The great Taoist master Chuang Tzu once dreamt that he was a butterfly fluttering here and there. In the dream he had no awareness of his individuality as a person. He was only a butterfly.
Suddenly, he awoke and found himself laying there, a person once again. But then he thought to himself, “Was I before a man who dreamt about being a butterfly, or am I now a butterfly who dreams about being a man?”
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moral; interpretations vary, perspectives are visuals from different stand points, life is truely amazing, to ponder rather reality is a dream or a dream is reality. I find dreams curious, I had one the other night where in a certain spot in this house, when you stood there, it lifted you upward, floating. Now, what gets me about this is the feelings that come along with the dream, you actually feel as though your being elevated, gravity defied. If I am awake, I could not reproduce the physical feeling of being lifted, yes I can imagine floating but without the feeling that dreams seem to recreate, fascinating.
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food for thought
Dream interpretations date back to 3000-4000 B.C., where they were documented on clay tablets. For as long as we have been able to talk about our dreams, we have been fascinated with them and have strived to understand them.
In some primal societies, members were unable to distinguish between the dream world and the waking world. Or they could simply choose not to make the distinction. They saw that the dream world was not only an extension of reality, but that it was a more powerful world.
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1. One-third of your life is spent sleeping.
2. In an average lifetime, you would have spent a total of about six years of it dreaming. That is more than 2,100 days spent in a different realm!
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Everybody dreams. EVERYBODY! Simply because you do not remember your dream does not mean that you do not dream. In fact, you have several dreams during a normal night of sleep.
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In reality, we cannot really fly, of course. Thus, such dreams can be representative of things that are beyond your physical limitations. In your mind, you can be anybody and do anything. Another way of interpreting flying dreams is that these dreams symbolize your strong mind and will. You feel undefeatable and that nobody can tell you what you cannot do and accomplish. Such dreams are sure to leave you with a great sense of freedom.
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After long moments, the Master finally answers:
“Life is nothing more than just a dream,”
In saying this, The Master expired.
14 comments
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December 8, 2011 at 5:50 am
Cat Forsley
My Favourite Piece that i have read so far – This and the piece on Colours – ! !!!!!! I put your two posts together and i feel like singing “Somewhere over the Rainbow ” 🙂 Have a beautiful beautiful Day 🙂
Cat
December 9, 2011 at 8:52 am
zendictive
you placed a song in my heart (~_~) and food for thought in my mind
December 8, 2011 at 7:57 am
Savira
A feeling of lightness and a fluttering of wings…. I think you have just given me something! Thank you
December 9, 2011 at 8:51 am
zendictive
you are quite welcome (~_~)
December 8, 2011 at 8:52 am
Oldfool
I prefer the dream world.
December 9, 2011 at 8:50 am
zendictive
I believe we need the balance of both, perhaps it is a ying and yang thing (~_~)
December 8, 2011 at 8:59 am
Cuimbae
just the other night i was in india i said to my fellow tourists i am pretty certain this is a dream because i don’t recall getting a visa or taking a flight and i have only packed to accordians but they were certain my wad of cash was real and i should rent a room in their guest house
similarly i can’t recall how i arrived in this particular identity or seemingingly unidirectional and narrow time line but many of my fellow time travelers try to convince me that this body and mind is all i own and that their home is my home
thanks for your on going lovely posts : )
December 9, 2011 at 8:49 am
zendictive
bows (~_~) humble
December 8, 2011 at 10:47 am
zumpoems
The difference between our dreams and waking life is that for a dream we are the primary composer, borrowing material from others of course, as needed. Whereas the waking world is the intereaction of all of us dreamers. So I guess dreaming is single player and waking is multiple players.
December 9, 2011 at 8:49 am
zendictive
single player and multi-player… I like that (~_~)
December 8, 2011 at 2:33 pm
granbee
Art, there really ARE places that lift us up. Those are the places we imagine on a light-filled continuum from our dreams. Once again, a most masterful and well-round post about the life of the spirit through meditation. But the poster with the recipe for living out our boldest dreams is JUST THE ABSOLUTE BEST!
December 9, 2011 at 8:48 am
zendictive
yes ma’am, when I found that I knew I had to use it (~_~)
recipes are wonderful
December 8, 2011 at 4:34 pm
Fergiemoto
I love the recipe for living your dreams! I find dreams intriguing – sometimes they feel so real. Great posting!
December 9, 2011 at 8:46 am
zendictive
I totally agree (~_~)