The World is a Dream
in The NOW
By Fred Campbell
[Fred’s like any ‘guy-next-door.’ But his friendly and unassuming simplicity hides a wisdom that is the ardent pursuit for many a seeker. He has a remarkable story to share. I was fortunate to get to know him at a
Non-duality group which meets every Sunday at a private home in Bellevue, WA,
USA.
Even as a young man,
Fred was deeply philosophical. Hardly did he cross his twenties, when some
strange “experiences” gripped him and changed his worldview. Though he studied
architecture and finance at the University of Washington, he discovered that his
heart was not in either of these urban-oriented vocations. He was drawn to living close to nature and
working for the betterment of humanity. So he chose a line of work that facilitated
his spiritual quest in finding a meaning to his uncommon “experiences.” He was
very hesitant to start with, but has finally consented to recount at this Blog his
Non-dual experiences (if we can call them to be “experiences”) that can’t be,
as he says, really captured in words. I am grateful to him for this lovely and
affectionate gesture.
Fred lives with his wife
in Seattle, WA, USA. He can be contacted by e-mail at wxdir@yahoo.com – ramesam.]
The World is a Dream
in The NOW
By Fred Campbell
"It
is not true that Infinity will be Infinite only when would-be finite experience
fades away. There is only the Infinite Being I Am -- and where I Infinitely Am, there is no finite experience to fade away. To assume matter must be laid off
or risen above, would be to start with matter, not the Awareness I Am. The Pure
Awareness I Am can't lay off materiality, for I have none, Now – Peter Dziuban
First, the background in brief: I felt disenchanted with the pedantic
character of the Educational system soon after my graduation. Deeply attracted
by the natural elements, I moved to the rural woods for several years. I lived
a simple "back to the earth" life in the 70's, with my focus on
becoming increasingly self reliant. I actively
participated in those days in numerous counter cultural activities – anti-war,
civil rights, gender equality and environmental awareness. After spending life
in this way for many years, I entered the traditional working world, accepting
a job with an agency that promoted housing for disadvantaged people. I worked
in this field for over three and half decades.
Much of my effort was focused during this time on providing and preserving
affordable housing, with an emphasis on energy efficiency and promoting research
into alternative energy systems and housing/health issues.
My philosophical and spiritual quest kept pace all through
my educational and professional career. Beginning in the 70's, I explored a
variety of so called new age modalities, including progressive psychology
approaches and Eastern spirituality that had become relatively new to the West. In the 80's and 90's, I spent time with a
local group and various retreats around the teachings of J. Krishnamurti. Those groups were focused on a dialogue
approach. My interest in the increasing confluence of science and spirituality
led me to helping start a local Institute for Noetic Sciences (IONS) group.
Over time, I studied a great number of Non-dual teachings, including those of
Eckhart Tolle, Wei Wu Wei, Jean Klein, Rupert Spira, and others.
When I was 21, a strange sense came over me. While preparing
for dinner with my family, long before I had any exposure to any spiritual teachings,
somehow it struck me that all experience is in this ‘moment,’ not a
moment in time but the only moment ... “NOW.”
It seemed that experience is very much like a dream, where
the dreamer finds activities and objects within the dream to be very real. A
whole believable history spontaneously presents itself. Something appears
to come out of nothing. Even so called "memory" appears in
the now, providing meaning-making interpretation of what appears to be happening
now. In the sleeping dream, there is a very real sense of being
chased by the tiger, even though the apparent reality of the dream proves to be
nonsense when awake.
Similarly, it seemed to me this waking state, with its
apparent history and meaning, may only be spontaneous appearance manifesting as
a dream.
I described this sense to a few people, some of whom looked
at me as if I were crazy. Years later, when attending Krishnamurti
dialogue groups in Seattle and California, I again described
this sense. And again, even among folks interested in so called Non-dual
teachings, it clearly did not resonate. For over 30 years, I had never met
anyone who found this experience or sense to be valid or even interesting.
Ten years ago I met a long-time teacher of the Course in
Miracles at a silent retreat put on by a couple of local Non-dual
teachers. When we were able to break our silence, I described to
her this sense. To my surprise she told me the Course
describes reality in a similar way. Later I learned this sense I
had decades earlier was consistent with some advaita teachings.
This odd sense of reality continues to show up to date. When
it does, it seems clear this moment, the only moment, is in fact the
so-called "big bang" of the original universe. A whole universe
of apparent objects, space and time presents itself together with
meaning-making conceptual notions, including the sense of "me" ever
fresh and new. It's as if
arising within the ever present timeless now, holographic-like
experiencing takes place, bringing an impression of time and space dimensions.
Even that's not quite right because in timeless presence
there is nothing that "takes place". It's simply here/now.
Memory, embedded in this presence and not of the
"past", is no more "real" than all the believable
"causes" that apparently led that tiger to chase me in
the sleeping dream.
If in fact all appears here/now, how could there be birth or
death? After all, they’re both events in time. How could there be change or,
for that matter, any experiencing where there’s something experienced? This
doesn’t suggest there is nothing real about our claimed experience; just that
its reality is not what we typically believe. It suggests that our perceived
experience appears within the timeless presence of NOW and, therefore, has no independent
objectivity. The dream is conceptual meaning (thought) apparently expanding the
ever present now to encompass a universe of time and objects.
So, does any of this have any significance regarding
day-to-day living? Or is it just so much conceptual gibberish?
Seems to me it is simply intellectual conjecture if limited
to considerations of the mind. It may, however, touch on something beyond mind.
It may give pause to habitual identification with that to which mind brings
meaning. In the midst of seemingly very palpable experiences, there may be a
concurrent sensing or knowing of the timeless essence in which this apparent
time-bound experiencer and its experiences appear.
Some may dispute whether the
experience I've described is in fact consistent with the essence
of Non-duality. No matter, for, the point for me is simple. This sense
of reality noted here, together with deepening understanding of Non-duality, brings
home a distinct sense that this life, this apparent reality (as described by
the mind), is not at all as it appears to be. It seems increasingly clear that,
as Rupert Spira points out so well, the substance of our experience, this
knowing or aware-ing, is not only the ONE reality but also the only
"thing" experienced. And it all appears here/now ... neither in time
nor space.
