We Dream… with Our Eyes Wide Open

5 minute read

All of us dream, more or less, and we all dream about things connected to the reality in which we live, because reality is not perceived in the same way by everyone. Each person has a corner of the mind to which they retreat, either to soothe their pride or to release their inner turmoil. Those who can no longer dream, or whom destiny strikes too many unbearable blows, give up not only their dreams but even the struggle for the life they have possessed since birth.

I do not believe we should condemn someone who, after enduring enough blows from destiny, strikes destiny back by refusing to remain its "slave". Perhaps this is why religions condemn such an act even more severely than murder, although it may be the only act in which freedom of choice is reflected. It sounds morbid, but leaving the game of destiny requires immense courage and, above all, the breaking of every chain forged by thought.

I nevertheless believe in determinism, which would mean that even the act of renouncing the life given to you by destiny is neither accidental nor freely chosen. Yet my thinking moved beyond dualities long ago. For me, "yes" and "no" are two aspects of the same thing, and there is always room for free will. When you bring them together, you obtain a projection far closer to reality than when you separate them.

To understand this, you must move beyond the barriers of logical thought, although abstract logic may bring you closer to accepting the phenomenon. Such a discussion has no limit, so I will not pursue it here. I will add only that quantum theory applied to existence comes closer to my own vision than other theories do.

Dreams may concern our existence, an imaginary realm or the spiritual world. Yet all of them are alike: they are illusions, because the only way to live in reality is not to dream. Otherwise, every mental projection can influence the reality in which you live, to a greater or lesser degree.

Religion does not say without reason that merely thinking about something regarded as sinful, without committing the act, can be an even greater sin than the act itself. I believe this emphasises the power of thought. The effect of our thoughts and "dreams" is reflected in the society in which we live. Manipulation and influence over the way we live surround us everywhere, creating dependence upon things we do not need.

Today's "deities" are ordinary people with powers greater than those of Jesus when it comes to influencing the way others live, and even the lives themselves of many of our fellow human beings. Celebrities of every kind - singers, actors, writers and others - successful people and those with exceptional talents have become the new gods. They are more "dangerous" than invisible or imagined gods because they are tangible. We can see their influence upon the lives and thoughts of those around us.

The evolution of humanity, and therefore of the human soul, cannot take place while society and thought remain selfish, centred upon competition, self-assertion and a struggle that creates falsehood and suffering. It is not normal for some people to possess immeasurable wealth and then declare that everyone else does not work hard enough, or has failed to fight by every possible means to become like them.

In an ideal society of the future, humanity will no longer leave resources and power in the hands of a few people who fight only for their own interests and those of the people close to them. It will think globally. Resources and wealth will be distributed for the benefit of the community without continuing to destroy or pollute nature. Hunger and deprivation will cease to exist; and even if hunger remains, it will be borne by everyone, creating conditions much closer to genuine evolution than those we have today.

Our present society is false because it is based upon something false: money. Perhaps this is increasingly evident in the invented crises of recent times, because none of it is truly real. It is well known that those who possess the most money currently control everything. If money ceased to exist and the value of things were no longer inflated, society as we know it would come to an end, but it could no longer be controlled either.

In reality, human needs are very small; they are existential. Happiness is given by things that cannot be bought or valued in material terms. Yet the thinking imposed upon our society is defined by consumption, invented needs and deliberately cultivated vices designed to control our minds.

Tobacco is one example. It has been used for centuries, but chemical influence and the substances that create dependency have generated its health problems because they attack the immune system. Addiction was created, the price was then increased, and despite every supposed method of reducing consumption, tobacco now generates more money and causes more harm than ever. I believe it has become the scapegoat for the other invisible problems in our existence, such as pollution and the many things around us that affect our thinking and health. I am not saying tobacco is good. I am saying that imposing the idea of its harmfulness after allowing it to cause harm for decades is as wrong as imposing the idea that sex is a sin.

Dreaming is good to a certain extent, but for your dream to be a true dream, it should be impossible. Otherwise, it is merely an outlet for material or spiritual desires. When you dream in sleep, reality as you know it no longer exists, and some people see real events in dreams before those events occur.

When you dream with your eyes wide open, you can no longer ignore reality. You want the dream to become real, and you act to fulfil it. Some people therefore achieve things in the material world that appear impossible, while others create lived experiences in the soul that are impossible for those who devote themselves to material dreams.

It depends upon the world to which we choose to give our life or our future. Few people no longer dream at all, because dreams belong to children, while adults cease dreaming and work to make children's dreams possible.

We cannot know whether the world in which we live is itself a dream until we truly awaken. We must see who we really are, whether we are more than this body and whether what others have dreamt about the soul is true. In one way, most of us feel that everything is a dream, beautiful or ugly. Yet few genuinely wish to awaken to reality and stop dreaming with our eyes wide open.

First published in Romanian on 10 August 2011. This English translation preserves the perspective of that period.

Original Romanian article: Visăm... dar cu ochii larg deschiși.