Only A Dream

"Oh but it was only a dream, oh what a dream." Van Morrison "Only A Dream"

On waking this morning, I saw with surprising clarity that the dream I had just dreamt, 'materialized' directly out of old energy patterns - like a movie or play. And this theatrical production reoccurs every night!

Two basic energies seem to be aversion & clinging.

Both have a wide range of manifestations. Aversion can appear as fear, anxiety, anger, etc; clinging as possessiveness, jealousy, greed, etc. Specific nuanced versions of these energies morph into excellent, completely believable actors in detailed specific settings, eliciting a full repertoire of behaviours AS WELL AS emotional & physiologic responses from the dreamer.

In waking life, the same energies are almost certainly at play. Our characteristic individual patterns of thinking, speaking & behaviour - which we assume to be our actual identity - is the dreamer of our repetitive dreams.

The third basic energy seems to be delusion.

While dreaming, the dream feels absolutely real. We're certain we're awake, and everything we experience is 'for real'.

While awake, we're certain that everything we experience is 'for real' & that we percieve ourselves & the world clearly & objectively. We take repetitive, dream-like stories very concretely, personally, seriously.

"Transference is 'the inappropriate repetition in the present of a relationship that was important in a person's childhood.'" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transference

"We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." Anais Nin

"Don't let the sound of your own wheels drive you crazy ..." The Eagles "Take it easy"

This is how to contemplate our conditioned existence in this fleeting world:

Like a tiny drop of dew, or a bubble floating in a stream;

Like a flash of lightning in a summer cloud,

Or a flickering lamp, an illusion, a phantom, or a dream.

So is all conditioned existence to be seen.” Buddha

What if we held our stories much more lightly, far less personally, with a gentle playful sense of humor, great patience and kindness?