153. Dreams and this world

You often hear such things as this world is an illusion and science starts to agree with this statement because the world of matter turns out to be energy, a play of frequency’s. But to most these are just concepts and not something they really experience as such. It still feels real, and it still does not answer the question why or how it relates to the spiritual, karma and the story of good and evil.

It is important that in order to understand you need to read the other articles so it all falls into place, as I will need to refer to things already explained. So when I do mention the silver bird (to give someone an idea of what an airplane is if he has never seen one) you are familiar with the concept.

Here is a story: someone had a dream about her mother trying to touch her inappropriately in an intimate place. Naturally a disturbing dream but because this never happened in real life to your knowledge/memory you would find it difficult to see anything in it, you might try to look at details such as where or even what you were wearing or the way she looked at you and you would think about how it made you feel, you might feel disgusted even and try to get it out of your mind. Could there be any truth to such a dream but on another level? There was, without going into details, the mother was envious of her and tried to take something that was very precious to her. Now you might be able to see the connection, but this partly because it is someone else’s story, or because you had a similar dream, but when you have a dream and shortly after you do not see the message behind it, you were looking and thinking about the physical side of it, the material and emotional side of it, not the bigger picture, not what it was really saying. Then if there was really a message intended in this dream, why isn’t it more direct, why isn’t it more clear you might think.

In earlier talks I did explain that when you are asleep, part of the threefold soul raises to one of the highest levels of the spiritual world, the world of knowing, but when this knowing returns to the lower parts it is being clothed by what you know, you will realize that the dream was very much the best silver bird you could think of. You could say that it spoke to you in images, it was expressed in a material way and given colour by worldly ideas, thoughts and experiences which are like tools which gives hands and feet so to speak.

Now this material world is the expression of this higher world/energy but given colour, given hands and feet by the lower worlds, and when you call these worlds the physical and mental world, the emotional, the ego, then it will become clear that when you are not influenced by these two who build their own idea about everything, the higher part of the soul could be “the true”  you. The garden of Eden, where you are gods will on earth.

In the Bible there are constant references to communication between man and God, between man and the angels, and between man and his higher self through the medium of dreams. The moral standards of the individual are exactly reflected in the clarity and degree of quality of his or her dreams.

Joseph, the eleventh son of Jacob (favourite) had the ability not only to remember and interpret his own dreams, but to interpret those of others. In his first two dreams the symbols were associated with his work, because he was a seventeen year old shepherd boy then. He dreamed that he was in the cornfields working with his brothers when suddenly his sheaf rose and stood upright, and the sheaves of his brothers gathered around and bowed before it. The brothers, recognising the symbol this implied, resented the arrogance of the dream; and even his father rebuked him when Joseph’s second dream showed the sun, moon, and eleven stars bowing down to him: “Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down to thee to the earth?” [Gen.37:5-10] The young Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers because of their jealousy, and sometime later he rose to the position of overseer in the house of Potiphar. Then, having rejected the advances of Potiphar’s wife, he found himself in prison. While there he correctly interpreted two precognitive dreams for two fellow prisoners. One, a butler for the Pharaoh dreamed: [ A vine was before me; and in the vine were three branches; and it was though it budded, and blossoms shot forth; and the clusters thereof brought forth ripe grapes….and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and I gave the cup to Pharaoh.] Joseph’s interpretation went as follows: “The growing vine….the butler will live……three branches, in three days. The cup in Pharaoh’s hand, he would resume his duties as butler”. The Pharaoh’s baker however, dreamed: [I had three white baskets on my head: and in the uppermost basket there were all manner of bakemeats for Pharaoh; and the birds did eat them out of the basket upon my head.] Joseph foretold of the baker’s death within three days. After this had been heard by Pharaoh, following the accurate predictions/outcomes, Joseph was summoned to deal with the recurring dream he was experiencing(see famous dreams).

Later in the old testament, a similar precognitive dream guided Gideon. As the Israelites were preparing to attack the Midianites, a soldier dreamed the following: [Behold, I dreamed a dream, and lo, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the host of Midian and came unto a tent and smote it that it fell, and overturned it that the tent lay along.] (Judges 7:13-14) The loaf of barley represents Gideon, for he was a miller by trade, and (Judges 6:11) describes how this prophetic dream was fulfilled by Gideon’s defeat of the Midianites.

The Bible also tells how King Nebuchadnezzar suffered a nightmare which he conveniently forgot upon waking. Distrusting his advisers, he sent forth an edict throughout the kingdom demanding that a true seer come forward to recall and interpret his dream. Daniel and his friends prayed earnestly to God to reveal the dream of the king. That night in a vision, Daniel saw the dream: [The king had dreamed of a great image made of various metals. The feet were made of iron and clay. A non-human hand took a stone and broke the statue into small pieces which the wind carried away. The stone became a mountain filling the whole world.] Daniel presented himself before the king and warned him that the stone which filled the whole earth represented God’s law, and thus, his arrogance and paganism could cost him his kingdom. Nebuchadnezzar’s defiance of these laws was the image so easily scattered by the wind. The king refused to mend the error of his ways until one day, as he was walking on the roof of his palace at Babylon, he heard a voice say: “O king Nebuchadnezzar…..the kingdom is departed from thee. And they shall drive thee from men and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the fields.” [Dan. 4:31] This prophecy was fulfilled when madness visited the king, and not until he had duly repented and his kingdom was restored to him.

Solomon’s dreams are of another character. God invited him to select his own reward for his faithful service. Solomon, disregarding riches and power, asked only for wisdom to rule his people. As a result of the nobility of his choice, he was also awarded wealth and power.

Five dreams of guidance for the holy family are found in Matthew. The first one explains to Joseph the pregnancy of Mary: “…..the angel of the lord appeared unto him in a dream saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary for thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the holy ghost. And she will bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins.” [Matt. 1:20-21] Joseph was also warned that Herod planned to kill the child Jesus and was told to flee with him to Egypt. [Matt.2:13] After the death of Herod an angel appeared again in a dream and said to Joseph: “Arise, and take the young child and his mother and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young childs life.” [Matt.2:20]

But nowhere is the universality of dreams more apparent than when Pilate’s wife, a foreigner in the land, was warned in a dream that her husband must prevent the persecution of Jesus. She said to Pilate: “Have thou nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him” Matt. 27:19”

Now one will understand that different levels are blinding until one starts seeing through those material expressions of ego, of emotion, of the ideas one has built through experiences, that this world is a silver bird for a different world, this world is to learn and eventually express the highest.

Now when you look at your past these principles are the same. The truth of that moment was not seen, but your interpretation. As this past moment had a role in who you are today looking back at such past moment is already conditioned, your feelings, thoughts and the images and sounds one identifies himself with blindness from the truth. You do not need to look for more experience in order to see, because this desire is really impurity seeking satisfaction. Those who have ears to hear and eyes to see know that walking a path is ego making excuses so it can continue to rule over you, be his slave and therefore no true free will.

The most direct path to enlightenment is the path of insight. Since enlightenment is seeing through illusions into reality, knowledge gives you instant realization of what is illusion and what is reality. It is to become conscious and aware about what is and how things work. The way to knowledge is through learning and thinking. You cannot learn without thinking and you cannot expand your thinking without learning. Knowing fully the ultimate goodness of the universe gives you complete certainty of goodness and finally you will let go of attachments.

But do not think that thinking is a necessity in the state of enlightenment, it is just a way to the door.

 

19-01-2008

Moshiya van den Broek