The Sleeper Must Awaken
Hello,
this is a very important concept to me which I live by now: “The Sleeper Must Awaken”.
This comes from Dune’s author: Frank Herbert. These books literally changed my life when between the age of 12 to 18 approximately. Frank Herbert taught me what religion and politics are. It’s one of the greatest sci-fi book for a reason. The movie by David Lynch is how I encountered it at around 12 yo. For me it is a masterpiece and still is.
On top of politics and religion, he talks about self-transformation: from an aristocrat who was given everything to a warrior, charismatic leader and messiah. In his books Frank Herbert wants actually to warms us about the dangers of charismatic leadership: fanatism, the jihad. I was not aware of this until my 30s when I researched it. And it is a very important message.
What I’m keeping from it is the spiritual transformation. From Paul to Muad’Dib. For me it is not about becoming a charismatic leader. It is about reaching deep inside our soul to bring it to the surface. If the idea of soul is not a concept that resonates with you: we can talk about the conscious and unconscious. Cleaning our unconscious, structuring it, healing it: to let only us be. That is: our “true self” whatever it means. We will all be influenced by our environment, culture, language, upbringing, etc. What I’m talking about is this part of us that is deep inside and that we can feel. Not think but feel. Anyway, here are the videos I wanted to share in case it inspires you on some level:
The Duke explains to his son that the sleeper must awaken:
Paul risks his life by drinking the “water of life” (like a drug trip), goes inside of him and emerges as a new self: his awakened self.
To make things clear I don’t think it’s a 1 time event. It’s a continuous and neverending process until we die. We continually awaken as the layers inside are infinite I believe. What is helpful to me is to be aware that some parts of me are asleep. They are asleep because of fear of being myself, they are asleep to fit in, they are asleep because they are hidden to me, they are asleep because processing the shit and darkness inside of me is painful, etc. It does not replace the rationality, the emotional management, the knowledge nor the strategies. It is just another layer but a very important one I believe as I found in my experience to be the deepest. The ones in which all the others are built upon. And therefore our life experience in a continuous feed-back loop between all these layers. I know this all sounds esoteric because it is. Just like the vastness of the universe some things inside of us are beyond our (current) comprehension. To be aware of their (possible) existence is already a huge step I think. So being aware that we are able to reach higher levels of self-awareness by reaching deep inside is an important information I believe.
Quote from John Freeman on April 1, 2023, 12:41 pmSo being aware that we are able to reach higher levels of self-awareness by reaching deep inside is an important information I believe.
Hello John, I fully agree on that.
I think that reflecting about our weaknesses, our shadow, and our insecuritites as well as dealing with them in a positive and constructive way, results in an undescriptable experience in which one can realise/discover:
- How false the perception we have of reality (and ourselves) usually is.
- The deepest parts of himself, (as you´ve pointed out) undergoing an inner transformation, that brings out things that were hidden within his consciousness, such as:
- The courage to stand up for oneself.
- The bravery to say what nobody else dares to.
- The curiosity one had when he was a child.
- ......
(Get 1 and 2 together and you get self awareness and positive change, which I believe will always lead to inner strength.)
In fact I think that having this sort of epiphanies (1) can even be empowering. After all if everything that I think/percieve could be false then, why should i be afraid of that situation/person/outcome?:
- He looks imposing for sure, maybe he´ll try to one-up me or humilliate me in public. But what if its all a facade? Maybe inside he´s a terrified child who abuses others as a way to prevent others from doing it to him. Why should I be afraid of a coward?
- That happening to me seems terrifying for sure but will I die if that happens? And even if I die, would there be anything to worry about when Im 6 feet under? Then why should I be afraid?. Isn´t confronting that which I fear with pride and resolve worthy of admiration, and, something to be proud of myself for?
I´ve often found that these patterns of thought make me think and confront my insecurities, its kind of a positive feedback cycle:
- The more I reflect about the causes of my fears and deep-rooted issues, the more I realise how fragile we all are and how fragile the image we have of the world is.
- The more I think about how fragile our perception of people and the world is, the more I realise how trivial and insignificant my fears are.
Inner strength leads to inner freedom (i.e: not being a slave of your fears and desires), and thus you conquer yourself. And as the saying goes: "Man conquers the world by conquering himself"
And those are my thoughts on this subject :).
Quote from John Freeman on April 1, 2023, 12:41 pmI know this all sounds esoteric because it is. Just like the vastness of the universe some things inside of us are beyond our (current) comprehension.
Indeed, we humans have been attracted to spiritualism and esoterism since the dawn of time :).
It feels good to have this kind of conv. with someone from time to time, there´s not many people with whom I can talk about this unfortunately.
P.S:
My writing skills are lacking a bit, I hope there arent many mistakes.