I visit a large house in Norway. It’s beautiful and with many rooms and a beautiful natural area. I remember that my parents were looking at it and considered buying it. Instead, they settled for an upscale apartment.
I am then in India and meet someone dressed in white with a veil over his head. He has a Norwegian name, Jørn. I ask if he is from Norway, and he says in perfect Norwegian, “jeg er ikke fra Norge” (“I am not from Norway”). I understand that he means that essentially, in terms of his nature, he is not from Norway. He is not from anywhere. He is not this human self that’s from Norway.
For a while, I consider how to respond. How do you respond to that? It’s the type of response that’s true, and also does not invite continued conversation and connection. It’s truth used to create a sense of separation.
I understand what he says. It’s like that for me too. And yet, when someone asks, I am happy to say I am from Norway. I am happy to meet them where they are, and keep my noticings to myself.
The first part of the dream is partly about wealth. My family is wealthy. In real life, it’s true in the bigger picture. They are not wealthy in Norway, but considering the world and all history, they are wealthy.
They are also wealthy in terms of culture and education. Both of my parents loved art and were excellent artists, read about a book a week, listened to classical and jazz, and so on.
I have inherited that wealth. I am rich because of them.
The second part of the dream has two aspects.
It is good for me to remind myself of what the young man said. I am not fundamentally from Norway, or anywhere. I am not fundamentally this human self or anything within the content of experience – including the appearance of a doer, an observer, etc.
Also, it’s good to be fluid about it, especially socially and in the world.
I am not fundamentally this human self or any other content of experience. And yet, in daily life and to most others, I am. It’s not one or the other, and which one I highlight or speak from depends on the situation. In most cases, it makes sense to speak from and as this human self since that’s what most people expect.
On the surface of the dream, I was slightly annoyed that he used an insight in a way that can create separation. I know I sometimes did that at his age, and still probably sometimes do.