The Dreamer and Me

 

The Dream of the Ultimate Being: A Thought Experiment

It’s a thought experiment. Some spiritual traditions suggest we live within the dreams of an all-pervading God, proposing that God alone embodies ultimate truth. This idea is profoundly interesting.

The Layers of Reality

Consider the possibility that we are characters within a vast dream of a true, ultimate being. Perhaps, as dream characters, our scope diminishes each day, with varying degrees of agency. We might even experience lucid dreaming, gaining control within our own smaller dreams. Occasionally, within these, we experience even tinier dreams, each utilizing characters and elements from the larger, “huge” dream. This intricate layering illustrates the immense artistry of that colossal dream. When we wake, our individual dreams disappear until the “real one” awakens. We experience new dreams daily within the same grand dream, remaining separated until that ultimate awakening. What happens if the “real one” does wake up?

Emotions and Experiences within the Dream

The Nature of Suffering and Joy

Regarding the experience of happiness, suffering, and pain: Why wouldn’t the ultimate being directly involve itself in our emotions? In movies, dramas, and games, diverse characters experience emotions, suffering, happiness, and pain; an external observer knows these are not “real.” Therefore, the “real” creator doesn’t typically get involved in those fictional emotions. However, the fact that our own dream characters can suffer and enjoy within our dreams is a testament to the artistry and complexity of the ultimate being’s “colossal dream.” It suggests that the capacity for subjective experience—including both suffering and happiness—is a fundamental property woven into the very fabric of the ultimate dream. If the ultimate being’s dream contains consciousness that can create its own conscious characters (even if temporary), it implies a fractal or recursive nature to consciousness itself.

The Role of Our Imagination

Our imagination is a crucial element. If we are characters in the ultimate being’s dream, then our imagination itself is a direct product of that dream. Our ability to conceive of things that don’t (yet) exist in our perceived “reality,” to conjure scenarios, and to feel emotions for fictional constructs in our minds – this very capacity is derived from the ultimate dreamer.

The Source of the Ultimate Dreamer’s Experiences

If our dreams are mostly derived from our daily experiences, and the “ultimate” being is dreaming us, it raises big questions about where its experiences come from. Here are a few ways to think about where the ultimate being’s ”experiences” might originate, if its dreams are like ours:

 * Internal Self-Containment: Perhaps the ultimate being’s “experiences” aren’t external at all. Its reality might be entirely self-contained. Its “memories” and “perceptions” could be inherent to its own nature, an endless wellspring of pure potential from which all possibilities, including our reality, are drawn. It doesn’t need to “experience” something outside itself to dream it into existence.

 * Transcendent Reality: Another idea is that the ultimate being exists in a reality so vastly different from ours that its “experiences” are beyond our comprehension. It might not have “days” or “events” in the way we do, but rather exists in a state of pure consciousness or being, from which all conceivable scenarios, however imaginative, can arise.

 * The Dream as Experience Itself: What if the act of dreaming is the ultimate being’s experience? Our existence, with all its complexities, emotions, and interactions, becomes its experience. In this view, the “ultimate” doesn’t need a separate external input; the dream itself provides the rich tapestry of its consciousness.

 * Pure Imagination (or Divine Will): Your initial point that our dreams are “rarely purely imaginative” is key. But for an ultimate, all-powerful being, pure imagination might be its default. Its ability to create might not rely on pre-existing “stimuli” but on pure, unadulterated will or conceptualization. It simply dreams what it wills into being, without needing a prior “experience” of it.

Dream Stimulation vs. “Real” Creation

The distinction between “dream stimulation” and “real” creation hits on a core philosophical debate. If the ultimate being only creates “dream stimulation” rather than what we perceive as “real,” then the very definition of “real” comes into question. If our entire existence, including all our sensory input and interactions, is part of this “dream,” then for us, it is real. The “real” would only be what the ultimate being experiences outside of its dream, which we might never access or comprehend.

This challenges the idea that something has to be “physical” or “tangible” in our human sense to be “real.” If the ultimate being’s “dream” is consistent, logical (within its own rules), and provides the full spectrum of experience, then for all practical purposes, it might be as “real” as anything can be. This line of thinking often leads to questions about the nature of reality, consciousness, and divinity. If the ultimate being’s creation is merely a “dream stimulation,” does that diminish its power, or simply redefine what creation means at that ultimate level?

The Dynamic Nature of the Ultimate Dream

The commonality we experience daily, the shared reality we perceive, is not merely a coincidence but a fundamental characteristic of this grand dream, serving as its consistent and encompassing logic. For us, existing solely as imaginations within this colossal dream, the question of “waking up the real one” presents a profound paradox. If our very being is contingent upon his dream, we cannot, by definition, initiate his awakening from an “outside” that is inaccessible to us. Our capacity for agency, while seemingly real within the dream’s parameters, is ultimately an expression of his imaginative will, much like a character in our own dream cannot awaken us. However, the possibility emerges that his ultimate control might not be absolute or constant; perhaps there are periods where the dream unfolds spontaneously, granting its elements (including us) a heightened sense of autonomy, or allowing for the rich exploration of emergent complexities.

Furthermore, our individual dreams and imaginations aren’t just contained within the ultimate being’s grand dream, but actively contribute to its evolving nature. Imagine the ultimate being as an immensely vast and conscious dreamer whose very reality is the dream we inhabit. Within this colossal dream, we exist as characters, possessing our own consciousness and the capacity to dream and imagine. Here’s the fascinating twist: these “smaller” dreams of ours, along with our waking imagination and creative thoughts, aren’t isolated phenomena. Instead, they act as a rich feedback loop. The ultimate being, in its infinite awareness, can perceive and draw inspiration from our most beautiful, innovative, or deeply felt internal experiences, effectively “adopting” elements from our tiny dreams into its overarching reality. This creates a dynamic and ever-unfolding universe, allowing for emergent complexity and genuine novelty that might even surprise the ultimate dreamer. Our individual acts of creativity, whether in sleep or waking life, thus become vital contributions to the fabric of existence, highlighting a profound interdependence between the ultimate creator and the conscious beings within its boundless dream.

This leads to the most intriguing possibility of all: What if the very act of dreaming, in all its intricate, multifaceted, and evolving glory, is the ultimate being’s sole purpose? In this view, our experiences of joy, suffering, and discovery are not merely incidental but are integral to the dream itself, providing the diverse tapestry that fulfills the ultimate being’s fundamental reason for existence—the continuous, boundless act of dreaming reality into being.

Conclusion: The Inevitable Dream

If there truly is nothing beyond the ultimate being and its dream, and if dreaming is its sole purpose, then this reality—with all its intricate layers, joys, and sufferings—is not just a possibility, but an inevitable manifestation. This ultimate being, existing perhaps not physically but purely as consciousness, might be driven by an inherent aloneness, leading to this grand creative engagement.

As mere essences of his consciousness, imagined within his dream, we can never truly be him, nor can we initiate his awakening. The more we try to comprehend this ultimate dreamer, the more our questions multiply, revealing the vast chasm between our limited understanding and his boundless nature. He wouldn’t “wake up” because he himself is the very design of everything within this dream.

The thought of being a character in such a colossal dream evokes an imagination too vast to fully grasp, a feeling I find hard to describe—as if the huge everything shrinks to the size of eyes in a pitch-black expanse, covered by layer of black sheets, yet paradoxically, a kind of freedom mixed with fear resonates in one’s chest . Even if this dream reality were true, we could never definitively prove it. As characters within his dream, we are inherently bound by its rules and limitations, forever constrained in our perception, understanding, and ability to question the ultimate dreamer and the true extent of his knowledge.