thegoodfellas/blogset-br huggingface dataset:
to visit this pavilion and to pass an hour in support of our good father, remembering the lessons and examples of virtue which he had given me. I will cite several events with great solemnity: that on which he saved my life by taking me into the Pyramid and the anniversary of his death. This day was consecrated to grief and meditation in my house. And once every year all my slaves entered the drove which I had had surrounded with a metal grill so that nobody could enter. Also, the thickness of the bushes and the winding paths which had to be wandered through before arriving at the pavilion prevented the most piercing eye from seeing it. My days passed between work, study, meditation, and walking exercise. I received a few visitors in my home, but nobody had an inkling of that which passed in my private life. To live happily, live concealed, as a Sage said. And this proverb is the rule and foundation of my conduct.
unreal much like fantasies, magical illusions, mirages, and hallucinations Daily perceptions in the everyday waking state are also unreal All life is here today and gone tomorrow, like a dream; there is nothing to hold on to Conscious dreamwork can lead us to the realization of wholeness, perfect balance, and unity. For centuries, Tibetan masters have taught their students how to use dreamtime and dream space to further spiritual progress by increasing awareness during the dream state. Tibetan Dream Yoga brings you these same techniques for realizing the five wisdom lessons and reaping the benefits of awakening within the dream. The Six Yogas of Tibet Tibetan dream yoga is one of the renowned Six Yogas of Tibet, an ancient Buddhist teaching that originates with the enlightened yogic adepts (siddhas) of ancient India. These yogas (or practices), utilized for a millennium by all four schools of Tibetan Buddhism, help us to utilize the body/mind/spirit as a vehicle for awakening and enlightenment by day, by night, and in the afterlife (bardo). The Six Yogas are: Inner heat (mystic incandescence) yoga Illusory body yoga Dream yoga Clear light yoga Bardo yoga Conscious transformation yoga The Six Yogas tradition was first brought to Tibet thirteen hundred years ago by the Indian tantric master Padmasambhava, founder of the Ancient School (Nyingmapa) of Tibetan Buddhism. Padmasambhava himself received the teachings he codified as The Yoga of the Dream State from a mysterious yogi named Lawapa. In ensuing centuries, as Buddhism grew and flourished in Tibet, Marpa the Translator and other Tibetan sages made the grueling journey on foot to India to study from yogic masters, then brought the teaching back with them. Through practicing the Six Yogas, we come to realize the infinite emptiness/openness, ungraspable quality, and luminosity that is the true nature of reality. Dream interpretation, the use of dreams for predictions and healing, and the development of psychic powers and healing abilities can arise naturally from the continuous practice of dream yoga and the related yogas (especially clear light, inner heat, and illusory body). The Spiritual Benefits of Tibetan Dream Yoga His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama has this to say about awakening our dream body and using it for spiritual progress and development: "There is said to be a relationship between dreaming, on the one hand, and the gross and subdue levels of the body on the other. But it is also said that there is a 'special dream state.' In that state, the special dream body is created from the mind and from vital energy (prana) within the body. This special dream body is able to dissociate entirely form the gross physical body and travel elsewhere." One way of developing this special dream body is first of all to recognize a dream as a dream when it occurs. Then you find that the dream is malleable, and you make efforts to gain control over it. Gradually you become very skilled in this, increasing your ability to control the contents of the dream so that it accords to your own desires. Eventually it is possible
to dissociate your dream body from your gross physical body. In contrast, in the normal dream state, dreaming occurs within the body. But as a result of specific training, the dream body can go elsewhere. This first technique is accomplished entirely by the power of desire or aspiration. There is another technique that arrives at the same end by means of prana yoga. These are meditative practices that utilize the subtle, vital energies in the body. For these techniques it is also necessary to recognize the sleep state as it occurs.According to sleep researchers, we typically experience four stages of sleep. Hypnagogic sleep - the state of drowsiness we experience as we begin falling asleep Ordinary sleep- here, we enter a true sleeping state, but can still be easily awakened . Deeper sleep - vital functions slow down, and we are more likely to sleep through disturbances Deep sleep - muscles are totally relaxed, and it would be difficult to wake us up (we only spend about fifteen percent of our sleeping hours at this stage) It takes about an hour to cycle through all four stages; then we go back in reverse order to stage 1. Before beginning the cycle again, however, we experience rapid eye movements (REM) under our closed lids. Research shows that this is when we dream. We spend twenty to twenty-five percent of our sleep time in this state. In order to practice dream yoga, we must introduce awareness during the periods of REM sleep (which last from a few minutes to half an hour). If we can identify that stage while asleep -perhaps with the help of an assistant or a dream-light device - we can further incubate, develop, and enhance the awareness practice of becoming conscious and lucid within the dream state. Dreaming Tibetan dream yoga texts teach us that, in general, there are three types of dreams: Ordinary, karmic dreams, arising mostly from the day's activities, and from previous life activities, thoughts, experiences, and contacts. "Clear light" dreams: spiritual visions, blessings, and energy openings Lucid dreams, which are characterized by awareness that one is dreaming Under these three broad divisions, dreams can be divided into a further six categories: Dreams of events that occurred while we were still awake Dreams about other people, alive or dead Forgotten elements emerging from the subconscious Archetypal content, evocative symbols, and so on Extrasensory perceptions, profound dreams, and omens Radiant, luminous, spiritual dreams Recurrent dreams, nightmares, dreams of death, and other kinds of commonly reported dreams all fall within the first four dream categories. In the interests of developing deeper awareness of your dreams, you may find it helpful to identify the category that applies whenever you recall a particular dream. The Practices of Tibetan Dream Yoga It is important to create a spiritual context for the practice of Tibetan dream yoga. Lucid dreaming can easily be misused to perpetuate the problems we experience in our waking lives. For example, one might direct one's dream toward a gratifying encounter or a vengeful fantasy. You will find that the
techniques on Tibetan Dream Yoga somehow don't work as well when used for such purposes. Tibetan dream yoga practice comprises three parts: Daytime practice, designed to help us recognize the dreamlike nature of all existence and thereby prepare us to experience our dreams as vividly as we do our waking activities Morning wake-up practices that help us recall our dreams, and confirm our determination to recall more of them . Night time practice, which prepares the ground for lucid dreaming and spiritual Daytime Practice : During the day, practice these four points: Contemplating the body as illusory and unreal Contemplating the mind and mental activities as similarly insubstantial Regarding the world and all phenomena and experience as dreamlike, insubstantial, impermanent, and unreal Recognizing the relativity and ungraspable quality such as time, space, knowledge, and awareness Reminding ourselves of these four truths throughout our waking hours helps to dissolve the barrier between the dream of life and the sleeping dream. As we become more adept at these practices, we begin to regard our nighttime dreams as continuations of our waking dream and we learn how to bring habitual awareness to both. Mirror Practice The following mirror practice is an effective way of perceiving the dreamlike nature of reality, and especially of self. From time to time during the day, take a few minutes to do it. 1 Stand in front of a mirror and look into your own eyes. 2. Hold up a hand mirror behind your right or left ear and look at its reflection in the larger mirror. Keep angling the hand mirror so as to fragment and multiply your image as much as possible. Let your mind fragment along with the image. 3. After a few minutes, angle the hand mirror back until you return to the original, single image in the mirror in front of you. The analogy of a mirror image is, like dreams, traditionally used to describe the insubstantial nature of our everyday experience. The mirror practice helps bring that teaching to life. The fragmented image is the kind we might see in a dream; yet we are seeing it while we're fully awake or are we? Allowing your mind to "fall apart" also helps ventilate the solidity we typically attribute to our world, and especially to our "self." Partner Exercise Here is a traditional dream yoga practice you can do with a partner. This is an immensely useful technique, not only for challenging the distinction between sleeping dreams and the dream of being awake, but also for applying your training to practical, everyday situations. 1 - Insult, blame, and criticize your partner. Your partner should listen to all of this as echoes; empty sounds. 2 Trade places. Now have your partner disparage you, while you practice just hearing the sounds and not taking the words to heart 3 Try doing this same exercise using praise and flattery instead of blame. In either case, the listening partner should practice not reacting in any way, recognizing what is being said as a dream. At first, you may find
it difficult to maintain equanimity while you do this practice. Stay with it you will find that doing so yields rich rewards over time. Wake-up Practice The moments immediately after waking are the most fertile for recalling dreams. The following practices are designed to support and strengthen your recall. They will also facilitate a mindful transition between the sleeping and waking dream states. Upon waking in the morning, practice: The lion's out-breath - breathing out with the sound "ah" The lion-like posture for awakening and purifying - sitting up in bed with raised head and gazing and emphasizing the exhalation, repeating the "ah" out breath three times Raising the energy - standing up, reaching the fingertips to the sky, and repeating the lion's out-breath Entering into mindful reflection on the transition between the states of sleeping, dreaming, and waking reality - coming into the present moment, recording dreams. Thus, you will enter the day recognizing that all things are like a dream, illusion, fantasy, mirage, and so forth. Nighttime Practice After going to bed, practice these four points in order to create the conditions for mindful, lucid dreaming. Chant the following prayer three times to remind you of and strengthen your resolve to awaken within the dream, for the benefit of the ultimate awakening of all beings: May I awaken within this dream and grasp the fact that I am dreaming, so that all dreamlike beings may likewise awaken from the nightmare of illusory suffering and confusion. Lie on one side with your legs together and knees slightly bent. Let your bent arm take the weight of your torso by resting your head on your open hand. This is the posture of the sleeping Buddha, as he has been traditionally depicted at the moment of passing into nirvana (death). Bringing your attention to your throat chakra, visualize your energy rising up out of your body. Feel it rise up from your heart chakra with your breath and pass into your "third eye" or brow chakra: the point between your eyebrows. Visualize it as a full, luminous moon behind your eyes. Go into the light. Visualize the letter "A" (symbolizing infinite space) on the surface of the moon. Notice whatever images begin to appear on the sphere of light behind your eyes. Deepening Your Practice To progress still further in Tibetan dream yoga, Pay careful attention to your dreams Record your dreams in a dream journal upon waking each morning Recognize recurrent images, themes, associations, and patterns Contemplate the archetypal, symbolic content and meanings of your dreams Reflect on the similarities and differences between night dreams, daydreams, fantasies, visions, ideas, projections, and so on Wake yourself up during the night to reaffirm your resolve to awaken within the dream and grasp the fact that you are dreaming Sit up in meditation posture while sleeping to maintain continuous awareness while inducing and incubating lucid dreaming Have a dream assistant at hand to guide you while asleep, helping you learn to retain conscious presence during dreams Meditate alone in darkness to develop the inner clarity
of the Clear Light Mind - the mind unaffected by illusion During the day, maintain awareness that everything you experience is like a dream Chant the dream yoga prayer by day and by night to help reinforce your intention to awaken within the dream. (if you want, or change the wordings) A THE LIFELONG PRACTICE OF TIBETAN DREAM YOGA Like any spiritual practice, Tibetan dream yoga will reveal more substantial benefits the longer and more consistently you practice it. In the Buddhist tradition, however, discipline alone is not enough to bring your practice fully alive. Motivation the reason you practice in the first place - is considered as crucial as technique and commitment. You will have noticed that the Tibetan dream yoga chant includes an aspiration to help free all beings of their suffering. This intention lies at the root of all Buddhist practice. The underlying teaching is that all living beings are interconnected: none of us can be completely free so long as any of us is still asleep. As you practice Tibetan dream yoga, recognize that the suffering you seek to alleviate through spiritual practice is, in fact, universal. Recognize, too, that the more awake you are, the more helpful you can be to those you care about in fact, to, to everyone you come into contact with. Practice with the intention of working with your own individual part of the whole, in order to bring all of human awareness to a new level. In this way, you will derive the greatest possible benefits from your dream yoga practice. Some sayings about dreams: Dreams are a reservoir of knowledge and experience, yet they are often overlooked as a vehicle for exploring reality- Tarthang Tulku Yoga Practice All that we see is but a dream within a dream- Edgar Allen Poe "A dream not interpreted is like a letter not read"- The Talmud Dreams are real as long as they last. Can we say more of life? Henry Havelock Ellis You beings on earth who are deep in slumber... Stop sleeping! Wake up! What are you waiting for?-The Zohar There are some who are awake even while asleep, and then there are those who, apparently awake, are deeply asleep Lalla Do not sleep like an animal that mixes sleep and reality - Tibetan instruction for dream yoga practice Let sleep itself be an exercise in piety, for such as our life and conduct have been so also of necessity will be our dreams Saint Basil .A Note: The extracts contained here are for personal use only, and may not be reproduced for commercial distribution.) (These are excerpts from three different Dzogchen Dream Yoga books Dream Yoga and the Practice of Natural light by Namkhai Norbu - The Tibetan Yogas of Dream and Sleep by Tenzin Wangyal Rimpoche - Sleeping, Dreaming, and Dying by the Dalai Lama ) Guideline to Dream Interpretation How do you relate to dreams? A framework for dreams Painting by Bob Venosa All dreams work to accomplish one of two things 1 To solve the problems of your
conscious, waking life. 2 To present you with access to new potentials and creativity. Because dreams come from all levels of your being, understanding the imagery and type of dream is the key to understanding and actualizing the messages you receive during sleep. 3 Symbols express those things for which we have no words. By working with them, we use both hemispheres of the brain and tap the subconscious mind more fully, which in turn opens the doors to our intuitive self A dream symbol could literally represent itself as well as its possible interpretations. The images and symbols may also represent aspects of your personality. When you begin to reflect on the symbols, always start by registering your first impressions but dont stop with the obvious. Dreams are symbolic representations, not reproductions. The dream images always represent more than themselves, and so the more you work with them, the more you will understand them. Dreams do not come to tell you what you already know. Look at the dream images and symbols as pieces of a puzzle that you can put together only by finding out what they mean to you. How do you relate to the dream? 1 Start by looking at how the dream could be reflecting something going on in your daily life. 2 Then move on to the more subtle, free association with the dream images. 3 Whats the first thing you would normally think about in connection to that symbol or image, activity or person appearing in your dream scenario? 4 doing more than representing themselves. They may also represent qualities or characteristics that you have "projected" on them. For example, you may dream of your grandfather, a man who was very kind to you. The quality of kindness is therefore associated with your grandfather, so dreaming of him could symbolize kindness. (You will know the difference between a symbolic representation of a quality or characteristic and a real "psychic" contact with a loved one.) 5 Examine the emotions within the dream scenario. What is the predominant emotion associated with the dream? Remember that it may be the emotion aroused that is the key and the scenario is simply a vehicle to deliver the message. 6 When you wake up, does a particular feeling remain? For example, are you frightened, frustrated, happy, excited? Dreams often exaggerate emotions, qualities and situations to get a particular message across to you. This does not mean that you have that quality or will experience that situation to the intensity you experienced within the dream. When this occurs, you are often being given a strong thump on the head to pay attention! This is what nightmares do. They are dynamic calls for your attention. They show you your greatest fears, fears that must be confronted. Dreams often come in a series. Various dreams in a single or successive nights may be different ways of saying the same thing. The subconscious mind may be communicating the same message to you in different ways to make sure that you get it. Look for
relationships and symbols that reoccur and notice the similarities. Ask yourself what they have in common. Proper dream interpretation leads towards greater understanding of yourself, but do not lose touch with your common sense in dream work. On the surface, dreams may seem to predict futures events or alarming situations, but do not jump to conclusions. With practice, you will be able to discern if a dream is precognitive (reflecting future events) or not. Dreams use symbols to make you develop and understand your personal symbolic language. This language comes directly from your soul and uses symbols and images from impersonal archetypes and from personal experience to make a strong or subtle impact on your psyche. This symbolic language is unique, given just to you, in the hope that it will make you conscious of your real needs and problems. This language of the soul also helps you to unfold your creativity and activates the spiritual dimension within your psyche. Painting by John Vega A framework for dream work might be: 1 Choose a dream. 2 Determine the dream type, issue, crisis, a block, a resolution already included in the dream. 3 Make a list of the symbols in the dream. 4 Find out the relationships between symbols. 5 Find out the relationships between the dream ego and the symbols. 6 Find out the similarities and contrasts in the dream. 7 List what the dream ego is and is not doing in the dream 8 Find out about the egos relationships with other items in the dream. 9 Make a summary, and list what you have discovered. This is a basic method of working with dreams that helps you develop self-analysis, observation, and a "conscious" and "lucid" state of consciousness. You can follow it up with different methods. Dream work helps those who want to know themselves, since like a mirror, it not only projects who we are but also displays what we need to do. In other words, dreams are the best guides to reveal what you have on your conscience, what needs to be worked out in your life, and how to become a better and happier person. Finally, keep a dream journal that represents the "mirror of your soul" and helps you understand yourself better. Write your dream down as soon as possible, even just a few words, to remind you of your dream, for the more importance you give to your dream work, the more inner messages and intelligent guidance you will receive It is during my Psychosynthesis training, in London in 1984, that I was given this Guideline to Dream Interpretation. (Author Unknown) taken from a Psychosynthesis paper DREAM YOGA TEACHING IN DREAMS There are numerous examples in the Tibetan tradition of practitioners who received teachings in dreams. Often the dreams come in sequence, each night's dream starting where the previous night's dream ends, and in this way transmitting entire, detailed teachings until a precise and appropriate point of completion is reached, at which point the dreams stop. Volumes of teachings have been "discovered" this way, including