The implications of night dreams in the light of self-awareness

looking in
Nighttime dreams are a natural process that we all go through. There are many interesting things about it, not only regarding mundane matters but also philosophical and esoteric matters. Here we discuss its implications with respect to inner awareness and understanding.

The writer has been exposed to the subject of self-awareness for the last 30 years or so. One of the points of interest there covers the three states of consciousness: wakefulness, sleep, and deep sleep. They were examined, not so much from the point of view of analytical psychology, but as a matter of observation by an impartial spectator. Comprehension by observation is through direct awareness, so it is not of the cumulative type. The writer discovered that the three states have something to do with the inner journey towards the source of awareness in oneself. In this endeavor, being a member of the International Association for Near-Death Studies (iands.org) has helped him understand some hidden aspects of consciousness. This article is an attempt to investigate the topic of night dreams along the lines of ‘know thyself’.

The dream we go through during sleep has important implications. Here we consider only those associated with self-awareness and the consequent non-verbal understanding of ourselves. In this endeavor, we are not interested in interpreting dreams and using them to improve things in our practical lives. The focus is not to achieve any ego-satisfying end. Rather, the reflections would allow self-awareness to permeate the field of dreams. The resulting insights would, by themselves, bring about a fundamental transformation in our psychology conducive to leading a healthy and peaceful life.

During the day, our mind is busy with many things that demand our attention. When there is an interruption in that process, or even during the process, the mind generates thoughts that involve concern about the past and the future. The created thought ‘I’, the ego, dominates our waking hours. We do not bring enough awareness to be in quiet contact with ourselves. This ends up entangling the mind to the point of turning it into a container full of stress. From this situation, part of the stress rushes towards the unconscious, causing it to become a deposit of these residual tensions. Since the mind is busy during waking hours, residual tensions cannot be released during waking hours. While we sleep, hidden tensions come to the surface and manifest as dreams. Although there may be other explanations, the dominant problem in dreams, especially disturbing ones, is mainly governed by this process. Awareness of the process is what initiates the inner journey.

The question is: Can the mind be free from its chatter during the day while paying attention to practical matters? That would remove the curtain that the ‘me’ creates between a person and his life, the curtain that is responsible for the accumulation of stress. Thought vortices, such as fear, anger, regret, etc., work in that curtain. The basis of these vortices is the emotional attachment or resentment with which the ‘I’ functions. These are facts, and a calm awareness of them, without justification or condemnation, begins to dissolve the curtain. Then the residual tensions do not precipitate and accumulate in the unconscious. That means fewer and fewer dreams are required to release them.

self awareness
Quiet, non-interfering self-awareness cannot enter through the practice of any meditation system, belief system, or formula because they are all rooted in the self-interest that sustains the ‘me’. Controlling the mind can’t help either, because that would cause a tension between two parts of the mind: the controller and the controlled. The understanding of these esoteric facts marks the beginning of a passivity that is the very essence of calm self-awareness. Only the change that occurs through direct awareness can generate a stable and far-reaching transformation. The cumulative process of acquiring knowledge about the mind is mainly verbal, and is therefore a burden. It cannot lead to passivity, the passivity that actually purges the accumulations that come through clinging to conclusions. It is a matter of effortless detachment. That would automatically relax the mind, leading to less and less need to dream at night. By the way, it also increases the physical rejuvenation process of the body, because the period of dreamless sleep would be expanded.

A loving bystander attitude can help us to be calmly aware of our habitual thought movements as we go about our daily tasks: doing laundry, traveling in a car or bus, interacting with people, etc. This would free us from the tyranny of thought formations governed by genetic and social conditioning. There would be a feeling of being discharged and the associated mental relaxation. We observe that the mind becomes still without a part of it functioning as a controlling agent. Under those circumstances, the vortexes mentioned above cannot capture our attention and keep us under their sway. It is only the calm mind that can receive the ‘otherness’ that can free us from the uncomfortable life dictated by circumstances.

Jesus Christ is reported to have said the following [Ref. 1]:

“If you seek the Kingdom of Heaven, it will not come. You will not find it by looking for it, or by hearing it, or there, because the Kingdom of Heaven is within you.”

The obvious implication of those words is that only through the inner journey can “otherness” take place.

What is needed is the audacity to stand alone, not depending on any system or person for psychological safety. Even those who rebel against conventional systems can fall back on their own self-created systems. It can be quite complicated. When we understand the hidden effects of systems on us, we are totally free of them. One cannot go after reality because the usual utilitarian tendency of the ego would try to use it for its own purpose. Here we note what J. Krishnamurti has to say [Ref. 2]:

“You cannot go after reality. Reality must come to you, and it cannot come to you as long as the corruption of the collective exists. That is why the mind must be completely alone, without influences, without contamination, therefore free from time, and only then the immeasurable, the timeless arises.

good begets good
One of the Buddha’s advice is that good and evil do not stay where they are; good begets good and evil begets evil [Ref. 3]. Therefore, if we can apply ourselves to this matter of night dreams in a holistic way, it will pave the way for other good things to happen. By grasping at any problem in life and applying ourselves to it, we can move towards the Divine source in us. Life becomes fun!

People who go through a near-death experience see all of the above events in an instant. However, they would have to have patience to integrate it with earthly life. This is because what you see on the other side belongs to a different dimension of consciousness. Those who have applied themselves to self-awareness prior to the NDE will find it relatively easier to harmonize life here with the messages from the hereafter. Such is the power of self-awareness.

Related matters are discussed on the website http://spirituality.yolasite.com
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Reference 1. Stephen Mitchell. The gospel according to Jesus. New York: HarperCollins, 1943.
Reference 2. J. Krishnamurti. as one is. Krishnamurti Foundation of India, 1955 Ojai Public Talks. First Indian reprint 2010.
Reference 3. http://www.bodhi.sofiatopia.org/merit.htm