Dreams and reality - too close to be true

This blog should be about something special. The two of us, me and Tobi are often discussing dreams. Dreams in their various forms, like the dreams at night, the dreams regarding our future and of course the dream-life we are living presently... But what are dreams and how important are they really?
Well first lets got to have a look at the obvious. Dreams are happening within the mind - all of them. They always do express something and we don`t control them even if it seems so. Now that`s true for every single dream we might have in all different circumstances. Do you believe us yet? ;)

Dreams are happening in the mind? What does this mean actually? Well, I believe that dreams are something like thoughts - At night, all our external senses are withdrawn and practically not working. So what we experience during the night in our dreams is happening within our thought and emotional system - call it mind. Within dreams, we do feel, hear, taste and so on but its all a little bit like a visualization, a mental process. If the things we see in a dream would be real, then of course our body would be at that dream place too or we would have for example real spiders in our room (Tobi often has some realistic dreams of spiders and then he stands up and runs around scared until I wake him up or he wakes up himself while trying to rescue me from the big spiders under our pillows... Always really funny!). We can clearly see, that dreams are a different state of mind compared to our mind during the daytime.
Lets say you dream of mountains...

Guess for yourself if they are real or only images appearing to your mind. Reflecting this way you might be able to directly understand the difference between a dream at night and so called "reality". You might understand one thing clearly - dreams do happen within the mind as we`ve mentioned above before.
You might now say: "Parn, Tobi, stop! What about the dreams regarding my future or even better - my present state of affairs and my daydreams?" Check out for yourself wether or not they are happening within your mind or not.


Let us give you one sentence to think about deeply:

There is no proof that you aren`t dreaming right now and will wake up soon saying that you had a totally realistic dream.

This sentence is your tool to find out more about the above question... Happy thinking!
And then...? Yes, then we`ve mentioned that dreams always do express something. It`s really simple. A dream is always an expression of a conscious or subconscious process coming from our past actions and conditions. They might express a past event in the light of present conditions or they might even express the future in some rare cases.
Of course, not everyone telling us that he knows the future from his dreams is telling the truth. But not everyone who is telling us something like that is necessarily a liar...
The third point - not beeing able to control our dreams. Imagine having a cup of tea...
You see it clearly in front of you. Imagine feeling the porcelain of the cup getting warm while the tea is being served. Imagine seeing its colour and the greenish reflection of your own face on its surface. Maybe there is a leaf on the bottom of the cup? The tea smells fantastic, so natural and rich. A little bit like good cooked Thai rice and a little bit like the rainforest maybe?

Well, imagining a cup of tea like that or actually having it really seems to be different at first, doesn`t it? Tobi and me usually try to think that it isn`t different at all. Remember dreaming at night? All your senses are involved while you are dreaming. They are involved internally. You seem to feel, taste, hear, or see things during the dream. It seems as if your senses are working completely normal even though it is only happening in your - lets say - imagination. In a dream you don`t know that you are dreaming - even that this is a power you might achieve through proper meditation.

But normally we don`t know it and so a dream appears to be "real". Do you know, why Buddha is called "the awakened one"? That`s probably because he woke up from a different kind of reality-dreamstate and now sees things beyond the normal conceptions. He sees them exactly as they are. Wouldn`t this be a fantastic experience?.
The question would be - what is beyond our conception and the mental construct of reality? This question has been raised numerous times as for example in the movie "The Matrix" or by many philosophers of the past and the present. It leads to a deep and important understanding of the mode of existance in which we are currently dwelling.
We hope to have raised some interesting and fun questions. Feel free to share your thoughts on this topic and bring up something fascinating, motivating and wonderful...

Have a great time,

Parn and Tobi from Phuket Meditation

Tai Chi in Phuket

Dear friends,

Having finished the initial paperwork for our wonderful meditation center, we are now setting up our program. That was and still is a lot of work - believe me. But we ar happy beeing able to do what we do. It`s our dream and we stay with it including all it`s ups and downs.
We will present you for example our brandnew Tai Chi and Chi Kung program, starting next month. I believe, that there are a lot of people who want to study those arts on Phuket. There are people, who drown in their stressful everyday-grind, people who are retired and tourists in Phuket. You find all kinds of folks here and most of the people are everything else but settled down and relaxed.
Phuket is wonderful and it`s a paradise but lets face the facts - we hardly have time to enjoy this beauty around us. When was for example the last time you were just relaxing on one of those nice and quiet beaches around, listening to nothing but the sound of waves?
Tai Chi and Chi Kung sessions in a group would be ideal to face a stressful week in Phuket for example. Taking time for oneself is getting harder on a daily basis and if we put to much strain on ourselves, we end up sick. That`s our body forcing us to rest in one or another way. Staying healthy is top priority in a modern and conscious society I believe. What do we really have but our good health, a good condition of our life force and a controllable state of mind?

The general benefits of Tai Chi are numerous and widely known. But what is Tai Chi doing to improve your life really? Is it possible to help you having a better day after all? Lets see...
Tai Chi is a kind of, lets say "movement meditation". It does have an impact on your body as well as on your mind. I believe, that Tai Chi is learned in three stages which might be combined with any spiritual background.

Stage one - mastering the movement
In this initial stage one learns to control the movement and get fluent with the form until it becomes effortless. One memorizes step by step until the Tai Chi moves become part of ones body.

Stage two - mastering breath and eye movement
If one has gained enough stamina to do one form two or three times without getting tired, then one is ready to enter the second stage. Mastering your breath and controlling what you look at. Now you will have the time to focus on your eyes and on your breath so the whole practice gets deepened and flows harmoniously with your movement.

Stage three - Mastering the mind
The third stage is probably the most difficult stage within the learning process. It is at that stage, where you actually will learn to guide the chi within your body. This is a long process and it can be brought to perfection. At that stage your movements flow automatically and are in balance with all the details. You control your body and Tai Chi or chi Kung has become completely natural. You have enough time to do your mental part without beeing distracted by the "hows" and "whens". You are on the way of becoming a true master now - only time will tell you when this goal will be achieved.

If you learn Tai Chi or Chi Kung, you will go through this process if you wanna make it complete. It will take as long as it will take. For some the whole thing develops very fast and for others it takes ages but its usually only a matter of correct and regular practice. So if you have any further questions on Tai Chi or Chi Kung, please don`t hesitate to write me. Contact details can be found on our homepage http://phuket-meditation.com

Best regards

Tobi and Parn

What`s all the fuzz about gratitude?

"Saying thank you is more than good manners. It is good spirituality."

Alfred Painter

Do you think, that gratitude is important? Isn`t it just a feeling, that arises and perishes like waves at the shoreline? What will this feeling do? What is the nature of it and where does it come from? Well, let`s find out a little bit more about it. First of all, I believe that gratitude is a mental factor, it arises from the nature of mind due to certain thoughts. Gratitude is causing something to happen in our lifes. If we generate this deep feeling of thankfulness, we bring a sense of satisfation with it. Sincere gratitude is always accompanied by its friends - satisfaction, peace and happiness.

One of the easiest ways to bring happiness into this very moment of our life is to simply think about its goodness. This is what we have, this is our life and this is all what we have.

Look around you and see the colours, feel your breath, hear those sounds, taste and smell the air around you. Is there something you could feel grateful for? Maybe...? Is it OK to be grateful, satisfied and happy? Just short? Just for this very moment? Is it permitted to let go of your fears? Well, maybe you could try... There`s enough time to worry later.

Our life is holding us every moment in its hands, carefully. Have you ever thought of saying "thank you" to those hands who brought you through so many difficulties? Why not now?

Gratitude is a transforming power. Whoever is a grateful person will experience no lack in life. It is those who don`t stop wanting something elso who are never happy.

It transforms your eyes, the way you smell and touch. It transforms everything that you recieve. Gratitude makes your life abundant. It generates this abundance starting on a subtle mental level. From that it influences the way you act, speak and rise from sleep. Let there be no other feeling to start with. This human life is the very best thing to happen because it gives you the chance of ultimate freedom!

Love,

Tobi and Parn

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