What is reality ?
I would like to start a new discussion on the topic of reality. More exactly – what is reality?
I am inclined to believe that reality can only be in the present – in the ‘now’ so to speak and that it is the collective external and internal influences upon our consciousness. I used to look at words and consider their inner meaning in certain situations – reality was one I split into three parts: Real - in – Time.
This would seem to fit with the concept that ‘reality’ could only exist in the present timeframe. You can’t have past reality – but you can have a past reality or realities. The same rule can be seen with the future – in that you can’t have ‘future reality’ – but you can have potential future realities… I am aware that in true reality – time does not actually exist – and it is a peculiarity to our physical world and the conditioned way we perceive experiences. However, I feel intuitively, that it is possible to understand a little of our lives – even through the invisible curtain that we perceive as time.
When I began to meditate on the essence of reality I saw, for a brief moment, a picture of everything connected to everything by means of vibrations – and where people, homes, cars, plants and all ‘objective’ things were associated to one-another. This concept was so vastly effective on my consciousness that I had to stop, come out and consider the perspective ‘in the ordinary light of day’ to ‘get my head around it’. I once learnt that this ‘connectedness’ was the foundation principle for Quabalism – and the epitome was the (then common everyday) filofax. But now I have further thoughts on the ‘connectedness’…
I was recently given the task of meditating on the concept of ‘Reality is Plastic’ (in the specific sense that reality is mouldable and constantly changeable). The first idea on this path for me was that thoughtforms must have a very significant part to play in shaping our realities. At the moment in my life outside HP (N.B. Sol thinking aloud here…) I am having to send and reply to upwards of 20 to 50 emails a week – and it struck me that these emails represent the active thoughtforms from inner levels. The electronic, digital codes that they are composed of being their physical manifestation. ‘Thoughts create reality’ is an adage that many people say and apparently acknowledge – but how many people actually, deliberately try to shape their reality by their thought? It would take such extraordinary power of discipline and dedication that few could probably achieve and maintain a level of awareness of – and precise control of - their thoughts; I know I would have difficulty! I intend to aspire closer to that goal as I grow old and grey…
If reality is plastic and it is possible to mould it – then how would one start? Perhaps one would only be able to achieve any headway with changing realities by firstly being past any karmic resonances – by that I mean that we all have (– as a result of our past thoughts and resulting actions over countless experiences…) definite patterns of experiences that occur in our lives completely uncontrolled by our consciousness… For example – you might drive to work the same route everyday, but one day – when you’re gliding along the road perfectly well… you get a tyre puncture. Then as you jack up the car, it begins to pour with rain… So you’re late for work and you miss an important telephone call from someone… You get the picture… Both the puncture and the wet rain are experiences / events that you could have no conscious control over – they ‘just happened’. So if you wanted to mould reality – and get anywhere with the practise – you would have to be in a condition whereby such events could not occur and thus could not influence you. To be in such a position, one would probably have to be quite ahead in the human race, spiritually speaking; and thus ‘past karmic resonances’… I surmise that a thorough knowledge of thoughtforms and the laws of their existence would be h
RE: What IS Reality
Interesting ideas, Sol. This one should run and run...
The first idea on this path for me was that thoughtforms must have a very significant part to play in shaping our realities.Thoughts create reality is an adage that many people say and apparently acknowledge but how many people actually, deliberately try to shape their reality by their thought?
If reality is plastic and it is possible to mould it then how would one start?
I think when we decide to change our thought patterns and focus in a different way, then we are starting to mould our personal reality. A woman I met put it this way - "That's not in my reality." and for her, certain ways of thinking or reacting were 'not in her reality'. For example,
by working to change my inclination toward inward-seeking, depressive thoughts, I have found that I can mould my reality into a more joy-ful and outward-looking life. It really began to bear fruit last year, when I realised that my new reality and way of being was now one of joy, not sorrow. Nowadays I see and feel a lightness of heart and spirit as my daily reality and the depressive episodes as 'not reality' - not 'me' any more. They are no longer my reality, although some resonances remain, so there's still work to be done.
Perhaps one would only be able to achieve any headway with changing realities by firstly being past any karmic resonances... So if you wanted to mould reality and get anywhere with the practise you would have to be in a condition whereby such events could not occur and thus could not influence you. To be in such a position, one would probably have to be quite ahead in the human race, spiritually speaking; and thus past karmic resonances
Not with you 100% on that one... I think it's largely down to focus of intent and changing of the energy around you and your thoughts. If the 'thought is the deed', then by deciding that you will arrive at your destination intact without difficulties (to use your example), you may well be strong enough to override any karmic resonances - or at least bypass them by seconds! 😉
Also, what if your 'superior self' (for want of a better term) decided that you needed the experience of the flat tire and the missed deadline? Not karmic, but part of your reality nonetheless because on some level, you allowed it to happen.
And at the risk of tying myself up in knots... I shall leave it there.
Moonfeather
RE: What IS Reality
Hi Moonfeather,
I agree with you wholeheartedly. My reality now is nothing like the reality I once believed was reality! (Please excuse me, you must have realised by now that I belong in a home for the permanently bewildered!) Sol is very good at tying us all up in knots - and I love it!
Hi Sol,
How wonderful to receive such information during your meditation and yet you still ask the question, What is reality? Another question might be, does plastic exist? Wasnt it Buddha who came across a huge rock on his path, so he sat in front of it until he found himself on the other side of it?
In reality, perhaps, there is no reality! Unless we choose to believe it, does it exist? Suppose you were Tarzan who had lived a life in forests with the sights, sounds and smells of nature - your reality would surely be what you see and experience. Tarzan wouldn't know of any other reality because he would probably not have experienced, seen or heard of anything else. And what if you were a child who was brought up in a high rise block of flats in a city, surrounded by concrete and the loud sounds of music, television programmes and shouting, would your reality include peace and nature in all it's glory? My reality would not be yours and yours would not be mine, so does reality really exist at all? Perhaps the divine creator is the only reality, having the overview of all creation, where nothing and no-one can hide who they really are and with the certain knowledge that all will return eventually to love. What human has such patience? What human would realise that we never left in the first place!
My daughter is a master at creating her own reality. She decides exactly what she would like, she releases it to the universe and then gets on with her life. She doesn't poke and prod or dwell on it in any way, she simply knows it will happen and it always does! She receives exactly what she asks for, or better. However, occasionally the reality she envisaged, when it has arrived, does not make her feel the way she thought it would. Therefore, how can it be a reality if the vision did not also create the physical, mental, emotional or spiritual reward of having exactly what she desires? What does she do then? She puts it down to experience and create another reality. Friends and family say she's 'lucky' or similar terms, without understanding that luck doesn't come into it. She BELIEVES she can have her desires and so she receives them. She really does create her own reality - and that reality changes quite often! Therefore, yes, reality is in the now, right now. Is it also in the now right where we are? If we see carnage in Iraq via our own television screen, is that our reality or are we so far removed physically that we see it as someone else's reality? If we have loved ones in that place, does it then become our reality? Do we have to feel 'connected' before anything becomes our own personal reality?
And the reality for me is, I need my beauty sleep (boy do I need it!) so I bid you both goodnight and pleasant dreams.
AQ
RE: What IS Reality
Hi Sol,
You pose a question and then offer one possible solution. Your “if” relates to your postulate. There are others, as you know.
We are not fans of “creating” a reality, although that is certainly a popular stance. To do that is to assume that we know, consciously, what best direction we should move and the temptation is to superimpose materialistic desires upon that movement. Neither are we inclined to withdraw from the flow of life in the form of meditation. We are also aware that this is an accepted technique in some varieties of religion and spirituality.
Instead, we prefer to move or flow with Spirit in the same way that a log moves in a river. As long as the log stays in the current the movement is fairly constant, when it gets waylaid in an eddy or is diverted into narrower channels then the movement is confused, slowed or arrested altogether.
A log does not try to create the flow, nor does it fight against it. The log does not determine where it will travel nor what will accompany it on its journey; neither does it expect to learn along the way, either good things or bad. It has only to “go with the flow” to accomplish its purpose and where it ends up is its destination.
Granted, we are human with greater desires than a log and perhaps loftier goals. But most of us who think of such things say that we desire oneness with Spirit. Not in the sense that we are all one, but that we “feel” the unity of Spirit and reach the level of being that underlies existence in concert with Spirit. That comes from letting go of expectations, releasing the need to dictate our direction, and moving with the current or flow of love, and that is profound!
At that level, reality is beyond belief systems or human behaviour. Reality IS that oneness; the movement of Spirit in and through the universe without the limits that our experience or understanding impose.
Historically there are many ideas, accepted for generations, which prove to be untrue or not quite true, effective or not. The creation story is found in different cultures and all attempt to illustrate the origin of the earth. None of them is reality. Bloodletting, night air, and washing the body have all changed in popular regard, though all were accepted or rejected for supposedly good reasons. Columbus, Copernicus, Galileo, Pasteur each changed the perception of reality in the era in which they lived yet none changed reality, as such. Conditions may change, as in the way we manage infection, but it does not change the fact of infection. We learn ways to influence our surroundings, but it does not change reality itself for reality is beyond manipulation.
But progress and change are part of reality. Progress of the soul, change in the body of knowledge. Hitler’s attitudes and actions brought a new understanding of human interaction, opposite but equal to that of the Christ. That kind of experience had not been met before. Different experience, certainly. Devastation, yes, but not the widespread hatred of specific persons to the extent of near annihilation. Fear has caused masses to move against others before and since, but fear was not an underlying motivator for Hitler. The collective body of knowledge was expanded by the human experience of Hitler’s life but reality, the movement of Spirit, is unchanged.
Einstein’s contribution to understanding was to change the popular limits of time and space. Did it change reality? No, because reality is what is, not what we think about what is. He changed the questions we ask ourselves.
So, what is reality… and can it be shaped? “If” reality is above and beyond human perception it cannot be shaped by our will or our thoughts.
RE: What IS Reality
Fantastic post Energyatwork.
Gilly