All of life’s a stage
It’s an old question in philosophy and religion:
Is our experience of life in this world real?
It sounds a little crazy to ask the question, doesn’t it? It makes you think of people who are mentally unbalanced, who can’t tell the difference between the world they live in and the hallucinations that run around in their heads.
What do people mean when they ask if our experience of life in this world is real?
There are many questions hiding behind the simple world “real”
- Do our senses give us an accurate picture of the world outside of us, uncolored by our personal experience and expectations? Here we’re asking whether we get a clear picture of the “real” world, or whether we’re at least partially living in a world colored by our fears and desires.
- Is this world and our experience of it a superficial or limited experience of a deeper, larger, more profound reality? What if our life on this earth is just a brief moment in a much greater existence. What if there are other dimensions of existence that we live in before and after we come to this world? If true, then our life on earth has a certain reality to it, but it pales when compared with our broader existence.
- Is this world planned, structured, and orchestrated with some purpose in mind? This question is an add-on to the last one. What if our time in this world is somewhat scripted and purposeful. What if we’re here to learn some lesson, or accomplish some spiritual task before moving on to another existence? If so, this world is real to a point. Like a play or a simulation, it may have meaning, but there’s so much going on beyond the stage and beyond the simulator.
- Is this world an illusion? Does this world, like a magician, use some kind of misdirection to get me to focus on the more trivial aspects of existence and ignore more fundamental, more important aspects of existence?
What’s the difference?
Ok. What’s the difference whether this world is real?
What’s the difference to me right now if there are other realities that I’m not aware of.
Even if I was some sort of lab rat being observed, who cares?
I’m here, I’m alive. I’ve got to play the game according to what I can see.
I could imagine a thousand alternate stories for what’s beyond this world.
But they might be pure fantasy. Seems better then, to just focus on what I can see, doesn’t it? Even if we’re like the people in The Matrix, serving as unwitting but happy slaves, wouldn’t we rather not know?
Brave new world
Maybe, or maybe not.
It depends.
It depends on whether we have the ability to see beyond the world that we’re currently living in.
It depends on whether we have the capability to use knowledge of other realities to change ourselves and this world to become something much greater.
If we can rise up, take off the blinders and live differently, then there is a point in knowing whether there’s more to the world than what we’ve been told.
Not yet
Let’s say this all sounds pretty far fetched to you, and way beyond your experience.
What then?
Well, I have one more uncomfortable version of “is life real” to throw at you.
Am I living the life that I’m capable of living with all my talents? Have I fully explored the possibilities within me?
Can any of us really say that we’re living life 100%, and living up to the possibilities hidden away within us?
Can you and I live lives dramatically more powerful than the lives we’re living now?
If we feel and know that we can find and live a greatness that we’ve only seen hints of, then our current lives must be looked at as shadows of the real life that we can live in this world.
The answer to the question, “Is life real?”, might just be:
“Not yet.”
@RBG: I saw him leave on the Nebuchadnezzar.
When I awoke from the dream of life I discovered I was enlightened I would clearly see how every believes they know what they doing but they all literally in a trance trying to get into the future or past and never really exerience reality due to the illusion created by the mind. Yes this world is a prison for your mind but once you escape then u see how everyone in the world is being manipulated by this illusion.
I have been reading many writings and books of philosiphers and great minds, a lot point to a higher relem or dimension or another life before and or after. yes we dont know whats next and drugs can only help our anxiety to our perpetual fantasy that never lets us rest to the thought of the after life. The what if’s never seem to stop, having the echo of eternity tugging on our minds. I don’t think were to far off, but it almost seems like we’re the gost in the shell if every living thing has energy (aka the soul) it’s as if this is the frist time the soul recognized it self as part and an indivsual entity to this reality. is life really what I see in my day to day life, or is it some information stored somewhere? it feels real but if i have nothing to compare it then this could just be a ripple in reality,I feel to understand this question we first have to understand if we really have free will (I don’t think so, if you want to hear my thoughts on that let me know).
I feel this is the biggest question we can ever ask. To know the correct answer may be all we would ever need to know again. I’ve had theories that could never be proved or disproved just because of this question.
I’ve been reading the recent comments/posts on here. It seems as though anything worth knowing has to be complicated.Even knowing the difference between this reality and the actual reality doesn’t mean that it is truth. My opinion is that truth is more than knowing and it’s unobtainable being in the state that we are all in. I’ve never read tons of books by philosphers, met with gurus, sipped tea with wise men that shared stories passed down generation after generation. I don’t know what it’s like to be enlightened by such things. I don’t even think that would be enough for me. I could share my “matrix” stories, the illusion flickering like the flame of a candle on a windy day. I could even share dreams with you all but I don’t know how that will help any us know more about “reality”. Some of my thoughts/questions revolve around people knowing. Like what would happen? Would the illusion just shatter for me or all? Would it be a good thing? Why does the illusion exist? Knowing is very complicated and it complicates everything. I strongly believe that we are all interconnected and if we all were to see the illusion for what it is all at once then that would be the only chance for us to know what is real. If we can’t all wake up together, it doesn’t matter if 1 person,2 people or 1 billion wake up because the rest are still asleep. It sometimes feel unfair to be trapped in such a small space and still have to move through the world. My only phsyical existance is me being distracted by everything around me long enough to figure things out and to fullfil my purpose whatever that may be. It just feels like i occupy myself with these things in order to buy more time to understand how to be what I am supposed to be. Everything happens for a reason and nothing is coincidental. I’ve always been inquisitive and it has always gotten me into trouble. Even recently the knowledge that I’ve gained has been nothing but stress on me. Like forces are trying to break me and stop me or maybe all of that is just being done as a test to make me stronger. It’s confusing and it’s complicated and people who dont want to understand because that knowledge challenges their thought of existance…they quickly put you inside a box. They dismiss you, they cut you off midsentence or mock the information that you’ve shared with them. And if you survive all of that and learn more about this thing we call reality then just be prepared to be put into the nuthouse. So my only advice is to take your time learning the “know” and don’t accept it as truth just as facts…also distracted yourself or atleast look distracted. Gives you more time to figure things out without “things” figuring out that you know.