JOHN MCINTOSH
You are FREE when you ‘know’ beyond any doubt that the universe and ALL within it [including your body-mind-identity] is a dream … a Grand Dream. Nevertheless, the ‘conditioning [expectations, attachments and identifications tied to memory (past) and imagination (future)], that manifested the dream are still active, although now awareness ‘of’ the dream is ‘off’ the stage of illusions … in the front rows of the theater. Being Free turns keeps your Attention turned ‘inward’ and this soon begins to dissolve all remaining conditioning [ideally through Self Inquiry/Surrender – the direct route].
This could be called Freedom with ‘baggage’ and as this conditioning dwindles it becomes Freedom with ‘echoes’ – molesting your life experiences less and less. When you metaphorically move to the upper balcony of the theater of illusions, the conditioning is made up of only ‘whispers’ like an aroma that wafts past your nostrils and is gone. However, just as a brief exposure to a fragrance can dredge up ancient memories. Conditioning-whispers can and usually do ‘shout very loudly’ and since, at that point your awareness will have expanded greatly, the dichotomy between what is Real and what is a dream can be enormous and very uncomfortable.
This is why near the end of ‘the journey without distance’, when you are still ‘both IN the dream and OF the dream [dreaming]’ it is normal to be ‘assaulted’ by these tiny gremlins like stubborn stains at the bottom of a boiling pot. Take Heart and ‘persist’ – you are nearly HOME.
“THE GRAND DREAM” -You Have Been Dreaming, Its Time to Wake Up https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0927S31ZH
“THE AFTERMATH”: The SHIFT into an Era of Peace and Light https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09WXG2STN