The Dream of Reality

“Enlightenment begins with disillusionment.” ~ Crewmax


Someone once asked me how I can tell the difference between reality and fantasy. What if – this person asked – what we perceive as “reality” is indeed a dream, something made out by our subconscious, and we aren’t really living it after all but only believing we are?

That question got me thinking. Indeed, is it possible that we aren’t living at all, and we are just dreaming our lives? Could we be caught in a very sophisticated dream state science hasn’t been able to identify yet, a state of the art virtual life our spirit is “living” to understand certain concepts? After all, dreams are a tool our minds use to organize thoughts.

Of course, this would be a discussion which could go off in many different tangents, but one of the things that are interesting to ponder is what we perceive as reality and what we perceive as illusion. Since early childhood, we are taught that ‘real” things must be measured through the five senses, and nothing which can’t be confirmed in a controlled environment should be considered real. Nothing is further from the truth. Physical attraction, for example, can be analyzed through physical signs, but true love can’t; connecting hands can be seen by others, but spiritual or emotional connection – although just as real and powerful as holding hands with someone – cannot be fully proven.

Very often, what we perceive as real through our taught patterns of rational thinking is in fact just something we have learned in our environment; if we were raised by different people, in a different society, or with different values, we would likely rationalize events differently. In the western world especially, we have come to associate our identity with what we have. The more we physically “own” – beauty, financial affluence, friends – the better we feel about ourselves. We perceive the golden ones as having everything they desire because they deserve it; if we don’t have those things, then we aren’t worth our own self-love or the love of others.

Having is not as important as being. Each of us is a unique aspect of creation, and as such we are indispensable, regardless of what we have or don’t have. Jesus himself had nothing, yet His passage on earth is still touching people two thousand years later. By the time we leave this earthly plane, what will count will be whatever we have done for others, not what we have done for ourselves. We can’t aspire to elevate our souls until we are able to detach from the rational illusion of being what we have.

We can certainly joke around and say we are living a dream, but unfortunately, for many, the dream is a nightmare; at least until they awaken, and realize that reality can only be found at the core and Armani isn’t the one who designed it.

Fact or Sensory Illusion? (Repost)

Have you ever wondered if others see and hear the same things you do? After all, images and sounds are picked up by our senses, and then transferred to our brain for processing.

What if our brain - conditioned by previous experiences and teachings - decodes information in a bias fashion? Could a person say one thing and we hear another?

That would certainly explain why people don't seem to find a common ground, at times, or why some find a particular person or thing beautiful while others consider the same thing unattractive or unpleasant. In my personal experience, I know there have been situations when I said one thing and others understood something completely different; it was like we were on entirely different agendas.

What about those cases when the same thing is observed or heard by multiple individuals? Could it be that the response we hear from others is also biased and "produced" by our brain? Is it possible that we "decide" what we are going to hear from others, and selectively choose who will agree with us and who won't?

The hidden triggers in our subconscious have the power to affect our actions and the way we personally approach things, so it would only make sense that they have an impact on the way we see or hear.

What's your opinion?

The Storm and the Rainbow

The sun still shines behind the storm clouds.
Although this is a scientifically proven fact, it is also the first thing people choose to forget when Mother Nature unleashes its fury.
Similarly, each time we are caught into a life storm, we get easily swept into the whirlwinds of fear and doubt, and forget about the cyclical nature of all things.
We survive through the birth and death of loved ones, disease and marriage crisis, parental challenges and job uncertainties, but we seldom take the time to observe that each event quickly explodes and saturates our life with uninvited misery only for a limited time, before it naturally runs out of steam and comes to an end. If we were able to see the bigger picture beyond the blinding patina of drama, we would see life storms for what they truly are: the necessary eradication of the old and the nurturing of the new.
We blame unpleasant occurrences on an unkind destiny, and rarely acknowledge that the storms we ride are necessary portals we must step through, if we ever hope to reach the finish line and achieve what our hearts desire.
A person stuck in the stagnant waters of an unsatisfactory relationship may have to face the storm of a breakup, before he or she can focus on seeing the sparkling light of a new, more fulfilling love affair. If parents wish for their children to become more responsible and realistic, their own life may be temporarily unsettled by the mistakes the children will have to make, as they learn a sobering life lesson which will gift them with greater wisdom and an increased sense of reality.
Most life storms bring along winds of change, but even if we eternally wish for positive alterations in our lives, deep down everyone is afraid of shaking things up.
We unrealistically expect to reach the desired destination without going on the trip.
Just as weather storms are visible on radars and to the naked eye, most life storms are also easy to detect before they approach, and allow us time to make the necessary preparations.
In a few cases when situations explode without warning, we need to be aware that even those events will often lead to unexpected benefits in their aftermath.
Whether we go through a summer storm, a sudden tornado, or even a hurricane, all that will ever be destroyed is the manmade illusion of material stability. What truly matters remains untouched, and sometimes even enriched.
The next time dark clouds loom ominously on the horizon, we can remember that this new storm, like all others before, will pass, the clouds will dissipate, and the sun will shine brightly again.
And, maybe for the first time in our life, we’ll notice the soft colors of a beautiful rainbow, painted on the clear skies of new and unforeseen opportunities.