3 THE SECOND GATE OF DREAMING
I found out by means of my dreaming practices that a dreaming teacher must create a didactic synthesis in order to emphasize a given point. In essence, what don Juan wanted I with my first task was to exercise my dreaming attention by focusing it on the items of my dreams. To this effect he used as a spearhead the idea of being aware of falling asleep. His subterfuge was to say that the only way to be aware of falling asleep is to examine the elements of one's dreams.
3 做夢的第二道關口
我從我的做夢練習中發現,一位做夢老師必須創造一套綜合教法才能强調出既定要點。實質上,唐望要我做的第一個任務,就是以專注於我夢中的項目來鍛鍊做夢注意力。爲達到這個效果,他用覺察入睡的想法做爲前行。他的託辭是說,唯一能覺察入睡的方法就是去檢視吾人夢的元素。
I realized, almost as soon as I had begun my dreaming practices, that exercising the dreaming attention is the essential point in dreaming. To the mind, however, it seems impossible that one can train oneself to be aware at the level of dreams. Don Juan said that the active element of such training is persistence, and that the mind and all its rational defenses cannot cope with persistence. Sooner or later, he said, the mind's barriers fall, under its impact, and the dreaming attention blooms.
我瞭解到,幾乎只要我一展開我的做夢練習,鍛鍊做夢注意力馬上成為做夢的核心要點。對心智而言,吾人似乎不可能訓練自己在夢的層次變得覺察。唐望說如此訓練的積極因素就是堅持,心智與其理性防禦應付不了堅持,遲早,他說,心智的屏障在其衝擊下坍塌,做夢注意力便如花盛開。
As I practiced focusing and holding my dreaming attention on the items of my dreams, I began to feel a peculiar self-confidence so remarkable that I sought a comment from don Juan.
"It's your entering into the second attention that gives you that sense of self-assurance," he said. "This calls for even more sobriety on your part. Go slowly, but don't stop, and above all, don't talk about it. Just do it!"
當我練習集中並維持我的做夢注意力於我夢中項目時,我開始感覺到一種奇特的信心,特殊到我必須尋求唐望的意見。
「那是你進入第二注意力所帶給你的自信感,」他說,「它需要你這方更多的清明(sobriety)。慢慢來,但不要停下來,最重要的是,不要談論它,只要去做就是!」
I told him that in practice I had corroborated what he had already told me, that if one takes short glances at everything in a dream, the images do not dissolve. I commented that the difficult part is to break the initial barrier that prevents us from bringing dreams to our conscious attention. I asked don Juan to give me his opinion on this matter, for I earnestly believed that this barrier is a psychological one created by our socialization, which puts a premium on disregarding dreams.
我告訴他,在練習中我已經證實了他所告訴我的,如果短暫瞥視夢裡一切事物,影像就不會消失。我評論說,困難的部分是打破最初的屏障,其妨礙我們將夢帶入我們有意識的注意力。我要求唐望給予我這方面的意見,因為我深切相信這個屏障,是由我們的社會化——助長漠視夢的風氣——所造成的心理障礙。
"The barrier is more than socialization," he replied. "It's the first gate of dreaming. Now that you've overcome it, it seems stupid to you that we can't stop at will and pay attention to the items of our dreams. That's a false certainty. The first gate of dreaming has to do with the flow of energy in the universe. It's a natural obstacle."
「這屏障要多過於社會化,」他回答道,「它是做夢的第一道關口。現在你已經克服它了,對你而言,我們不能停下來任意注視我們夢中事物,這件事似乎很愚蠢。那是一種虛假的確信。做夢的第一關跟宇宙的能量流動有關,它是一個天然的障礙。」
(2011/10/02 增補)