are seeing, but do not engage the muscles that control focus, and donot track the action with your eyes.

Ok, why? and how does that help?

By the time you have learned diffuse vision and can watch about ten minutes of a show  that way, you will have learned the correct mental state for WILD. Remember new  brain skills take at least 3 weeks to remodel the neurons. I waant you to find that state of mind on your own, but the info above should work in getting you there.

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## Sivason

Hi everyone! It has been almost two weeks. I hope everyone got a chance to practice. The thread *Dream Yoga Basic Skills: Lesson 1*, has been updated. I have shared a few ways these skills will be useful in LDs, and the thread is now open to Q & A.

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## fOrceez

Have you mastered this?

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## Sivason

> Have you mastered this?



Sure, decades (well 2 any ways) ago. This is really a pretty easy thing to master. You can get good at it in less than a month and master it in less than a year.
This will also be cover as one of the skills in the next skills lesson, but you can start on it now.

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## fOrceez

As great as the theory sounds about the diffused vision, how am I supposed to relax my eye muscles? I'm not entirely sure what i'm doing.  ::D:  
What exactly am I aiming for? Focus mentally without having my vision adjust?

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## Sivason

It takes practice and training. Start maybe by trying to relax the muscles that prevent you from going cross-eyed. When you relax them and do not focus on anything you will see a slight double image. Exploring the how is part of the work you must do. This stuff takes a long time and you need to do the bulk of the work yourself. I assure you it is possable in an evening or two to learn to relax those muscles. It is the kind of vision someone staring out a window, but lost in a day dream would have. Not a big secret, just learn to have that kind of difuse vision.

*What you are aiming for, is to figure out why I am telling you to do this*, through trial and error. Here is a hint. The skill it will take to stay relaxed enough to not track the objects on the screen or focus on anything on the screen, but still see the images and understand what you are seeing, is not natural. It will take a month or so to develop it well. However, the tricks and relaxed state are the same tricks and relaxed state you need to adjust your level of focus.

If I understand your question, you want to be able to stay aware, but not over stimulate your mind, as that will keep you from sleeping. If you develop difuse vision as one of your skills and push it so far that you can watch tv for 10 minutes using it, then you will have an example of the type of meditative methods you can use to dial back awareness, but not turn it off. 

Think of your eyes focusing against your will as the same thing your mind does when you become too aware. 


The super short version,,, it will teach you skills needed in achieving your goal, trust.

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## fOrceez

Was playing around with it during all of last night before sleeping. I laid in bed staring at the roof and not focusing on anything. The vision end up getting very blurred. I then closed my eyes and just focused on all of the dark space. Drifting in and out of consciousness, I really entered that 'this is a dream' state of mind. This later induced a DILD within the first cycle of REM, which is quite odd - it seems first REM cycles only ever let me get lucid by DILD ^_^
Something that really bothered me while trying to practice the diffused vision while closing my eyes was that I kept on moving my eyes - There was a HUGE urge to just let them.... sway around. Is there anything I can do about this? 
As for the lesson, I realised what it was teaching a few nights ago - without it having put into words, the shift in focuses was what I was already doing. I just never done it for sight alone.

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## fOrceez

Also, I purchased for the Tibetan Book of the Dead a few days ago. It should arrive within the next week  :smiley:

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## Sivason

> Was playing around with it during all of last night before sleeping. I laid in bed staring at the roof and not focusing on anything. The vision end up getting very blurred. I then closed my eyes and just focused on all of the dark space. Drifting in and out of consciousness, I really entered that 'this is a dream' state of mind. This later induced a DILD within the first cycle of REM, which is quite odd - it seems first REM cycles only ever let me get lucid by DILD ^_^
> Something that really bothered me while trying to practice the diffused vision while closing my eyes was that I kept on moving my eyes - There was a HUGE urge to just let them.... sway around. Is there anything I can do about this? 
> As for the lesson, I realised what it was teaching a few nights ago - without it having put into words, the shift in focuses was what I was already doing. I just never done it for sight alone.




It takes you learning the subtle ways your brain trys to get you to move your eyes. Patients and observation. You need to explore and figure out something very subtle. When you can over-ride your urge to have your eyes move and focus, you will have learned a new mental state. In that mental state you can avoid having your WILDs fail due to you reacting to anything you see or feel. You get to a state of awareness minus the harsh edge of attention that can hold you in a fully awake place. Hope that makes sense. Work your  way through the lesson, in all its part and give it about three weeks. Before long you will have a tool to use that should allow your WILDs to go smoother.

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## fOrceez

It this mental state 'retreating' to the mind rather than the body? I was just... thinking today. Awareness but not focus. Seems oddly fitting, in a way.

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## Sivason

> It this mental state 'retreating' to the mind rather than the body? I was just... thinking today. Awareness but not focus. Seems oddly fitting, in a way.



Well retreating to the mind is sort  of it. You are getting a disconnect from responding to the body. *Awareness but not focus.* I like it! As soon as i open the thread in about two weeks, I am going to copy it into the lesson thread and give you a 'Gold Star' for being the first to state it so clearly. 'Gold Stars' are now worth 30 hall points.

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## fOrceez

Lately I have been doing just sensory awareness combined with "this is a dream" mentality. When I  go to sleep, I either attempt to induce a dream or keep my mind clear until I fall asleep. Dream recall has been poor lately, not much to report on that.

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## Sivason

This stuff takes a long time and sometimes people are more focused than at other times. I am thinking this class may have to be a standing feature so people can go at their own pace with no rush. The idea that anyone could get good at all of these things in only a couple months is crazy. Even the basic skills are not very easy. Even with me cutting the subject down to bare bones and an abreviated form, the process takes a long time.
So have fun, go at your own pace. I will probably keep the course open at least 6 months.

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## fOrceez

So, I spoke to Satan last night..

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## Dark_Merlin

> So, I spoke to Satan last night..



I think you finally found a worse way to start a conversation than 'We need to talk..'

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## Sivason

> I think you finally found a worse way to start a conversation than 'We need to talk..'



That is so awesome!  :smiley: 

So Forceez, are you going to write a DJ entry about it? Was it in an LD or trance state?

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## fOrceez

Will do! Writing it up now - shall post in here within the next hour.  It was a LD though the level of lucidity was only higher towards the end.

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## fOrceez

> 16.06.2012Chilling with Satan (DILD)
> 
> NON-DREAM DREAM LUCID
> 
> I'm in some sort of building with red walls. Absolutely no idea about what the function of the room is.. but my objective is to kill this guy. He's standing in the corner of the room with his back facing me - perfect! Creeping up to him, I pull out my pistol. As soon as i'm about 2m from the guy, I fire two shots into his head.   ... wait.. what the.. It had no effect what so ever! 
> He turns around, perfectly unscathed. The hell is this guy? Is he hacking? (Man... I've been playing too much Battlefield 3  ) I don't know what the fuck is going on, but I give up. At this point, I don't even care about anything. I turn around and walk up a small flight of steps which brings me to a girl sitting at a messy desk. It somehow reminds me of the receptionist of a ghetto PC gaming cafe. 
> After saying a few words to her, I black out..
> 
> I'm now standing infront of a red telephone booth with the girl to my right side. However, this is no ordinary telephone booth, it's actually an elevator. (Whilst writing this, I have absolutely no clue who the person coming up the lift is.) I have an incredible urge to eliminate this guy. He committed some sort of betrayal and it's seems only fair for him to die.
> ...



I also attempted a WILD today. I laid in bed and done conscious breathing while clearing thoughts which came into my head. I've come to the conclusion (_I think_) that this is probably the way I should go about it. Either with mantras or void meditation. I came extremely close to entering the dream (the feel was there) but I got too excited. Bugger.  Will try again (maybe) tonight and definitely tomorrow afternoon.

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## fOrceez

A question, if you will! I understand that a Dream Yogi realises that 'realities' are an illusion.. But how can I truly understand the nature of this? Is practicing self awareness the only way? 
The past two weeks, after a conversation about LDing with Dark Merlin and Mzzkc; Mzzkc said I could gain multiple lucids per night by practicing awareness of one particular thing - I chose the sense of touch. I understand that this will take a while to fully kick into my dreams, let alone grant me multiple lucids per night. But I have been wondering.. How can I fully understand that these realities are an illusion?

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## fOrceez

Bordering on the verge of lucidity last night - my awareness led me to questioning events which happened.

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## Sivason

> A question, if you will! I understand that a Dream Yogi realises that 'realities' are an illusion.. But how can I truly understand the nature of this? Is practicing self awareness the only way? 
> The past two weeks, after a conversation about LDing with Dark Merlin and Mzzkc; Mzzkc said I could gain multiple lucids per night by practicing awareness of one particular thing - I chose the sense of touch. I understand that this will take a while to fully kick into my dreams, let alone grant me multiple lucids per night. But I have been wondering.. How can I fully understand that these realities are an illusion?



That is a big topic and i will do what I can to help. It will not help much, but lets start with I actually 'know' from experience that this reality is a dream. I unfortunately have no magical way of letting other people see it. With success in dream Yoga and Kundalini you actually experience the truth of this. I will share some ideas with you on how you can come to terms with it.

You know E=MC2? Energy and matter aare one in the same. That is why the atomic bomb worked. It changed a tiny portion of the bomb material back into its energy form. Think now of the atomic structure and its parts. Electrons seem to be a vibratory energy that can not be tracked like normal material. If you study light, they are still confused that it acts like a phyisical particle, but travels in a wave pattern not straight. So, from that you can get that the boundry between raw energy and the world we see is questionable. The short of it is that all that we see is composed of energy. The physical realm happens because of simple principles like positive attracts negative and repulse positive. That creats space or the concept that this little bit of energy can not stay near this other bit. Now we have two  energy patterns that react to each other and the one unity becomes duality. This will not make you truely grasp that this reality is a dream. It shows that modern science can support the idea, and does not harm the concept. Energy and matter are one.
More science. They say the universe is expanding. they track the progress backward and conclude "The Big Bang" The problem is it works nicely until a few moments before the bang. Most people do not believe this is a dream, so they reach for a explaination that makes everything physical. The problem they run into is it seems to have expanded from nothing. The scientists can not accept this, so they do not  say came from nothing, they say came from a spot much smaller than a single atom. The rate at which it happened is a problem also. You see at about a minute after the bang the universe was already tens of thousands of miles across. They conclude that it expanded at many many times the speed of light maybe thousand of times faster than light. What they can not handle is one moment it is not there, then suddenly it is. My point is that saying "The universe popped into existence, everywhere and instantly" makes a lot of scense here. If it is composed of dream stuff, then of course it could instantly appear and be 30,000 or more miles across when it appeared. It also makes it reasonable that it did not need pre-existing stuff for it to spring from. Why force the idea to be physical. It came from a smaller than an atom thing that contained all the heat and energy ever, but had just been sitting around, then it expands at hundreds of times light speed, sounds like a BS made up way to avoid being laughed at for expressing the thought that it all  just appeared.
Picture that you know this is composed of dream stuff. In that case the whole big bang does not have any mystery. The god like creator decided to creat a universe and "Bang" it appeared. It is no more outlandish than any religious theme. It is a point of view that millions have taken, so it is not one crackpot idea.
Forceez, I will not be able to sell you on the idea in a way that will allow you to fully believe the truth of  it. That will come to you with time. One thing is that it also allows fro a much more fluid and flexable world than our world seems to ordinary people. It allows for mystical and magical things to happen.  I hope any of that helped. I am willing to work with you on this. All I can tell you is that eventually the yogi can "see" past the illusion. I can see past the veil/illusion and know 100% that this is much more a dream than anything else. Bare in mind that the nature of the dream is determined and in place. Laws have been created just for this dream. Laws like gravity and the steady passage of time. You, as a DC in this dream are subject to most of the rules. So, I was asked one time "If it is a dream, why don't you cut your hand off to prove it?" I answer that if I did that I would then be having "a bad dream" aand the bad dream would continue with me as a one handed DC for maybe 60  more years.

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## fOrceez

Lucid two nights ago due to WILD (however, no recall) and a lucid last night. It was supposed to be WILD, but I must have lost awareness... ended up in a DILD. Though, I did induce the dream scene. I'm laying in bed, stimulating my sense of touch, opening and closing my dream hand. I don't feel the transition and I'm suddenly in the dream, within a car, driving my friend home. I realize that I must have driven down into the wrong street or something and then come to the conclusion that I have absolutely no idea where this is.
I wonder that if it's a dream and then check my hands for extra fingers - about 20. Nice. The dream scene changes and I'm standing infront of a huge tree. It's rather dark, within the sky are two moons surrounded by darkness and even a sun surrounded by darkness. The dream is also somewhat unstable so I attempt to make it rain
Hyu has said that darkness is often a factor that suggests instability within his lucids and that the feeling of raindrops can be really helpful. I expect to feel raindrops upon my skin and sure enough, there are raindrops. I then realise I'm wearing a hooded jumper, so I'm not quite sure how the raindrops are hitting my skin- whatever. 
My sight clears up from having colours blurred to reasonably blur-free. I then decide to get rid of the darkness. I pull back my hood to get a clear sight of my surroundings and it proves to present some difficulty. For the first couple of times, my attempts to pull the hood back result in nothing. I pull it back but it's still there. Fortunately, it works the third time. 
I then focus my attention to the darkness. Kinda like the Bruce Almighty way of clearing clouds, I push the darkness together. It's slow progress but gets the job done. Once the darkness is (compact?), I can no longer push it together. Who knew, darkness can be compact. Lol! 
I decide to make use of my surroundings and pull the darkness into the tree. With a few fancy waves of my arms, I 'grab' the darkness and send it into the tree.
Rumbling. 
Rumbling and tremors.
Oh cool, earthquake. The tree is shaking violently and I suspect that it may explode. Maybe trees weren't supposed to seal darkness... Hmm.. RUN!
With little sense of direction, I bolt away from the tree, finding metal seats in my way. I jump over them, only to find my school friends sitting at a nearby picnic table. I run over to warn them of the exploding tree and that they should get ready to flee in case something bad does happen. (Loss of lucidity?) I relay some messages between the group and wake up.. 


I will probably write this up better, later in the day.

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## fOrceez

another WILD - short one. Copied and pasted from the WILD attempt thread in Sageous' course.




> WILD this morning- a brief one. Upon wakening, I got comfy and started stimulating tactile sensations again. I moved all four of my limbs like I was running, the sensation was quite easy, then I visualised a pathway infront of me. Within 30 seconds, I'm jogging on a pathway with a slight incline, surrounded by beautiful houses.
> .. then I woke up.
> Seems like having nice houses around me is a dream sign. Will take note to explore one, next time.

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## fOrceez

I had a few WILDs and a few DILDs a few days ago - I was going to WILD the past two days aswell... but my mind was too distracted. Any solutions? All these WILDs have been induced through the stimulation of tactile sensations.

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## Sivason

That is totally awesome! Very good to know some students are really able to use this stuff, and in so short a time frame. I will coppy all the above entries into the thread and give you some points for it. Thanks.  :smiley:

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## fOrceez

Thanks Sivason, but do you have any solution to this; 




> I had a few WILDs and a few DILDs a few days ago - I was going to WILD the past two days aswell... but my mind was too distracted. Any solutions?

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## Sivason

I am not sure WILDs can always suceed. Plan on a few days here and there that fail. It really requires a lot of meditation skills to pull off a good WILD. I am going to teach a very difficult skill soon that allows you to block the creation of new thoughts. The brain still attempts to create thoughts, but you can exert a non-thought form of pressure that prevents the new thoughts from arising from the depths they are formed in. It will be a while before I teach the skill, but you can learn more about it on your own for the moment. Look up the guy who created the "Trancedental Meditation" movement. Some where in his teachings, maybe even at the core of his teachings, he teaches this skill. I will probably reread how he attempts to teach it, before I take a stab at it.

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## fOrceez

Another WILD/DILD today. Glad that came alone, it was the first lucid in a week or two. I was starting to think I'd lose my touch. Going back to school tomorrow and I have a Physics test. Admittedly, I have been pretty slack in my practices. Will be sure to pick it up, soon. 
Meditation is definitely a must... my mindset is a lot more.. brain: "AKSDFIOAJWLKTN ASF" than my usual "one thought". I just need to work out how I put it into my schedule.

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## fOrceez

_My thoughts.._
Just woke up from a DILD... as I was trying to go back to sleep, I laid there and tried to think about what made me lucid. Two days ago, I had a lucid where I was chased by something (or I knew something was behind me). In this dream, after defeating something 'evil' (or which I thought was evil), I became lucid. I think it was homework. I'm not kidding. I think by doing homework today, it eliminated the stress I get from school. Thus, lucid!

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## Sivason

I often get semi-lucid due to work related stress, but I have always made myself stop dreaming, instead of using it to initiate a full blown LD. I need to work on that.

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## fOrceez

I'm lazy

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## Sivason

Well, you are honest about it. Rember that you can change any of the lessons to better suit you. Also people like to go about their day, I suggest somehow doing variations on these and use them during daily, when you have a few minutes.

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## fOrceez

Little sleep last night. There is a weekend meditation retreat available a few hour's drive away from where I live... I think I may go. It is a little bit costly, but these past few weeks have been quite... empty. I feel as though school is not the place to be and would like to be able to focus moreso on spirituality. I have heard it gives insight to monastic life, and I think that would be great. 
Hopefully, I can find someone to share the experience with.

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## Sivason

Yes, definately seek insight, and first hand stories about monks. I personally feel that high levels of spiritual awareness can be as easily obtained in the normal  world. Sometimes a monastic setting will hinder growth. Do check it out, but consider other options too. Many saintly beings spend time camping or hiking or doing art, and do not need a monistary setting. Neither Jesus or Sidhartha (Buddha) attended a monistary.

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## fOrceez

Great point  :smiley:  Thanks for that input. 
I had a DILD last night after reading through some of Sageous' stuff on self-awareness. Unfortunately, upon becoming lucid, my vision completely blacked out and I was left in darkness. Adding to that unfortunate event, I didn't even think to just stabilise through other methods or create a new scene... Bummer!

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## fOrceez

Adding onto that, I decided a retreat right now was now a good idea. There's a few things going on at the moment and I want to ease the idea of participation to Buddhism events into my family. Perhaps the next one (which is sometime in November)

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## fOrceez

Pardon my lack of participation lately. I have been attending the temple fortnightly and been asking questions about Buddhism... which I believe yoga stems from [Hinduism/Buddhism]. I believe something that was important in the teachings was when I asked of awareness and a 'quiet mind'. I believe the 'quiet mind' aspect was very important to WILDing - when I WILD'd 'by accident', it was always when I was in a meditative trance where everything would only be observed. 
The answer I received was in relation to letting go, attachment, and being detached. 
I haven't attempted any WILDs lately, but I will after my final exam of the next two months, tomorrow. Hopefully after things settle down with school, I will dedicate more time into the practices.

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## fOrceez

Exams are finished and I will be around more  :smiley:  Again, thank you for doing this course, Sivason.

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## Sivason

> Exams are finished and I will be around more  Again, thank you for doing this course, Sivason.



I hope that having some meditation stuff to practice will give you a small help in your seeking. You have a lot to sort through, and I am glad that you want to look beyond what ever your own parents have taught you. In the end, do not join a system, just take the best parts of each thing you wexplore and form a view that is your own.

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## SpreadLearner0

> A question, if you will! I understand that a Dream Yogi realises that 'realities' are an illusion.. But how can I truly understand the nature of this?



Grasping this concept came to me quite unexpectedly last fall during a conversation with a friend I had just met. Our original premise was that Everything (meaning the greatest whole of existence in which nothing, material or otherwise may escape, this is represented by the outer ring of the yin yang in taoism) is identical to nothing (meaning the antithesis of that whole). The ramifications of this are fuzzy, and I originally tried to write a book about it, but no one seemed able to follow where I was going with it.

What's more important I feel now is the idea that opposites are not diametrically opposed to each other, rather the fact that they are opposites means that they are bound in the same category.

Think of it like a thermometer, you can't tell me where cold begins and hot ends or the inverse. Every point is simply less hot and more cold, or more hot and less cold in relation to the other points on the standard. This means that the difference is simply in degree.

Similarly, at what volume does sound become quiet? When does it become loud? They are only differences in degree. Similarly, we must recognize that matter is the opposite of awareness. The fact is that the simplest form of matter, or if you will, a singular point containing everything before a big bang differentiates it, is the inverse of awareness (or consciousness), which are present everywhere in the physical world precisely because they are the truth behind the illusion.

The last thought I'll leave you with is to think of a metallic spinning top. Assume it begins at rest, and is going to continue to spin faster and faster indefinitely with no friction.

As it spins, it will eventually reach a speed at which it appears to be at rest, as it increases further, it will begin to emit a low frequency sound, next the sound gets higher, then the sound becomes inaudible to the human ear. further still and it will begin to glow, moving from a dark red toward a bright white. Afterward it will begin to display the forces of magnetism and electricity, then on to X-rays, then on to radiation, then past a point understood by science in which it will eventually end at a point in which the object ceases to exist and only the purest incarnation of perfect awareness or consciousness remains.

I don't know how much clearer this will make things for you, because everyone responds differently to different explanations, but the point is that your awareness can be in a dream and in real life because the awareness _is_ reality, and everything else is the dream, or illusion.

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## fOrceez

It is time to start meditating again  :smiley:   :smiley:

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## fOrceez

> In the end, do not join a system, just take the best parts of each thing you explore and form a view that is your own.



Thanks for the reply, Sivason.
Although I am now formally a lay Buddhist, I do not restrict myself of information of any kind. Again, thank you for doing this course. With uni exams finished, I am now making an attempt to meditate throughout the day and meditate myself to sleep again. It's amazing the degree of which one does not realise their mind has been noisy and restless.
You will be hearing again from me soon.  :smiley:

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## Sivason

Buddhist? Good for you. Does your family know and accept it?

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## fOrceez

They do  :smiley:  My mother is part of the community and it is through her which I joined - they[my family] are challenging that I cannot last on an attempt of monk-for-a-month. Hopefully, I can give this a try in the future when time permits!

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