Dreams of the Soul
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Dreams Of The Soul
...as explicit a guidebook on spiritual enlightenment as exists today. One of author Daniel Condron's major achievements with this book is tying together the philosophical threads of yoga, Christianity, and Buddhism. Albuquerque Journal.
excerpt from Book IV
Reasoning Develops into Intuitive Enlightenment
Overview Book Four
Book One presents the difficulties of creating a union between conscious and subconscious minds, and the effort required for the beginner to initiate action on the path of Spiritual progression. Difficulties, obstructions, and challenges are presented.
Book Two presents an outline of the steps required to stay on the path of soul progression in order to cause continual growth and development of the Self through mental discipline.
Book Three presents what achieving a union of the minds means. It explains the experiences of the student of mind when aligning the parts of the mind and making a commitment to the whole Self.
Book Four completes this study of Self and mind. It presents the steps required for attaining the union of the levels of mind required for full awareness of Self. This section also shows that the result gained is Enlightenment.
Book Four brings together the advances made in the previous three books. The first ten sutras of this book discuss the results of working with the inner levels of mind and the many aspects of I AM. A presentation of the cause of the physical structure and how desires hold that physical structure together is given in the next ten sutras.
For the one understanding this final book of the Yogi Sutras, the benefits are many. He understands the commitment to Self and humanity. The small ego has been replaced by understanding of I AM.
1
Supernormal mental powers are a part of Self
from previous incarnations, or may be acquired
by herbs (drugs), repetition of sacred words, intense desire, or by meditation.
Concentration on a thought or object will begin the process of building perception. Visualization or imaging can add to these abilities, such as thought projection, clairvoyance, and clairaudience. Drugs are a method for being thrown without control into the inner levels of the subconscious mind. However, with drugs, there is no control. Thus, a psychic experience gained in this manner may not be reproducible by the one experiencing it. Affirmations are a type of power word or phrase. Words have power according to the strength of the picture behind these words. Again, an affirmation by itself will not produce a permanent change in the individual. It can stimulate a new image or goal to move toward. Intense desire is a strong pulling force that, coupled with the will, produces forward motion and growth. Meditation is a natural, directed manner of aligning all levels of mind for use by the Thinker in life experiences. Intense desire with meditation develops the means to progress rapidly. The actions then become aligned with the goal of learning and growing. The desire for Self growth begins to take precedence over fascination with psychic phenomena.
Intense desire, attention, and meditation are the methods to produce soul evolution. Sacred words can aid in creating a productive mental attitude. However, drugs are to be avoided because they destroy the will power of the individual and hinder soul growth.
2
The transfer of the conscious awareness from a lower level into a higher one comes through growth and change of the creative ability of the Thinker.
Consider the state of awareness of a child as compared to an adolescent or an adult. As a person matures, he gains greater awareness of himself and the world around him. Learning never needs to stop. It can be continual. The earnest one who builds awareness may look back on the earlier part of his life as a time of being asleep. It is as if the sleeper awakes.
The consciousness begins to function on more than one level of mind with awareness and experiences the ability to perceive. Learning to cause actions and situations that will provide for growth of the Self, the individual learns to make fuller use of the physical. This measures the growth of the creative Self. The Thinker is aware that the emotions are also a tool for learning and growth, and are to be expressed. Gradually, the Self learns to use the higher planes of existence until all seven levels of mind are mastered.
3
The practices and methods are not the true cause of the transfer of consciousness but they serve to remove obstacles, just as the farmer prepares the ground for planting.
By taking time out each day to practice a concentration exercise, a memory exercise, dream interpretation, and meditation, one begins to align the minds. With each experience, learning and understanding become easier. Obstacles, such as doubt, fear, and worry, are reduced as the mind is directed toward productive goals. The student with a true desire to know Self must be willing to know the mind. The farmer prepares the ground by plowing, preparing rows, weeding, and adding fertilizer. It is the seed's inner urge to fulfill its blueprint that creates the growth within the seed. Thus it grows into a mature plant.
4
The created minds proceed
from the pure Ego (I AM).
These levels of consciousness which the soul has become clothed in either block our awareness or add to that awareness. This is based on the level of development of the soul. In this physical world, we often experience the aloneness or separateness because of these sheaths of consciousness. As one identifies more and more with perception and control of the mind, the layers are seen through and the closeness with others is achieved. In the subconscious mind, each person has a mental connection with any other, much as in the physical we can use a telephone to call anywhere in the world. With the greater use of the mind, comes the ability to use this tele-phone of the mind---tele-pathy. The Stanzas of Dyzan describe pure ego in the following way.
Stanza Two.
Where were the Builders, the luminous sons of Manvantaric Dawn?
Where was silence? Where the ears to sense it? No, there was neither silence nor sound: Naught save ceaseless eternal breath, which knows itself not.
The hour had not yet struck: the ray had not yet flashed into the Germ: The Mother Lotus has not yet swollen.
The Seven Sons were not yet born from the web of Light. Darkness alone was the Father-Mother, primeval unity: and primeval unity was in Darkness.
These two are the seed idea and the seed idea is One. The Universe was still concealed in the Divine Thought and the Divine Bosom.
The Self learns to exist on the inner levels of the mind with control. The vehicles the Self uses on these inner levels are referred to as the inner level bodies.
5
Though the aspects and activities of the mind
are many, the single mind is
the founder of the many.
There are many, many parts or aspects of the mind of each individual. When the disciplined thinker has gained control of all these aspects, then his consciousness is One or I AM. Each person has a separate, unique consciousness. Each individual expresses consciousness in a different manner based on past experiences. In the manner we express our consciousness in the conscious mind, we can go from being angry to happy to joyous to illumined to Spiritually aware.
From the original I AM were created many aspects or parts of that identity. These aspects are divided into twelve major outer and twelve major inner aspects. These qualities or aspects are further divided into minor aspects. There are 144,000 minor aspects. They are revealed in Revelation, Chapter 7, as the 144,000 servants of our God who had the seal imprinted on their foreheads. These are described in the following way in the Stanzas of Dyzan.
The Last Vibration of the seventh eternity thrills through infinitude.
The mother swells, expanding from within, without, like the bud of a lotus.
The Vibration sweeps along, touching with its swift wing the whole universe and the germ that dwelleth in Darkness: the Darkness that breaths over the slumbering water of Life.
Darkness radiates Light, and Light drops one solitary ray into the Mother Deep. The ray shoots through the virgin egg. Then the three fall into the four. The radiant essence....curdles and spreads....throughout the depths of Mother Space.
The root of Life was in every drop of the ocean of immortality, and the ocean was radiant Light, which was Fire, and Heat, and Motion. Darkness vanished and was no more; it disappeared in its own essence, the body of Fire and Water, or Father and Mother...
Father-Mother spin a web whose Upper End is fastened to spirit, the Light of the one Darkness, and the Lower one to its shadowy end, matter; and this web is the universe spun out of the two substances made in one which is primeval unity.
It expands when the breath of fire is upon it; it contracts when the breath of the Mother touches it...the embrace infinitude.
The primeval unity sends thought energy to harden the atoms. Each is a part of the web.
A puzzle has many pieces, yet the puzzle is one puzzle. We, the Thinkers, are striving to understand all the many pieces to the puzzle of ourselves, uniting all parts to become One individuality with understanding.
6
In the I AM consciousness,
the meditative One is free of the vehicle.
Just as an automobile is a vehicle for the body to move from one place to another, so is the mind the ultimate vehicle for the identity we call I AM to move forward to mature as a creator. Therefore, the one who has gained the ability to move into these inner levels of mind with control has great advantage in using the energies of creation.
From the effulgence of Light -- the ray of the Ever-Darkness -- sprung in space the re-awakened energies....Those are the essences, the flames, the elements, the builders...the sum total. And from the Divine Man emanated the forms, the sparks, the sacred animals, and the messengers of the Sacred Fathers within the Holy Four. -- Stanza 4, Stanzas of Dyzan.
He who learns what is behind the vehicle of the mind discovers the real Self and knows Self as Creator.
7
The activities of the enlightened are free
from the pairs of opposites.
The works of others are of pleasure or pain,
or a combination of these.
The Superconscious mind holds the balance of aggressive and receptive, the pairs of opposites. The one producing wisdom from the experiences relieves entrapment in the physical. This individual is operating according to the great plan of becoming a creator. When one is aggressive and receptive both, and using them both to the fullest, then great strides in soul evolution are made. How we use these creations determines whether there is pleasure or pain. The enlightened Thinker consciously creates each experience to provide specific learning as needed for the Self. The engrossed soul only reacts to that which the five senses experience, pleasure or pain.
From the sayings of the great Master Lao-Tze, recorded in the Tao Teh King, comes these revelations.
In embracing the One with your soul,
Can you never forsake the Tao?
In controlling your vital force to achieve gentleness
Can you become like the newborn child?
In cleansing and purifying mystic vision,
Can you strive after perfection?
In loving the people and governing the kingdom,
Can you rule without interference?
In opening and shutting the Gates of Heaven,
Can you play the part of the Female?
In comprehending all knowledge,
Can you renounce the mind?
To give birth, to nourish,
to give birth without taking possession,
to act without appropriation,
to be chief among men without managing them--
This is the Mystic virtue.
A presentation of aggressive and receptive principles is available in another series of scriptures from China, the I Ching. The I Ching is a binary system many people have used over the years as a type of divination, but there is a much deeper meaning to this book. The sixty-four hexagrams of the Chinese I Ching and the sixty-four DNA codons or sections are the same when written in the binary code. Ponder on this, and you will begin to see just how much the ancients knew.
8
From the experience gained through action come mind images in motion which are necessary
for the manifestation of the effects.
Karma was brought into being so we could see the results of what was set into motion with our thoughts and actions, enabling the Self to receive feedback. By using this perspective, the Self can perceive how to progress and what to do to be more productive. As a person initiates action, the environment stimulates mental images or desires. These desires of the conscious mind are released to the subconscious mind to begin to activate the formative power of the subconscious mind in order to bring the desires out into the physical as a manifested reality.
The great illusion is that the physical is all there is to reality. Nothing could be further from the Truth. The Thinker is aware that everything in the physical is temporary and subject to change. Therefore, store up treasures in Heaven, where they are lasting.
From Stanza Seven of the Stanzas of Dyzan, we gain further valuable insight as to the creation and creating.
Behold the beginning of sentient formless life. First the Divine, the One from the Mother-Spirit; then the Spiritual; the three from the One, and the five....then the "mind born" sons of the First Lord; the Shining Seven.
The Spark hangs from the flame by the thread of mind-thought. It journeys through the seven worlds of Maya. It stops in the first kingdom and is a mineral; it passes into the second kingdom and behold -- a plant; the plant whirls through seven changes and a sacred animal. From the combined attributes of these, Manu (man), the Thinker is formed. Who forms him? The Seven Lives, and the One Life. Who completes him? The Five fold highest spirits. And who perfects the last body? Fish, sun, and soma (moon).
In this passage, the sun represents Superconscious mind, the moon is the subconscious mind, and the fish symbolizes Spiritual awareness. The completion of man's evolution occurs as he uses the highest qualities of the inner Self to practice and gain Spiritual awareness.
9
The experiences separated by being
of different kind, place, or time,
are brought together by correspondence
between memory and the mental impression
from the experience.
True reasoning draws upon memory to see correspondences between different events, experiences, outcome, and the accompanying attitude.
In this sutra, we see how the mind uses different faculties to bring together past, present, and future for maximum progression.
Memory--------------------Past
Undivided Attention----Present
Imagination--------------Future
Thus, past, present, and future do not exist simultaneously. The mind brings memory of the past together with attention on the present, and yet imagines the next steps necessary in the attainment of the ideal of Godhood. The Thinker perceives this continuum of mind and energy in constant motion and learns to use the present moment to the fullest to create the future.
In rare instances, the accumulated experiences of many lifetimes are brought together in one mighty lifetime of service to Self and humanity. These individuals are the world teachers and servers. With the fulfillment of this great purpose they become the Master Teachers.
10
Desire to create being continuous,
the series of mind images are eternal or everlasting.
These mind images were created when the individual was brought into being. I AM was created in the imagination and with like attributes of the Creator. As Genesis 1:26 states, "Let us make man in our image and likeness." The us in this verse represents the aggressive and receptive factors of the Superconscious mind. The Book of Revelation 1:8 says, "I AM the alpha and omega, the One who is and who was and who is to come, the almighty." Individuality, I AM, is eternal. Each I AM was created without experience as an infant. Through many lifetimes we have progressed and grown, yet retained Selfhood.
As creators, we have desires to create. These desires are mental and are expressed and used in the physical to promote learning. At the point of Self growth described, the Thinker wants to understand creation, his part in creation, and what or who is God.
Zarathustra refers to continuous creation in Gatha 1 of the Zend Avesta.
When Zarathustra, by looking at nature with his own eye
and fathoming its meaning with his own mind
Did comprehend Mazda....and realize
He was both the First and Last of Creation
The Father of Righteousness
The true creator of Justice,
The ruling Lord of all that is done...
The first and last of creation is the same picture as the Alpha and the Omega of the Book of Revelation. The picture presented in the words, "the Father of Righteousness," is the same image that Jesus presented saying, "I and the Father are One." Each individual, each I AM is the beginning and the end, for eternity, for we have the opportunity to constantly create.
11
Forms are created and held together
through desire for personal reward, mental habit, the will to live, and the support
of the outward things desired.
When these cease to attract, then the physical structures cease likewise to exist.
With the fulfillment of understanding in the physical, desire for physical objects ceases. Through the fulfillment of desires, desirelessness is attained. The use of the physical as a place or school for the fulfillment of inner desires is completed.
At a lower level of evolution, the soul reaches for physical gratification and physical desires only. As he progresses, the desire for inner fulfillment becomes stronger and stronger. As desirelessness is achieved and self fulfillment is gained, the Thinker reaches his last incarnation and final years on this earth plane for he has completed the lessons of the physical. He then prepares for his next stage of creatorship.
12
The difference between the past
and the future vary
according to their natures and characteristics, according to whether the Thinker is creating mental pictures from memory or imagination.
The past exists in reality because of memory. The future exists anytime the individual images a goal for the Self. A goal is what is desired to occur. The past only exists and has value when memory of the past events is used for reasoning in the present situation. The Thinker sees connections in effects produced in the physical world. As the soul evolves, the ability to see the connection between past causes and effects, and present effects, is perceived. The Enlightened One thus sees in memory the path taken that leads to the present. He is; therefore, well qualified to plot his future with his image-making capabilities.
13
The objects, whether in the process
of manifesting or presently physical,
take on the nature of the three gunas or energies.
The Bhagavad Gita refers to the three Gunas as tamas (inertia), rajas (rhythm), and sattvas (forward motion). When moving at a slow rate of speed, it takes much effort to accelerate. This is tamas. To keep Self or an object moving once motion has begun is easier. This is rajas. To keep motion moving in the correct, forward, and productive direction with learning and growth is sattvas.
14
The physical manifestation of the object of desire is the result of the unity of changes.
Action is required to bring desires to fulfillment. The external manifestation of an object takes place when the unification of mind substance occurs. A thought is placed into the subconscious mind from the conscious mind of the observer. This thought then gains substance until finally it is dense enough to move into the physical. When there is singular ideal and purpose ("If thine eye be single") for each thought, goal, and desire, then those desires manifest rapidly.
As a thought is visualized with undivided attention and held clearly in mind with will, the whole mind is singular as it is directed toward one goal.
15
The state of material things and of states
of consciousness are distinct, as is apparent
from the fact that the same object may produce different impressions in different minds.
Every individual will perceive and interpret a situation or event differently depending upon his stage of evolution and his degree of disciplined use of his mind. A situation that brings laughter to a sage may bring sorrow to the uninitiated. Senses work the same for different individuals. We see the same reflected light image of an object, yet how each of us interpret that image is unique.
The gland of perception in the physical body is the pituitary gland. Its function is to interpret incoming energies whether in the form of dreams, spoken words, smells, tastes, or intuitive perceptions. The power of interpretation must not be underestimated for it is through this ability one is able to use each situation to the fullest to understand how to use energy for progression.
16
Material objects are known or not known
according to whether the mind is affected or engrossed in the object.
The objective physical reality around us is the product of millions of individual minds and their manifested desires. Our world becomes a place to fulfill desires barely imagined by most. The earth is a schoolroom and other human beings are our classmates. The physical experience continues after an evolved entity ascends. The earthly cycle or reincarnation is over for the Buddhas, Zarathustras, and Pythagorases of this world, yet the physical continues to exist for those who have yet to learn all the earthly lessons. To fully understand an experience requires undivided attention. Undivided attention is a mental action devoid of attachments to the object of perception.
The following passage from the Tao Teh King provides valuable insight as to the use of the Universal Law of Proper Perspective as the Thinker journeys through his experiences.
He who knows others is learned.
He who knows himSelf is wise.
He who conquers others has power of muscles.
He who conquers himSelf is strong.
He who is contented is rich.
He who is determined has strength of will
He who does not lose his center endures
He who dies yet remains has long life.
He who is made to dwindle,
must first be caused to expand.
He who is weakened,
must first be made strong.
He who is to be laid low,
must first come to power.
He who is to be taken away from,
must first be given;
this is subtle Light
Gentleness overcomes strength.
17
With contemplation and reasoning,
objects become known.
When the experience of the object is distorted
in the mind it is misunderstood.
The One who maintains the single eye (perception) is able to recognize the true qualities of an object thereby recognizing its uses. The soul, caught up in sense limitation and emotional attachment, is unable to perceive the true use and function of any physical object. Perception is distorted and thus Self is handicapped. When attention is given to an object or experience, a clear memory that is retrievable is created. This memory image can then be correlated with previous data of experiences to add to the Self's ability to respond.
The uninitiated view things as if two dimensional, whereas the Thinker perceives with the inner and outer minds. He plays the game of life on a much higher level seeing circumstances from all angles simultaneously.
18
The mind, being an instrument of the individual,
is ever reacting to experiences.
The perceiver is aware of the movements
of the active mind, for he directs those movements.
Spiritual or Intuitive Man combines the senses to produce undivided attention and perception. When undivided attention is achieved, the mind can be directed to any place, any point, and the cause of present conditions is seen. Thoughts are clear, concise, and directed with power in order to produce desired results. Thought is the first cause.
This time period is one of a quantum leap in awareness for mankind. The initial outpouring of influence came during the Renaissance in Western Europe, and preceded during this time of exploration around the world. It continued into the manufacturing age of England and Europe, and later the American colonies. This evolutionary push then was expressed as the forming of the republic named the United States of America.
The United States is a country truly founded upon the universal metaphysical principles of free will and individuality, unheard of in the world before this time. This was a revolutionary form of government because the world at the time was ruled by kings, queens, emperors, or dictators. A republic, such as the U.S.A. is governed by elected officials, elected by the representatives of the people. The U.S.A. was founded on the principle of individual free will and provided a more perfect vehicle for the emerging Intuitive Man who recognizes free will as a God given right.
This progression continued into the nuclear or atomic age. This is an age designed specifically for Intuitive Man, for this age demands each individual and each country be responsible for creating a responsible life and a productive world. The age that goes hand in hand with this nuclear time period is the space age. Space is a physical place where we can stretch our imagination beyond the confines of old limitations.
As we move from the Age of Pisces to the Age of Aquarius we move from an influence of believing to one of knowing. The Piscean Age was one of faith and belief as evidenced by the strong control which the church had over the masses during this time period. During the Age of Aquarius, the influence of the quality of knowing is so strong that mankind no longer meekly accepts the edicts of others but instead asks why and how. He has a strong urge to find the truth for himself (not necessarily by himself) and it must make common sense. Practical, factual, workable, and understandable it must be, or it is not Metaphysics.
from Dreams of the Soul by Daniel R. Condron, copyright 1991, School of Metaphysics
To order this book or other SOM titles go to SOM Publishing
To learn more about the Universal laws of mind go to SOM Course of Study,Wholistic Health & Healing, Creative Genius, or Interfaith.
ISBN: 0-944386-11-3$9.95Dreams of the Soul is perhaps as explicit a guidebook on spiritual enlightenment as exists today. Albuquerque Journal
Dreams of the Soul is based on the writings of Hindu yoga master and teacher Patanjali, who lived about 800 B.C., predating both Christ and the Buddha. This is significant because one of author Daniel Condron's major achievements with this book is tying together the philosophical threads of yoga, Christianity and Buddhism...
At the core of Patanjali's teaching is the belief that enlightenment occurs when a person exerts absolute control over the mind, enabling him to gain insights at all levels of the conscious and subconscious.
To that end, Condron divides the book into four sections, beginning with a study of the obstacles encountered when one tries to focus the mind and plumb the depths of the subconscious mind. The second section focuses on the steps necessary to start and continue on the path of spiritual progression. In the third book, Condron details what it means to achieve a union of the conscious and subconscious. The final section brings together the insights of the first three parts, and presents the final steps for achieving a union of the conscious and subconscious mind.
In keeping with the theme of the constant spiritual progression, Condron walks the reader step-by-step through Patanjali's teachings, interjecting interpretations and explanations after each sutra. Interwoven with his own explanations are passages from the Bible, the Tao Te Ching, the Bhagavad-Gita and other ancient writings, all aimed at teaching how to think, rather than what to think.
Interestingly, Condron portrays Christ not as a father figure hoarding secret knowledge that mankind must take on faith. Rather, Christ is a model for spiritual enlightenment, encouraging us to attain the same depth of knowledge and understanding that he possesses, to become creators in our own right. Albuquerque Journal, April 14, 1991