Do Not Forget to Dream

We are not obligated to impose upon our experience. In other words, there is always a lot of activity going on in our lives with a whole range of causes and effects etc. We are obligated to accept what life immediately presents; but we are not obligated to impose a definition, rule, judgment, or a complex ideology to control it. We can, if we feel it is appropriate, but we do not have to; and all too often out of sheer habit our impulse to manipulate life, define it, or “figure it out” causes us suffering. When things seem a bit overwhelming in the waking state, close your eyes and dream a little and experience the dream state for a second. Do not be so invested in this one state of body activity, which makes us inadvertently hyper vigilant to every little pain and discrepancy. This vigilance robs us of the creativity of the dream state and the peace of the deep sleep state. -Atreya Thomas