The Way of Meditation Blog
Bringing Ancient Wisdom Into The Modern World

Awakening From The Dream Of Thought

Chad Foreman • Sep 11, 2015

Awakening From Thoughts

Once I heard a meditation master describe awakening with a metaphor about watching TV. He said awakening is like when you are watching a movie and also being aware of the room around you and with the knowledge that the movie you’re watching is just a movie and not real.

It’s like watching the drama of your life but knowing you are more than your drama. This type of detachment has been taught by meditation teachers through-out the ages. Detachment naturally offers a broader perspective and more space to make wise choices. And ironically the more detached you are from thoughts the more connected you are to the reality of the moment.
To enjoy watching a movie we ‘suspend disbelief’ identifying with the characters and losing ourselves in the drama of the story. We also enjoy the emotional responses of excitement, love and even fear from the safety of our lounge chairs.

I could never really enjoy watching horror movies with my dad because he would continuously point out that it’s not real – that’s tomato sauce not blood or he’d tell me that person didn’t really die he is only an actor. I would plead with my dad – I know it’s not real but I’m trying to enjoy the movie.
Art by Jungle Eye
Spiritual awakening is not for everyone.  When I first heard this I thought it must be wrong but awakening can be challenging; it’s like when you’re rudely awakened by an alarm clock from a nice dream, sometimes you just want to go back to sleep and enjoy the dream.  Or when you’re trying to enjoy a movie and an annoying person keeps reminding you it’s not real. It can be difficult coming to terms with spiritual truths about your life being  just a dream or an illusion or empty of any inherent meaning. Most people, myself included would like to think their life is important, special and have a deeper meaning but how do you confront the reality of it all being a projection of your imagination onto the infinite play of existence?

However what if reality was way more special than you could ever imagine or dream up? what if you are a part of a deeper mystery that is interconnected with all things? As Meditation Master Tenzin Palmo says:

“Meditation is for you to realise that the deepest nature of your existence is beyond thoughts and emotions, that it is incredibly vast and interconnected with all other beings.”
This is common theme amongst the great meditation traditions that reality lies beyond our normal thinking minds and is vast and actually one with everything. Since the universe is so incredibly enormous, were the Earth is like a sliver of a grain of sand in the ocean of infinity, it is no wonder that it’s impossible for us to imagine. I often think expecting humans to be able to conceptualise with their thinking minds the infinite nature of the universe is like expecting a fish to understand algebra – it’s just not possible with the equipment we are using.

In mindfulness therapy they make the distinction between being fused with thoughts and being the observer of thoughts. Being fused with thoughts is characterised by confusion and no separation between your identity and your story. When you are fused with thoughts you have suspended disbelief and are living the life of a movie character in your own movie, which can be fun as long as you know it’s not real and it’s just a movie. When you are the observer you can choose to engage with the thought or to let it go and therefore you are in control instead of your thoughts being in charge.
Getting caught in thoughts during meditation and in life is like a watching movie, we engage in the drama so fully it’s the only reality happening and it has control over our emotions. But if we can detach from our thoughts, notice there is more going on than just the thoughts and they are not real we can have a chance of experiencing the spacious stillness of a broader perspective which is always available but mostly overlooked and awaken from a hypnotic trance.  Like Eckhart Tolle says:

“Spiritual awakening is awakening from the dream of thought.”
Awakening is waking up from the dream of thought into the vastness of a direct experience of the totality of the universe.

The Way of Meditation is to integrate this awakening into every aspect of our lives. To follow our bliss instead of our stories, to put down the need to know things with the mind, to give space for the intuitive whispers over the noise of our conditioning and to flow with the spontaneous wisdom and compassion that is always there when we drop the last thought and enter into the river of infinity.

Written by Chad Foreman

Chad Foreman is the founder of The Way of Meditation, has been teaching meditation since 2003, determined to bring authentic meditation practices into the lives of millions of people in the modern world. Chad is a former Buddhist monk who spent 6 years living in a retreat hut studying and practicing meditation full time and has now has over twenty years’ experience teaching meditation. Chad holds regular Meditation Retreats on the Sunshine Coast Australia, has Online Meditation Coaching, delivers three online programs -  The 21 Day Meditation Challenge to help guide people gradually from the basics of mindfulness and relaxation to profound states of awareness. Breath-work to help manage stress and go deeper into meditation and The Bliss of Inner Fire which is a Buddhist tantric method for purifying energy blocks and contacting the clear light of bliss. You can also now get Chad's free e-book Insights Along the Way.

 Get A FREE 

Guided Meditation Series
with Chad Foreman

SUBSCRIBE NOW
By Chad Foreman 17 Dec, 2023
Drawing its inspiration from sky-gazing meditation, sky wisdom is the wisdom of emptiness – of an open mind connected with vast space and infinite possibilities. It is seeing that the true nature of reality is beyond words and concepts
By Chad Foreman 05 Nov, 2023
Equanimity is such a central theme to Buddhist meditation practice because it exemplifies the philosophy of the middle way taught by the historical Buddha which is the path to enlightenment. and is also a practical expression of non-duality.
By Chad Foreman 18 Nov, 2021
How to get the balance right between making effort in meditation and being effortless and what exactly are they.
breathwork
By Chad Foreman 15 May, 2021
A framework for understanding how breath-work can purify different layers of your being bringing you into complete alignment and full awakening
By Oska Phoenix 05 Mar, 2021
A fascinating look at what the scientific research has to say about meditation and the effects it has on the brain and the human condition.
chad foreman
By Chad Foreman 28 Jan, 2021
The breath has been used in meditation for thousands of years and remains one of the key tools we have to transform our entire being and directly experience the depths of our existence. I would like to offer five techniques that utilize the power of the breath and showcase just how powerful and versatile the breath can be in meditation.
Show More
Share by: