Why does one lose their awareness?

[Boundlesscostfairy]

So I've been thinking allot recently.. about my life and the stage I'm in regarding spiritual development..

 

And I figured that there is a huge gap in my life between me AND The Buddha.. or otherwise the awakened one.. who loses attention not.. and does not hinder away from stillness..

 

I came to the sober truth that I lose my awareness too often.. in dreams at night.. projections and thoughts during the day..

 

And I am left with two questions..:

 

Why do we lose awareness when we dream..think and project, remember etc..

 

And my second question which has two parts is why do we die, and why do we lose consciousness in the bardo thodol? The land of death..?

[Lost in Translation]

1 hour ago, Boundlesscostfairy said:

Why do we lose awareness when we dream..think and project, remember etc..

 

And my second question which has two parts is why do we die, and why do we lose consciousness in the bardo thodol? The land of death..?

 

I don't know. I asked the I Ching this same question and was told 64 changing to 47. Let's see what that means...

 

It appears that you have almost arrived at your destination. You've traveled far and are just about done - but beware, you're not done yet so you must remain vigilant! Like a fox crossing a frozen river, if you aren't careful you may break through the ice and risk the dangerously cold water. That's the good news. Your destination however, isn't what you expected it would be. That's the bad news, but don't be discouraged! Hold true to what you know is right, and good, and correct. No matter how this may look it is correct.

 

Well, there you go.

[doc benway]

1 hour ago, Boundlesscostfairy said:

So I've been thinking allot recently.. about my life and the stage I'm in regarding spiritual development..

 

And I figured that there is a huge gap in my life between me AND The Buddha.. or otherwise the awakened one.. who loses attention not.. and does not hinder away from stillness..

 

I came to the sober truth that I lose my awareness too often.. in dreams at night.. projections and thoughts during the day..

 

And I am left with two questions..:

 

Why do we lose awareness when we dream..think and project, remember etc..

 

Habit... karma

We have been distracted for countless lives.

Like a rolled up piece of paper that you try to flatten after many years, let go and it rolls right back up.

 

 

1 hour ago, Boundlesscostfairy said:

 

And my second question which has two parts is why do we die, and why do we lose consciousness in the bardo thodol? The land of death..?

 

We die because all compounded phenomena are impermanent.

Losing consciousness (I assume you mean awareness?) in the bardo the same way we lose it in dreams, projections, etc...

This is one reason it is good to practice dream and sleep yoga.

 

[Boundlesscostfairy]

Cool.. I dig the I Ching reading.. it resonates with me.. and now I'm curious about the mystery at the end of the road.. might be a place where there is no goal.. just meditation.. to stay up with the times.. reaction and adaptation..

 

And Steve I think your correct about letting go..

 

I am now meditating on that idea of impermanence that you brought up..

 

Thanks for the responses guys!

[Aetherous]

2 hours ago, Boundlesscostfairy said:

I lose my awareness too often

 

Is it actually a legitimate Buddhist teaching to not lose your awareness? If not, then best to not worry about it, and just practice correctly.

[Boundlesscostfairy]

Yeah, the wuwei factor!

[Bindi]

8 hours ago, Boundlesscostfairy said:

So I've been thinking allot recently.. about my life and the stage I'm in regarding spiritual development..

 

And I figured that there is a huge gap in my life between me AND The Buddha.. or otherwise the awakened one.. who loses attention not.. and does not hinder away from stillness..

 

I came to the sober truth that I lose my awareness too often.. in dreams at night..

 

You lose conscious awareness in dreams at night, but there seems to still be a witness to the dreams that are occurring, and the dreams themselves are made of some sort of consciousness stuff. I have always assumed that dreams have unimpeded access to my true nature, that they reflect my true face so to speak, and losing my daytime consciousness is an advantage because it doesn't then get to interfere with my true nature's message.  

 

8 hours ago, Boundlesscostfairy said:

 

projections and thoughts during the day..

 

And I am left with two questions..:

 

Why do we lose awareness when we dream..think and project, remember etc..

 

And my second question which has two parts is why do we die, and why do we lose consciousness in the bardo thodol? The land of death..?

 

[dwai]

20 hours ago, Boundlesscostfairy said:

So I've been thinking allot recently.. about my life and the stage I'm in regarding spiritual development..

 

And I figured that there is a huge gap in my life between me AND The Buddha.. or otherwise the awakened one.. who loses attention not.. and does not hinder away from stillness..

 

I came to the sober truth that I lose my awareness too often.. in dreams at night.. projections and thoughts during the day..

 

And I am left with two questions..:

 

Why do we lose awareness when we dream..think and project, remember etc..

 

And my second question which has two parts is why do we die, and why do we lose consciousness in the bardo thodol? The land of death..?

Who is aware when one is "aware" or is not "aware"?

[Boundlesscostfairy]

Yes, I'm beginning to see... Thanks guys!

 

So the self is always there.. but goes through different stages and processes..

 

So all I have to do.. is realize I am one permanent self..

 

I wonder if it's good to understand what level you are on.. or should one let go completely?

[Lost in Translation]

"The grass is always greener on the other side."

 

Simply, to the point, and utterly ignored.

 

 

We keep looking. We exhaust ourselves looking for the answer, the one true way. Yet we never find it.

 

Maybe we do find it. We think we found it. Then someone comes along and pokes holes in our pillow, eats our sacred cows, pushes us to the ground and laughs at us as they walk away. So we do what anyone would do - we join them... until someone else comes along and destroys our new pillow, eats our new cows, and leaves us once again in the dust.

 

In the end, exhausted and hungry, we give up. We stop looking. We say it's not possible. There's nothing to know anyway, and no way to know it if there were something. And that's when our mind stops. It stops for just a split second. It's ever so small, but we see it. We feel it. We know it.

 

And then what do we do? We talk about it, and some poor fool comes along and yells at us for poking holes in his pillow, eating his sacred cow, and pushing him to the ground. So we walk away, terrified by the pain we have caused, and are accused of laughing at a man while he's down.

[Boundlesscostfairy]

Lol, I see a bit of reflection in that..Like a mirror...except we see ourselves only in relation to others...Which is why we follow..or why we teach ..

 

We can also see ourselves in relation to our memories..or projections into the future...

 

I think we have an innate sense of what we are..even if we don't look in the mirror...but we do these things to stimulate our consciousness...Which is one of the primary driving forces in existence...Motion..change...refreshing, and renewal..time and the fulfilling of transience..for ever and ever..

[Marblehead]

8 hours ago, Boundlesscostfairy said:

Lol, I see a bit of reflection in that..Like a mirror...except we see ourselves only in relation to others...Which is why we follow..or why we teach ..

 

 

Caused me thoughts:

 

Now, after seeing one's self as reflected by others let's see if we can see our self in real time, without the aid of others?  This requires brutal truth.

 

Why follow or lead?  Why not just wander upon one's journey and if conditions allow we walk with others for a while?

[Boundlesscostfairy]

I think that's what the middle path is all about..

 

With the right or left being teaching(leading) and following

Edited June 11, 2018 by Boundlesscostfairy