The Meaning of Life

[Robert]

I used to have conscious dreams on occasion, about once every 2-4 weeks, back when I could sleep until very late in the morning on the weekends. These have mostly stopped since my son was born. Dream research has shown that dreams are more frequent and longer lasting towards the end of your sleep. One question I had was whether I could access any wisdom, secrets of the universe, or profound thoughts while conscious dreaming by talking to my dream people.

The key I discovered to becoming conscious while dreaming is to train yourself to habitually question whether you are awake or asleep. Each time you will be convinced that you are awake but the trick is to read something. If you cannot read because the text looks like hieroglyphics, then you can be sure you are dreaming. Below is one of my dreams...

...(conscious dream begins)... I am wondering around a small mountain town and ask myself if I am dreaming. I quickly look for something to read and, being unable to make sense out of a sign I was reading, realize I am dreaming. Suddenly I am completely conscious and the reality inside the dream increases 10-fold. I see color, I feel the wind, I feel a profound sense of freedom and want to go play. Then I remember my mission and realize that time is short. I search for the nearest dream person and soon spot a mechanic working under the hood of a nearby car. I run to him and tell him that I am dreaming. He frowns at me and seems confused (they always do this). I then ask my question that I had previously (before going to sleep) decided on. A question that would give understanding of one of the all-time great mysteries of the universe. Barely able to control my excitement I asked the mechanic, "What is the meaning of life?". The mechanic smiled and gave me a knowing look that radiated a confidence in the ways of the universe. 'At last!' I think to myself. At last I find a true wiseman in my very own dream. The mechanic turns back to his car, reaches inside the engine compartment, reaches deep inside, then turns back to me and says, "This is the meaning of Life!". I look at what he is holding in his hand and see a fan belt...(conscious dream ends)...

disclaimer -- This was a conscious or lucid dream and not an out-of-body experience. More information can be found at the Lucidity Institute.

[Tesla]

One question I had was whether I could access any wisdom, secrets of the universe, or profound thoughts while conscious dreaming by talking to my dream people.

What about Edgar Cayce? He did exactly that.

[mkirkpatrick]

Great thread starter Robert,I did at onetime many moons ago,train myself
to lucid dream,the method I used was to be aware of my hands,to yry and look at my hands,with practise,while falling asleep,I would notice my hands
and would then waken up to be aware of the fact that I was within a dream
but conscious,and therefore able to control it,in one instance I found myself
in Ireland outside the home ofmy grandparents,who were both long dead,but
as I was aware and could choose,I decided thatthey were both alive,and we would have tea together!Which we indeed did,it was a wonderful experience
for as we chatted and drank our tea,and ate the scones gran had baked,I was fully aware thattheywere both dead!


kindregards michael.

[Mr. Nobody]

Most awesome story. This was truly a pleasure to read.
The meaning of life...many have, are and will be pondering that as long as there is conscious life. It is my utmost and deepest, spiritual belief that there is no meaning of life, as the question itself is meaningless. We are autonom by nature due to our highly evolved brains, brains that were tuned to think of beginnings and ends in accordance with our awareness. When you think of beginnings and ends the next question becomes why. If you know no birth and no death, no life cycle, then a meaning is meaningless, because you just exist, always have and always will. Therefore, I look at the question as a paradox of human existence, an anomaly that developed when we acquired a sense of self, separate from our surroundings.

I used to have nightmares as a child, very frequent ones until I learned to control them with a similar method. I trained myself to recognize the dream state as such and tell myself while being terrorised "Its only a dream" It worked.

[Guille]

I think the only secure tool to know whether you'r dreamind or not is logic. So we must conclude that we cannot obtain any truth from any dream feature from logic. The other tool for truth which we have is experience. But experience is false in dreams, event hough it may appear real. So if the two tools of science (logic and experience) can't be obtained from dreams, then we have to agree that we can't gain truth from dreams. Unless we can find other tools to search for truth. know that science is based on probability, we may centre on the other direction it can take, that is, possibility. What is possible? Dreams are part of the mind, therefore they are think-able, and anything think-able is possible. So if we can act in our dreams consciouslly enough as to search for truth intentionally, that is, if we have a will, we may find that the representation that the dreamworld is allows us to find truths that maybe science and other real world tools can't, like whether we have souls (dreaming that you are killed, and keep dreaming to see what happens), etz. Thanks for this thread Robert, it's giving me many thoughts.

[Mr. Nobody]

There are lots of things that defy logic but are firmly grounded in reality. Instinct to be one for instance. Instinct is based on evolution and the lessons learned by all those before you, lessons not found in written language, analysis or logics, but in survival of traits that were better suited for a certain environment at a certain time and were rewarded with the right to procreate. Logical behaviour does not always beget success nor the answers to everything.

[mkirkpatrick]

There are lots of things that defy logic but are firmly grounded in reality. Instinct to be one for instance. Instinct is based on evolution and the lessons learned by all those before you, lessons not found in written language, analysis or logics, but in survival of traits that were better suited for a certain environment at a certain time and were rewarded with the right to procreate. Logical behaviour does not always beget success nor the answers to everything.

Very true Mr nobody,where indeed would we be without our instincts!
Andhow little they are really understood today?

kind regardsmichael.

[harmonygirl]

Great story Robert. Everything has the meaning and significance that you give it (or don't). I once had a really great meditation and became a whale in the North Atlantic. Reality? Who cares? It is what I learned from that experience that matters...

[Guille]

There are lots of things that defy logic but are firmly grounded in reality. Instinct to be one for instance. Instinct is based on evolution and the lessons learned by all those before you, lessons not found in written language, analysis or logics, but in survival of traits that were better suited for a certain environment at a certain time and were rewarded with the right to procreate. Logical behaviour does not always beget success nor the answers to everything.

I don't glorify logic. I didn't say it's the ground for everything in reality. I have critisized the base of logic in many threads. But instinct (and I think instinct isn't the appropiate term, I think a better one is intuition) is part of the same subconsciousness which creates those dreams as results of the impulses it is given by your instinct, therefore you can't use it to search for truth in dreams.

[Mr. Nobody]

I chose instinct for a reason. Intuition is reserved for intelligence and/or intent. Instinct includes learned and unintentional behaviour akin to the other 99% of life on earth.
The meaning of life for many is not about the search for absolute truth. For me it is also to gain orientation, perspective and enjoyment on the way.