Dreaming Our Way Back to the Dreamer

An Australian Aboriginal sits quietly beside the sacred rock revered by his tribe for an unspeakable length of time. His eyes close and he chants. An observer would believe he has entered another reality. But to the Aboriginal there is only one reality, that of the Dreamtime. He doesn't change worlds, he simply enriches his experience of the here and now. For in the Aboriginal Dreamtime, there is a Dream in which everyone and everything is being Dreamed. Given the Dream, there is also a Dreamer, and the connection between the Dream and the Dreamer is the process of Dreaming. We all have the power of the Dream within us; it is our likeness to the Dreamer. Through this power to Dream, we can either Dream our way back to the Dreamer, or we can Dream ourselves away from the Dreamer. How, you might ask, do we do this?

The most simple explanation of the process expresses Dreaming as the use of our faculties of imagination and visualization. The images we develop and project take us either forward to realize our essential Divinity, or pull us away. The key point is that we choose our direction. For the Aboriginal, there is no issue of choice because there is no attachment to any physical form or material possession. They live in a constant state of spiritual awareness.

From this perspective, let us look at the challenges we experience in our lives today. All challenges, be they regarded as conflicts, problems or opportunities, have their origin in the perception of spiritual beliefs. These challenges cause us to question. All questioning has an essentially spiritual core, and the very act launches each individual's quest. Today, our questions reflect a deep insecurity about who and what we are. They openly call upon us to become as the Aboriginal -- to enter into a constant state of spiritual awareness. But how does one find the proper path when the answers we are given by those who purportedly "know" are often based in ignorance and deception -- or worse, are depicted as a truth so abstract that only few can understand?

To find our way home to the Source, our Divine Spark, we must acquire knowledge of the keys to the hidden processes of the kosmos. This knowledge is found in the encrypted tenets of ancient traditions -- though they are distorted by our contemporary translations. Whether tradition is Eastern or Western (which are ultimately one), it is that great body of knowledge that is somewhat akin to an abstract formula for living life to its fullest. For instance, tradition teaches us that there are three paths to knowing God and realizing your Divinity: love (devotion), sacrifice (service) and knowledge. Within Christianity, unlike the religions of Islam, Judaism and science, there has been a clear emphasis on devotion and much less on knowledge. Every expression of tradition has a rich field of knowledge . . . this is the pursuit of "Gnosis."

The path we seek is to acquire knowledge through inquiry. Knowledge sets us free from the wheel of "Samsara," or the cycle of death and rebirth. It clarifies karma, the principle of reincarnation, and the various vehicles of our being through which consciousness (Divinity) expresses itself. It illustrates to us that each tradition allows for three levels of consciousness and their corresponding "vehicles" which work together and form our reality. In the Western tradition, these are namely Spirit, Soul and Body through which the Divine Spark expresses itself. (Note that Spirit and Soul are quite different concepts.) Eastern thought equates this with the Dharmic Body of Wisdom: Energy, Light and Purity, whereby the Dharmic body of Purity is the Divine Spark. Different terms, same function. Similarly, each vehicle of consciousness is very different.

So what is this knowledge we seek? We seek to understand the truth of one and all traditions, and how the lives of Buddha, Jesus, Krishna and Mohammed all tell the same story. We seek to understand how this knowledge explains the limiting reality of modern science with the great god "Random", and empowers us to reach beyond into the "Kosmos" clearly illustrated in the works of Plato, Pythagoras, and Einstein. Ultimately, we seek to find our place within the Kosmos and understand the Implicate Order which governs all creation.

The Kosmos, far greater than the physical universe of science and the Heaven and Hell of Christianity, is the body of God. To know this Kosmos is to understand that it is alive and sentient. It represents a fourfold process through which the presence of God is felt at all levels of reality. This goes far beyond such glib comments as "it was meant to be" or "it was my karma." The knowledge we seek helps us realize the parallel between the truth from the Upanishads which states that "When a blade of grass is cut, the entire Universe quivers" and the statement of truth from contemporary Chaos theory which tells us that "When a Butterfly flaps its wings in Beijing, it affects the weather in New York City." This is the Implicate Order at work throughout all life.

When our search for knowledge begins, the quest brings answers and we must have courage to act and validate their truth. It is at this point that we realize we do not need to live out of the dogma or doctrine of a dying order. The dying order resides within the limiting belief that truth can be found through only one path. Their death comes from defense of principles which no longer serve the betterment of humanity.

We ultimately realize the need to live from the deepest truth which propels our souls into being in physical reality. We find that life becomes vibrant and the apparent chaos which runs through the lifestream of this planet gives way to order. We discover the Implicate Order, previously hidden through our lack of understanding -- but always present. The Implicate Order is the way in which God acts throughout the Kosmos and through our lives. With this understanding and presence we then live a life in accord with our Divinity, realizing our Dharma (right life actions), effacing our karma and fulfilling our destinies. We live in the perpetual spiritual awareness we see as the experience of Aboriginal culture, those who have not lived within distortion of their tradition through time.

When this reality comes into its fullness, we see clearly how the Christ, Krishna, Buddha, Moses and other sages lived lives that complied exactly to a Divine Plan. This Divine Plan is faultless and illustrates through exact points in their lives, how the lives of these unique beings fulfilled a specific function. These events (Buddha's time under the boddhi tree; Mohammed's time in the cave; Krishna's time in battle with Arjuna; Christ's time in the wilderness) all comply to the Divine Plan and mirror the Implicate Order. We have received the benefits of these great teachers as these events helped to uplift humanity throughout history.

How we receive these benefits and acquire knowledge is vital. It require us to work "from the bottom up," namely through the vehicles of the physical body, the Soul, Spirit, "up" to the Divine Spark. This is the mystical pathway. It prepares all levels of our being to receive God in our lives consciously. This [preparation] is the [helpful] domain of astrology, chakras, kundalini [and other tools].

Equally important in our pursuit of knowledge is our work "from the top down," the pathway of the Magus -- Magic. Here we engage in the "Great Work" of Alchemy. This Great Work is unique to humanity, for humans alone can perform the task described in the doctrine "As Above, So Below." We alone can unite the above with the below, working from the top down and the bottom up, as seen here. At this point, we clearly understand tradition to be the abstract pursuit of knowledge it is.

When we heed the call of tradition, "Man, Know Thyself," we begin the journey of self inquiry. This yields to us the great truths given not by any one teacher from tradition, but by all. It calls upon us to actively train our faculties of imagination and visualization so that we may dispel fear, illusion and false doctrine, opening a window for the expression of the Implicate Order in our lives. When we do this, we may then find that our lives become an example for others. We become what the Buddhists refer to as "he who leaves no tracks." Why is this so? Because we now know ourselves for who we truly are. We see ourselves in the image and likeness of God.

When in a constant state of spiritual awareness, we choose our thoughts, words and deeds with great clarity. This shapes our images and beliefs. These images and resultant beliefs then assist us to Dream our way back to the Dreamer. We ultimately become the Dreamer, and the sacred rock is the altar found within our hearts. The quest of every tradition and each individual is to unite the knowledge of all creation with the wisdom of the heart. Then and only then can we say "I Know." I know that . . .