When we think about our lives, the city we live in, the world we’re a part of and the whole universe, we think of it as so real, tangible, ever present and everlasting. But because we perceive it in our minds and we can only perceive that which our minds can grasp, it’s actually a very small universe. It is also transitory – it doesn’t last. It only lasts and exists when we think about it. If we see it as a dream then we can locate truth.
Enlightenment is the same. We wake up to the fact that our minds have created a very small world and the truth or background on which everything is based is infinite. It is eternal and it is who we are. This is our true self, our true reality, unlike life that is just a dream.
Our minds have an ability to remember things, so they can create perceptions, anticipations, truths and reality that serve to get us through this life. But since they are based on memory and impermanence, they can change and are therefore not the ultimate truth.
Anything that is ultimately true is permanent and everlasting. Identify with this and be it. Realize that our memories are faulty; they have gaps and holes in them, just like dreams. Can we remember what we did 27 days ago at 3 o’clock in the afternoon? With all the disjointed memories, our minds create a reality in the same way our dream mind creates a reality, and we think that it is real. It might be longer than the dream but it’s based on the same principles.
The mind is creating a dream. To live outside of that dream requires us to take the most sincere step and awaken from it.
Peace and Love, Jim
