the great nothing

[mikey]

hi tony,
i think i have been suffering from a kind of shamanic sickness,where something has been trying to attract my attention by breaking down my defences,while ill on holiday i slept ,i had this dream if it can be truly called a dream,the content of which i am certain will resonate with you.
the dream.
i am in a large dug out hole in the ground,way above my head,i need to climb out but cant.
i  realise that all the grains of soil/dirt that have been removed to form the hole, represents experiences in my life both good and bad,all the wonder, all the pain, the love, the hate.
 i become aware, that out of the hole exists  a huge nothing- ness,a vast seemingly empty abyss,
i hear that voice ,it says,i have to let go,let go of it all,expand into the great emptiness,
Of course i am not enlightened enough to do this,so i feel the great fear & dread of this surrender.

from a psychological/spiritual aspect i see it is something that cannot be penertrated or contemplated by the rational mind,it is beyond our capacity to understand,so our egos fear it,mine certainly does.
this is not symbology i have experienced in a dream before,sure i have read about it in some hindu,buddhist stories ,
Despite my fear, i believe i have had something of a breakthrough.
i know some folk gingerly peer over the edge into the abyss,very few laugh and jump in.
perhaps i need to be a fool !
look forward to your thoughts.
rgds mikey.

[Tony Crisp]

Mikey - Wow - you have really shifted this time. This is too big a subject to give a flowing report so I have given several links,

It is not just Buddhist or Eastern teachings that talk about the hole, the abyss and nothingness. There is a book called The Cloud of Unknowing - Christian writer who remained anonymous. Also in alchemy the Philosopher's Stone is about a great unknowingness. http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/philosophers-stone/

You describe a sort of death, "I have to let go, let go of it all, expand into the great emptiness." And under http://dreamhawk.com/dream-dictionary/abyss/ you will read - Usually the abyss represents the unknown, and perhaps infinite, of your own mind or consciousness. The fear of falling into the abyss represents your attempt to control your feelings and what emerges from within yourself. It also frequently refers to feelings about, or fear of, death.
The positive side of the dream is that it links your conscious mind with the immense potential you hold within yourself unconsciously. Part of this potential is an experience of going beyond opposites, of resolving paradoxes, of moving beyond the limitations of the rational mind and emotional responses. In these ways it is similar to the dream images of the sea/void.

You need to look at http://dreamhawk.com/inner-life/a-modern-approach-enlightenment-part-20/ also http://dreamhawk.com/dream-dictionary/what-we-need-to-remember-about-us-3/#Reaction and http://dreamhawk.com/inner-life/a-look-at-enlightenment/

There is so much on this site about it so look up words that relate to your dream - but the whole of http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/what-we-need-to-remember-about-us-3/ and http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/integration-meeting-oneself/ might be interesting.

Tony

[mikey]

thanks tony,
i knew you would be no stranger to this sort of dream content,
i will  read your suggestions,
i have often felt that,we find security & some comfort in a belief system or particular way of thinking or  living,and when we become aware of the alternative, that life is meaningless,a random event in a vast cold empty universe,  even more so.as it seems to make it all bareable
your right ,this is a to big a subject,especially for a humble yorkshireman,
there was a touch of death about this dream,felt that the hole i find myself in,based on all my previous experiences is what is actually holding me back,it has given me some sort of comfort,but now the mood seems to have changed,i have to make that empty handed leap into the void, trusting that all will be well.
this seems to me, to be a task for, a person of great courage,with no belief system sustaining them,hence the empty handed leap.
am i that sort of person,honestly i don't think i am,not yet anyway.

rgds Mikey

[Tony Crisp]

Mikey - I too felt like that, that it takes courage to meet a huge emptiness, for all our cultural background seems to say, "Life is a bitch, and then we die".

But such does not take account of the fact that we did not create the body we have or give it life. Our mother didn't create us either - for it was the process of Life that formed us and lived in us. And that is what I found when I dared to take the jump - that I was caught and cared for by Life, for Life had caused me to be and cherished me.

Also of course the basis of Life appears as nothingness because it is everything. Everything cannot be something, because something would be a form - and our basic being is without form because you are touching the Everything.

Tony

[mikey]

thanks tony,your insight has been of great help to me on my journey.
i see your web site not just as a dream interpretaion forum,but a place of understanding & tuition for those of us who struggle,i am most grateful to the powers that brought me here,
rgds mikey.