Into The Spirit: Dreams

NATURE

The topic of dreams and experiences beyond that which "we consider" to be natural, is something that has garnered much debate in our time. We label things by saying 'this is unnatural', 'this is supernatural', and in doing so we deny ourselves the opportunity of comprehending that which is in front of us.

Is it however possible for something to exist if it isn't natural? What is our definition of "nature"? Can anything truly exist outside of nature? Can anything truly exist outside of God? What is our definition of God? Along this line of thought, the Apostle Paul referenced the greek philosopher Seneca in saying:

'for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’ ' Acts 17:28

Everything that exists in nature is natural; everything that exists, exists in God. What we need to do is understand what nature is, understand what God is.

That something happens beyond the spheres of what we consider natural does not make it less or more natural. Everything is what they are, what they were and what they will be. What we need to do is comprehend that thing, see what it really is without first comparing it to ourselves.

In desiring to label a thing as 'good' or 'evil', in reference to what we 'understand' as good and evil, using "me, myself & I" as the focal point, we deny ourselves the chance of actually understanding what that thing really is.

When we don't understand what a thing really is, the abuse of it is inevitable; whether it be the water from the finest artesian spring or the venom of a Viper. One can use water in a way that it can kill a man in seconds, one can also use the venom of a viper in a way that it can save a man's life.

We can't "absolutely" say water is good nor say venom is evil. Good and evil are subjective terms, forever dependent on circumstance and perception of others.

There is nothing in this universe which God made that is absolutely good or evil. There is nothing in this universe that came out of God that is absolutely useful or useless, seeing as the labels of good and evil, useful and useless, only exist in reference to ourselves. Our understanding of ourselves is very limited.

To some people Jesus was a great liberator, a deliverer and a good man worth following. To some he was a great evil that needed to be destroyed; a cancer to the world, deserving of death.

It is safe to say that between the people who called him good and followed him and the people who called him evil and plotted against him, only few actually comprehended what he actually was. It was only such people who were 'consistent' in their perspective of him, despite whatever changes were happening around them.

Changes which some might label as a "great evil"; changes which some might label as a "great good"; changes which only the wise would label as "necessary". Even though necessity in itself is not an absolute thing, seeing as what was necessary yesterday might not be necessary tomorrow.

Many who called him Lord, Saviour and Healer, deserted him. Many who called him enemy, murderer and anarchist turned to him. This is because both people did not really see him for what he was, they did not comprehend his actual nature.

Fire is not good, neither is it evil. However, because I comprehend the nature of fire 'to a degree', I know that I should not put my hand into it except it is my desire to be burned. I get burned not because fire is evil, but because I used it in a way that makes it an opposition to my flesh.

The way we use things make them our supporters or opposers. Support and opposition are not good or evil in themselves, seeing as there are times when opposition helps us to grow and support hinders our growth and vice versa.

Those who say the only way a thing can grow is through "opposition", are as wrong as those who say the only way a thing can grow is through "support". Opposition and support are 'necessary' for growth. Growth, in this sense, relates to a thing becoming more cognizant and aware of what it really is, aware of its true nature and capability.

A thing growing and becoming aware of its true nature and capability is also not a "good" or "evil" thing in itself, seeing as that thing can use its "awareness" to perform acts upon us 'which we might consider' good or evil. So now we see that 'good and evil' are subjective terms, whose existence depend on our perspective.

It is for this reason that God introduced himself to Moses as "Eheieh Asher Eheieh", which some people translated as "I AM THAT AM"; even though it really means "I WILL BE WHAT I WILL BE". This is because God in his truest state is undefined, he is pure potential, capable of becoming anything that he "needs to become"; anything that is necessary.

What was necessary yesterday can be absolutely unnecessary today, this is why God can never be static; reality can never be static. Once the rivers stop flowing, the planet dies. Once blood stops flowing, the body dies. The planet is becoming and becoming and becoming. We are becoming and becoming and becoming.

God is becoming and becoming and becoming. All of nature is becoming and becoming and becoming.

That he becomes something or comes in the form of a particular thing does not mean He is limited to it. It is we who have created such limitations of God in our minds, limiting him to this or that person; this or that language; this or that expression; this or that book.

Limitation is 'good' only in reference to what is necessary for us at a point in time. When a person is diabetic, sugar intake must be limited lest much harm comes to the body. In such a scenario, going beyond the prescribed border will become a great evil, not because crossing the border is evil in itself but because we are not yet able to manage "more" without harming ourselves.

In the instance that one is able to manage more and is not given more, staying within the border becomes a great evil, seeing as it restricts us from something that is necessary today; even though it goes beyond the borders of what was necessary yesterday. This also applies to that which is unlimited.

On this foundation we can say, and I quote a very wise man from the 20th century, "Sin is something which is not necessary".

"What" some might ask "does this long premise have to do with dreams?". If we don't understand the true nature of things, we might reject them in ignorant fear; thus leading to an abuse. If we don't understand the true nature of things, we might accept them in ignorant confidence and become overly infatuated; also leading to an abuse.

We need to first see things for what they are in themselves, to be able to know in what areas they can be useful or useless to us; good or evil to us. Everything is meant to use everything, but everything is not meant to be used in every kind of way. Using a thing can be good and evil, as well as not using a thing.

Approaching a thing however, with the selfish mindset of using it, as opposed to the loving mindset of knowing it, denies us the chance of truly knowing how to and how not to use that thing; it denies us of truly knowing that thing.

It is not possible to know how to use a thing without first knowing how "not to use" that thing and vice versa. It is not possible to know 'how to' and 'how not to' use a thing without first knowing that thing itself. This is why we ought to strive to first know and understand the nature of a thing, before striving to know and understand the nature of that thing in relationship to ourselves.

We are not the centre of the universe, our understanding is finite and we certainly don't know ourselves. We must approach everything in life with humility and sincerity, seeking to see the truth before seeking to see how that truth affects us.

When we approach knowing a thing in reference to how it affects us, we subject our understanding of that thing to our present understanding of reality. Our present understanding of reality is very limited.

It is only in first knowing what a thing is that we learn how to use and not use things in love and purity; like a child.

For this reason, our next chapter in this discussion of dreams and things we might consider 'supernatural' would not be built on the foundation of what is good or evil, but on the foundation of what these things are, according to our present level of understanding of course.

Nothing said here is absolute, even though we speak confidently. We are happy to be wrong and discover a mistake, we are not afraid of making mistakes; we expect to make mistakes and progressively learn from them. We will however speak boldly and confidently about what we have seen, learnt and experienced.

Our readers are free to take the useful according to their present understanding and discard the useless according to their present understanding. Now we begin....