The Waking Dream

"Well, yes, one could also say that we are not sitting here drinking tea,

but that we're dreaming all that." Niels Bohr

"(Our Dreams,) inasmuch as they originate from us,
may well have an analogy with our whole life and fate." Goethe

“Almost everyone, at some time or another, has experienced extraordinary coincidences and synchronicities so startling they are compelled to reflect upon their possible meaning. Do such occurrences hold a deeper significance? Might they hint at a hidden design underlying the seemingly random events unfolding around us? Or are they, as modern science suggests, merely the expression of chance processes, completely explainable in terms of statistics and probability theory?” Ray Grasse, The Waking Dream.

“As above, so below,” is the phrase most commonly associated with the Alchemists and the sacred “Emerald Tablet” on which they base much of their study and hours of inquiry. Ancient esoteric teachings of all traditions point to the idea that the physical reality we see before us is but a reflection of a “Divine Mind” which seeks its expression through infinite forms of creation. These creations of the Infinite are all interconnected through a vast and subtle array of correspondences through which one can access the inner teachings and order of the Universe.

The Waking Dream: Unlocking the Symbolic Language of Our Lives, (Quest Books, Wheaton, Il, 1996) by Ray Grasse is a thorough examination of the language or “landscape,” of symbolic correspondences. Grasse offers an in depth exploration of the secret wisdom teachings of different Eastern and Western traditions and synthesizes these ideas into a practical guide for understanding our inner selves by looking to the images and ideas we are drawn to in the outer world. In this excellent book, Grasse provides a treasure map to spelunking the deepest recesses of our collective and individual psyches through the understanding of symbology. It is through this understanding of the unspoken language of the Universe that we are constantly offered a beacon to light the way for us along our path to the fulfillment of our truest and highest potential.

The inner self need not be unfathomable, for the subconscious is constantly providing us with clues as to the true nature of the self and our immortal being. The exploration of the great waking dream the Hindus called maya leads us to a deeper understanding of the Infinite, ourselves, and the world around us. It also leads us to an ultimate responsibility for all that we create and experience and is an important first step in changing the world we see before us to one where love and light have dominion.