If the universe and everything in it is a projection of the mind, then everything apparently outside of the mind is unreal. There are mind-blowing implications that result from accepting this concept. For one, it means that life as we perceive it through the senses is only being thought of in the mind, and thus everything we feel is also in the mind. This also means that nothing at all is actually happening except in the mind.
In addition to this, while every mind experiences what it chooses to of life, one of the reasons we tend to perceive the same external, physical reality is because there is only one mind. There is no other explanation possible for our shared experience outside of how we react to what happens in it. Nevertheless, even if the world we see is a similar projection among us all, how we experience it is entirely based on beliefs about the self. These beliefs are the basis for our emotions, and the various ways we proceed through life that we use to describe ourselves as individuals.
Yet, if nothing is actually happening in our so-called external reality, than what are we experiencing? We’re experiencing whatever the mind chooses to create for us, and given that the mind must then exist as a conscious entity outside of our external perception, the mind is not in space or time; it’s in thought.
Now consider that if the mind is in thought, then not only is nothing happening in a physical sense, but nothing is happening outside of thought itself. This raises the question: Why do we appear to be ‘somewhere’ in space and time, if the mind creating us isn’t?
This is where the argument requires a leap of faith in an unified, creative source that represents the one mind of which we are all a part. It doesn’t really matter what it’s called; God, the all-seeing, all-knowing mastermind, the Source; if there is only one mind, then it can only be comprehended through the mind itself, and not through the senses.
This is the reason increasing self-awareness is important. It’s the one route to discovering that the difference between existing solely in the illusion of an external reality, and existing solely in the truth of an internal awareness, is strictly a matter of belief. Heaven, Nirvana, Valhalla, Shangri-La; all represent a state of mind, and achieving it is why we have faith in the first place.
Something in our thoughts constantly reminds us that there is more to what we see in life. We not only tend to want to believe it, most of just accept it as true. Why do we have this strong drive to believe in something beyond external perception? It’s not because we want to live forever; it’s because we already do, and we’re trying to remember the fact.
Reality as experienced by the body is a dream of the mind. Were our minds fully aware, we would immediately recognize that we are already in heaven, or nirvana, or any place you care to name that symbolizes not only the afterlife, but the mind’s spiritual origin, as well. The true reality is that we have never left where the mind is; we only think we have.
One aspect of increasing self-awareness is understanding how to return to full acceptance of the mind’s reality, and in so doing wake up to the truth of our existence. How we approach achieving that will be the subject of another post.
