Deep Sleep

Summary

This transcript explores the nature of deep sleep, not as a physical state but as a metaphor for pure awareness— a state beyond thinking, sensing, or perceiving. It discusses how all experience arises from awareness itself, with no external or internal source. The conversation emphasizes that the sense of separation and resistance in life is an illusion, and true happiness is found in recognizing that everything is one, indivisible awareness. This realization dissolves opposition, suffering, and the need for seeking, offering peace and fulfillment.

Takeaways

• 🛌 Deep sleep is not a state as conceived by the mind, but rather the absence of thinking, sensing, and perceiving, revealing pure awareness.
• 💭 Awareness is the substance that modulates into thoughts, sensations, and perceptions, but nothing truly arises or appears in awareness.
• 🌍 There is no inside or outside of awareness; everything occurs within awareness and is made out of awareness itself.
• 🎶 Awareness is compared to the air or breath modulating into music; it becomes thoughts, perceptions, and sensations without losing its pure nature.
• 🔄 The body is a conceptual layer that is superimposed upon awareness, becoming progressively more solid in the waking state due to added beliefs.
• 🧘‍♂️ The yoga practice mentioned is an experiential return to the self, stripping away layers of concepts to reveal the body's true nature as pure awareness.
• 🌟 The separate self is an illusion, formed when the 'I thought' arises, dividing seamless awareness into 'me' and 'everything else.'
• 🤝 Opposition and resistance occur when the separate self arises, leading to suffering, but in the absence of a separate self, there is no resistance.
• 😊 Happiness is the natural state of awareness, free from opposition or resistance; it is the seamless experience of all things equally.
• 🎭 The actor (self) cannot leave the screen (awareness); resistance and suffering are illusions because everything is part of the same awareness.

Q & A

What does the speaker mean by 'deep sleep' in this context?

The speaker uses 'deep sleep' to refer to a state of pure awareness, where there is an absence of thinking, sensing, and perceiving. It’s not the concept of sleep as understood by the waking mind, but rather an experience of pure knowingness before any thought or perception arises.

How does the waking mind conceive of deep sleep, according to the speaker?

The waking mind conceives of deep sleep as a state of the mind, associating it with inactivity or unconsciousness. However, the speaker argues that this is a conceptual misunderstanding. True deep sleep, in the context of awareness, is the absence of thoughts and perceptions but still retains a form of pure knowingness.

What does the speaker mean by 'nothing real appears or disappears'?

The speaker is suggesting that nothing truly comes into or out of existence in the realm of awareness. What we experience as thoughts, sensations, and perceptions are not separate entities that appear in awareness; they are simply modulations of the single substance of awareness itself.

How does the speaker describe the process of thinking, sensing, and perceiving?

The speaker describes thinking, sensing, and perceiving as modulations of the same awareness. These experiences are conceptualized by the mind as thoughts, sensations, and perceptions, but in reality, they are made of the same pure awareness, which is ever-present.

Why does the speaker say that 'there is no outside and therefore no inside' in awareness?

The speaker explains that awareness is not divided into inside and outside. There is no external world appearing in awareness from outside of it, nor is there an internal part separate from the external. All experiences happen within the seamless continuity of awareness itself.

What is the role of superimposed concepts in creating the illusion of a separate self?

The speaker argues that layers of concepts created by thinking give the illusion of a solid body and a separate self. These layers, like successive elements (air, water, wood), are superimposed on pure awareness, creating a false sense of separation between 'I' and the external world.

How does the speaker relate the yoga practice to this awareness of deep sleep?

In the yoga practice described, the participants gradually moved through stages of less solid body awareness until they realized that the body itself is made of pure knowingness. This exploration led to an experiential return to the state of deep sleep-like awareness while still awake.

What happens when the 'I thought' arises, according to the speaker?

When the 'I thought' arises, the seamlessness of awareness seems to split into two: a separate self ('I') and everything else ('the world'). This division creates the potential for opposition, resistance, and suffering, as the 'I' seeks to cling to or reject experiences.

How does the speaker define happiness in this context?

Happiness is defined as the natural condition of all experience when there is no opposition, resistance, or separation. It arises when the illusion of a separate self dissolves, leaving only the seamless substance of awareness, where everything is experienced equally without resistance.

Why does the speaker claim that there is no real ignorance or suffering?

The speaker claims that ignorance and suffering are illusions created by the mind. In the true state of awareness, there is no separation or resistance, and thus no real ignorance or suffering. Everything exists in a unified field of pure awareness, where opposition is impossible.