Conversations with Orland Bishop

Unit 2: Bridging the Worlds

Topics in this unit: Carrying a dream for the world, despair, sacrifice, a sacred future, expelling unlawful forces, the human condition, awakening through sleep, giving meaning, world-creation, the will, synchronicity, responsibility.

Videos

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Audio

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Study Notes

How do we awaken from the paradigms that hypnotize humanity today? Orland offers a paradoxical answer: the awakening happens through sleep. We explored this in more depth in Part 1 of this course; basically, in sleep a connection is renewed to a much bigger reality than the one we are immersed in. If you pay close attention upon waking, you might notice that it takes a few seconds to accept the world again.

Then, in the middle of 2.2, we discuss the recovery of our world-creating power through the recovery of our word-nature in the form of giving meaning, which allows humans to collaborate in world-building. This, says Orland, is the “place where the world begins again.”

In 2.3, we return to the question of sleep. Orland offers some deep insights and principles of practice. How, exactly, do we narrow the gap between what we reconnect to in sleep (“fundamental agreements about life and its purpose”)? How can we ensure that, as Orland puts it, “My dream becomes deposited in my will”? However esoteric it may sound, this teaching is of utmost practical importance. We organize in sleep a world in which we are fully engaged and empowered with our purpose, but then we must live that day that our consciousness created in sleep. That requires the connecting of that information to the will. It requires a readiness and willingness to recognize the synchronicities and guideposts set up to direct right action through the day, so that we can fully participate in and serve the highest collective future.

Meditation

Discussion/Practice Suggestion

For this session, let us try the practice Orland offers, which I will summarize. It is a practice to be applied on waking, either from sleep or from meditation – both of which “give cognition over to the witness level of consciousness.” He offers a series of mantras, let us call them mantras for waking. Or even put them together as a prayer:

• I take responsibility for being awake.
• I take interest in being awake.
• I rest in my wakefulness.
• I carry with me the continuation of this work that I’ve begun.
• I present myself in availability to destiny, as it shows up in the world.
• Guide me.

If you can even remember to repeat these to yourself upon waking, that is already quite an accomplishment, quite a practice of will that will strongly affect your day. Say them to yourself with sincerity and understanding, speaking truth to yourself.

To prepare for this practice, first choose one or more of these sentences. Next, envision yourself right now waking up, and say it mentally to yourself. If it feels rote or fake, go into the meaning in your mind, and when you have the meaning, say it again and mean it. The power is not so much in the words as in the intention and understanding behind them.