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creation
October 2009 
The Preciousness of Form
Balder
I had an interesting dream last night. I entered into and merged with a sense of boundless space -- no forms, no experiences or discriminations for an indeterminate amount of time, until the world began to coalesce 'out of' this space, showing up first as transparent, luminous outlines, like a visionary field. The interesting part of the dream for me was being at the 'edge' of space and form, where form was experienced as being 'pervaded by' and an expression of space. At this edge, I recall a moment's pause, like a question, and then a distinct feeling of 'Yes.' The transparent expanse of form filled out, becoming substantial, heavy, opaque, an abundant multiplicity of objects and beings. This transition was very satisfying, and momentarily, I 'felt' all these distinct forms at once, not as one, but as multiple, teeming. It was beautiful, precious, 'right.'
The next thing I remember is not the dream, but the waking 'me here,' looking out at the world.
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how did you feel when you woke up? this is such an amazing dream.
Wow Bruce - this is beautiful. Thanks for sharing it.
James
Mmm. As James said, thanks indeed for sharing it.
Hey Brother,
Your beautiful, clear dream echoes in my own 'hall of records'. :-)
Poonjaji would say, “That was not a dream!”, and then engulf you with the confidence that this was a true vision of the awakened mind.
Hi, Nicole, I felt good when I woke up. 'Normal' and content. Throughout the day, such as when I was out walking this morning, I've felt echoes of this experience and have felt hints of something like a 'secret intimacy' or kinship with my environment. But there's also a feeling of 'okayness' with the sense of being 'othered.' Sort of a toggling between the appreciative intimacy, the remembered feeling of full consolidation and separation, and the sense that this is both good and a source of (enactment of?) alienation.
James, Is, Davidu, Mascha – thank you for your comments. :-)
“felt hints of something like a 'secret intimacy' or kinship with my environment”
I think “intimacy” is one of the best words for describing non-dual awareness. Glad to hear you use it!
Incredible. Love the yes. By the way, that intimacy thing, I don't see how you get it without separation, your multiple.
Tom, will you get it into your head that you can't say anything about non-duality, but that there is currently no other way for us humans to communicate over the web with one another than through words? Would you rather prefer it that we are quiet all the time? Would you prefer if Bruce didn't write about his dream, even though they words may fall short in describing what was actually experienced?
Sorry if this come across as aggressive.
I think intimacy is a good descriptor for this sort of nondual experience, which seems to 'span' the poles of total separation (dualism) and uniform identity or sameness (monism), being reducible to neither.
One of the 'felt meanings' I take from the dream – a full, dynamic illustration or embodiment of insights I've had through various contemplative practices, such as TSK – is a sense of non-separation or non-going in full separation, full substantial form, full differentiation or 'othering.' To use a TSK metaphor, open spaciousness and vivid concreteness are different focal settings in, or as, a dynamic field.
But even that expression seems a little off to me.
Amazing how you described it- and how you found that image with edges dissolving into….