Is Consciousness Dreaming or Imagining the World?

"In a discussion about whether consciousness dreams or imagines the world, you seemed reluctant but did say that consciousness imagines. How should I understand this distinction? Rupert says: ‘I use the words “dreaming” and “imagining” synonymously. The reason I use the word “dreaming” is to make a connection between your mind at night that dreams a dream world but simultaneously localises yourself within your own dream. I’m referring to the mechanism of a dream, the ordinary night-time dream, and then extrapolating that one level up to consciousness. I don’t mean to imply that what takes place here is identical to what takes place at night. There is more to this experience than an individual finite mind. The dream world that you have at night is the product of your finite mind. There is more to this experience than just the imagination of our own finite mind. So I sometimes use the word “imagine”. In the Western tradition, imagination is used by William Blake and ‘Ibn Arabi and Shakespeare. All I mean to convey by these two words is that the universe is a mental activity, not a physical one. It’s of the nature of mind, not of the nature of matter.’"

From event 05 - 12 October, 2025 Seven-Day Retreat at Garrison Institute, 5–12 October 2025

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