Are We Awake or Are We Dreaming?

Sure, most of us have heard the jingle, but what on Earth does it mean? Seriously. As we walk Earth, do you know what that implies? Holy kid tunes! It means we can analyze our lives the way we do our dreams! It means the question "Are we awake or are we sleeping?" is a moot point. The answer doesn't matter!

"Hogwash!" you might say. Well, sure. I'll wash your hog. I'll admit I'm a bit baffled by the demand,and don't think it changes the implications of a continuous dream of existence, but I'll play along.

Playing along is exactly what many of us are doing. We are dreamers in this world, friend, and those who are aware they're dreaming are setting the stage while the rest of us play along with the props and costumes given us.

Perhaps the better question is "Are we aware?" What really matters in either state of being is that we are aware of what we are experiencing and able to make adjustments to ourselves where necessary.

We take things in all day, every day. We record data. That's what we do. Humans are like probes: vehicles to collect information about ourselves and the world around us through experience. When we go to sleep, our consciousness doesn't just stop. Energy can't be destroyed, and consciousness never stops. Consciousness is a busy little BE.

When we become aware that it's all experience, we drop the veils between "This world" and "that world". Everything becomes a moment of experience. Symbols and experiences are given to us, allowing us to understand where we are. If you are truly asking, ye shall receive.

For example: I found myself falling into the trap of feeling like I needed to be constantly DOING something to make my dreams happen. I suddenly found myself plagued with grasshoppers.

At a bus stop, I had one hop on me. I gently removed it, but it kept returning to me, as if it wanted to go along for the ride. The next day, I saw one on the wall behind my computer at a hotel. Then, in an entirely different city, there was one that jumped out at me in the basement of our temporary abode. Finally, I got the message. It was time for me to seek out the relevance of grasshoppers. There was some information found in dream symbol meanings, but what really hit me loud and clear was a scientific article I found about grasshoppers. The big focus was that grasshoppers spend most of their time doing nothing. I was reminded to relax and BE myself without trying so hard to be me.

We feel a gentle tugging at other times and are asked to follow without knowing why. This tugging is also guidance.

About a year ago, I was enjoying some music and uninterrupted time writing while my son was gone for the day. However, I soon found my consciousness constantly interrupted from a voice on the street. Due to an art fair, I kept hearing "Parking, five dollars! Five dollars! Five dollars! Parking! Five Dollars"

A voice popped into my head. "He must be thirsty by now." I kept trying to ignore it, because I was actually getting some work done. That didn't work too well. I finally found myself pulling on my shoes after giving up on telling the persistent voice to go pork itself. When I got to the kitchen to get a drink for him, I heard the voice again. "I bet he's hungry, too".

Slightly bickering with myself, I found myself making a sandwich for the stranger obviously gifted with lung power. It didn't stop there. "GOD! Chips, too?...And fruit??"

I complied and went down the three flights of stairs and over half a block. I handed him the bag full of food that started as a drink . With a smile, I said, "Someone told me you were hungry."

"Who? I am!" he said in surprise as he took the bag. He wouldn't let me leave without taking the $5 he had pulled from his pocket. FIVE BUCKS! WHOO HOO! I was pretty darn broke at the time! So, all that shouting of "five dollars" was like an advertisement for me to come and get five dollars! Just think. I was so busy trying to be me and write, I almost missed out on it!

We find our self in experiences that we learn from during the day and then on through the night. It never stops. We truly are walkers of worlds. Here or there, our consciousness is constantly experiencing. If we take a moment to examine where we are, we can learn from the many experiences at our disposal.

Learn what? To transcend the dream and become the creator of the dreamscapes we FIND OUR SELF in. We learn to consciously choose what part of our self we want to examine next. Then we can say, "Oh, that's how it feels," before choosing another experience.

So, are we awake or are we sleeping? Either way, we're surely dreaming, and you're getting a freshly washed hog out of it. I hope you're happy. :P