Someone here

Bumping this old thread of mine Instead of opening a new one. I want to learn more about dreams.

more from a metaphysical pov .not a psychological one. im not interested in how they are a manifestation of the unconscious mind. but the actual substance of the dream if that makes sense . what is it? where is it occurring? how is it possible? it is not obvious at all especially if you are not coming at it from the materialist paradigm . dreams are surely not happening "in the brain". your brain is maximum 15 cubic cm. how would a dream world that is sometimes cubic kilometers be couched inside this little brain ? and if you come across someone dreaming you do not see his dreams floating around his head. if we cut open his skull ...we merely find brain ..the dream as in the 3D world is surely not occurring inside the physical brain in a literal sense even if it( the brain) plays a role. so what the hell are dreams? and "where" are they occurring? and how they come about?

@EmptyVase Parts of me want to continue smoking despite the negative consequences. And other parts of me want to quit because I do care about my health. I don't know what to do. I'm split up.

@Blackhawk do you have suicidal thoughts?

Well I do want to smoke cigarettes like there's no tomorrow. But it's ruined my goddamn life.

@Nahm what if what I want is the something that I'm addicted to? Should one write "smoking cigarettes and playing video games" on his dreamboard?

To each his own, I guess. Relax. @Blackhawk

@Blackhawk I don't care what the Upanishads say. Truth must be mine. Can't borrow it from somewhere else. Then it becomes a belief.

No. I'm talking about a radical realization. You don't actually know what is going on here. All these ideas about "something will happen called death" are pure fantasy. But you are rather in a monkey mindish mode right now that you can't believe that. And that's OK. But just stay open to what I'm suggesting. That you actually don't and can't know if death is real.

1. That doesn't count. Sure you see "others" dying. But how do you know that you are going to die? Isn't it true that you are imagining death? How do you know that you are human? Isn't that just a thought? 2. Exactly. You "assume" that. It's just an assumption. 3. Doesn't count as evidence.

@Blackhawk So all you want is a gf? That's it? And you will be happy and enjoying life?

How do you know that death is real? @Truth

The ego both exists and doesn’t exist at the same time. Depending on the perspective. Don't get Lost in too much neo advaita platitudes. The ego is more than just a thought. It's a 'sense' of self.

You imagine death.

?

(if you are familiar with Buddhist teaching) that there is no individual self for each human organism. There is no self inside of you which is in control of your life and can be 'judged' objectively for its deeds. The modern scientific understanding of the "self" is that its temporary and subject to time and change and death as the body is.. And the 'mind' or 'personality' is not an abstract spiritual essence that is separate from the body.. But it's a byproduct of the brain.. There is no 'self' separate from the body or inside the body.. But rather its an emergent phenomenon of the body.. The body and mind grow together and decay together.. And we can actually change your personality by playing with the chemicals in your brain... A little injection of chloroform can erase your thinking process completely and can turn 'you' into a psycho completely lost control.... That shows you that your self is a byproduct of chemicals in the brain.. And the personality dissolves once you get older enough.. As a result of the dissolve of the neural network in the brain.. You see? That' personality ' completely dissolves in elderly people because it was never a substantial thing onto itself. And there is another issue.. The personality is not just one.. But rather it's a stream of different personalities.. My personality when I was 10 yo is different from when I was 20 yo is different from 30 yo etc.. And each moment there is something that gets added into my "self" and something that gets removed.. And sometimes people have split personality disorder.. Which is a common mental illnesses.. A person can have two different personalities because of a certain damage in his brain.. Which might make him in some cases behave like a murderer and sometimes not.. You see how this doesn't make sense because it assumes this kinda static 'soul' or 'self' that lives inside the organism statically and permanently. There just is no such thing.

This is my conclusion after hours and hours of contemplation.. nothing exists until it is observed or measured so there is quite literally nothing but what you are observing right at this present moment, the present moment is all there ever is. when you avert your attention to that which is behind you, the thing you were looking at previously doesn't exist even if you can hear it. once you can grasp this, which you cannot then you will be enlightened. so whatever it is that is in your field of view, Thats it when you get to the W of the NOW, you have missed the actual moment. even when you are driving, everything that is behind you is actually in front of you in the mirror. everything is a reflection of who/what you are. good luck wrapping your heads around this.

I'd say even the observer doesn't exist until it's observed/ recognized.

@Swarnim the point is there is nothing behind the visual field. If you look behind you.. Only then does the objects behind you appear.. At this point they are in front of you and not behind you anymore. There is nothing behind your visual field. It's mere appearance. Just like your visual field in a dream.

As a human being it's clear and obvious what you want. You want to survive and you want to feel good /be happy But.. As reality itself.. .As God.. As infinity.. As Love..as everything.. As nothing.....it seems like you want everything.. You want sadness as much as you want happiness.. And this conflict in plans between the finite self and the infinite self create dissatisfaction in life.

@SQAAD that's a common thing to want as a human. But what do you think you want as God?

@Blackhawk if there is a way out... What would it be?

@BipolarGrowth glad to see you back my friend. Hope you are healthy.

What brought you there?

@Nahm Enough.