Spiritual Realization
Lesson 2: A world of illusions
1. The Nature of the World
Exercise One
2. Filters of Perception
3. Living in Bondage
4. The Value of Suffering
5. Paths to "Enlightenment"
6. Gurus, Lamas, Masters, and Teachers
7. The Most Common Traps
Exercise Two
8. Psychic Realms — the Astral Level
9. Real Life
10. Reality and Illusion
1. The Nature of the World
We live in a world in which everything is changing, all the time. Nothing is set, nothing is fixed, nothing is permanent. Everything comes and goes. It is only an illusion that there is permanence or unchangingness to anything in our world, or our life.
We all live in this world of illusions.
That being said, it should also be appreciated that it is better to come closer to reality than it is to be lost in a world of illusions. The more illusions you entertain, the farther you move from Reality. The more illusions you hold to be "real," the more likely you are to spend your life trying to satisfy those illusions, to adapt yourself to them, and give up being who you truly are.
The more illusory your existence, the less in touch you are with the true ground of your being.
In this world, nothing is as powerful as an illusion. The only way to be free from the overwhelming, captivating, seductive power of illusions is to find something more real which is more rewarding, more good, more true to you. Otherwise, you may have little interest or movement in the direction of Reality.
Illusions may be of a sensory nature, based in the ego, false interpretations, misperceptions, or fantasies. Illusions are their own stimulus and reward; the illusions you have or do not question have an inbuilt charm, familiarity, or pleasure that makes them seem "right." They tend to make you feel good, or decrease the amount of attention you pay to things that are not as pleasant.
For example, psychoactive drugs (legal or otherwise) can entirely change the way you perceive the world, your self, your options, your life. A little pill can entirely change your mental state, sensory experience, and decision-making ability.
That's just one little pill. The world you already live in is a far greater illusion than you could experience by taking a pill. Nothing is as real, solid, permanent, good, or true as it may appear to be. The fact that nearly everyone shares a similar experience does not make the illusion any more real; it just makes it more acceptable, unquestioned, and seemingly "real."
No matter how many people share an experience, no matter how long the "consensus reality" has been the unquestioned world view, the illusion does not ever become real.
Illusion does not ever become Reality. Reality is what exists when illusion passes away.
Exercise One: You may wish to begin this process by
acknowledging all of the illusions you have held in this
life. Seeing them as the illusions they may have been,
allows you to come closer to reality, now.
List all of the things that you may have once believed,
or believed to be true, or real, or right, or good, that you
now realize were not, really. It can include everything from
Santa Claus to tobacco to what you learned in school — to
what you may have been told were absolute spiritual truths, but
which you feel to question, now.
When you are finished, look at your list, and realize it
is unique to you — you have your own experiences,
awareness, and "journey" of awakening. Acknowledge
your self for being able to see more clearly the truth of
things, for your greater awareness, now. Acknowledge what
you have gone through, and what you have learned, and what you
choose to do differently, now. Realize that any suffering
you may have had was not the point of what you went through;
neither was the "lesson" you may have learned. The
point of illusions, suffering, problems, traps, and popular
social conditioning is not to embrace them, or value them, but
to see them for what they are and move on from there.
Realize, reality is
not accepting everything the way it is as the way it
should be. It is
awakening to something more, something better, something
far more real, right, good, and true for
you.
You may have many illusions about who you are, the value of material things, "needs" that are created by your society, ambitions to be better than others, or a skepticism that believes nothing exists which cannot be not proven by the senses or scientific experiments. Our materialistic consumer society breeds endless illusions, and labels them as real, while it dismisses the most real and valuable spiritual things as some sort of superstitious, irrational, or unproven idea.
You have to sort your way through all of that, to come closer to what is real, what truly matters in life, what has greater meaning and value. For a very long time, many spiritual traditions have correctly observed that the materialistic life or the material world itself, and the spiritual life or the spirit, have very little in common. They are, in many ways opposed. The world-at-large is the realm of endless illusions, many of which, most people are entirely in agreement with. The spirit is the realm of the Greater Reality, which most people are entirely unfamiliar with.
2. Filters of Perception
Although you think you are seeing the world as it is, with all of your senses, you are not. And, even if you were seeing the world clearly, without the usual filters of perception, you would still be far removed from Reality. You would be seeing the illusion clearly, for what it is, but that does not give you the experience of Reality.
The Greater Reality is not discernible by the senses.
There are many forms of so-called "color blindness," in which a person sees different colors as being the same color. A more naturally-sighted person can distinguish far more colors. This is analogous to spiritual sight, in which one person looks at the world and sees one thing (which is perhaps very limited), while another is capable of seeing and distinguishing a far greater spectrum.
There have been times in history when people did not see certain colors that we see, today. There are people who can distinguish many shades of a given color, and others who cannot. It is not even in their vocabulary. But as strange or anomalous as sensory perception may be, it is not the primary filter of our "windows of perception." That is performed by the mind.
A classic example is that of a person "seeing" a snake in a dimly lit room. Upon closer inspection in the light, the "snake" turns out to merely be a rope. In many ways, our fears, expectations, and desires shape what we "see," or think we see. And our minds are quick to interpret our perceptions in terms of prior conditioning and programming.
Judgment is a filter, as are ego and emotion. What we see is filtered, shaped, formed, or distorted by these influences, which we may never question. We imagine we are seeing reality or the truth, no matter how distorted our perceptions or interpretations may be, as a result of ego and emotion.
There is no inherent corrective force in society for our erroneous beliefs, perceptions, or understandings. The consensus reality tends to rule, no matter how far removed from Reality it actually is. There was a time when people believed the world was flat, and that if they were to try to sail over the horizon they would drop off the edge. (Actually, there are still people who believe that, to this day.) The agreed upon or consensus reality may appear to be true, and people may reinforce each other's misperceptions and misunderstanding, but it remains false or illusory.
You would be surprised at the extent to which things are different from what we believe, individually or as a society.
This is especially the case with regard to spiritual matters. The physical body is so dense and so relatively inert, that it is resistant to higher spiritual energy. We do not generally see spirit or spiritual things. We only have traditional interpretations, beliefs, and acceptance (or rejection) of things of a spiritual nature — including our own spiritual nature or self.
Those who have psychic perceptions are not necessarily any closer to the Truth, than those who do not have such experiences. Reality and Truth are not seen on this level, nor are they generally found on the more subtle levels of the physical universe. Our connection to the Greater Reality is very limited, and as a result we live our lives making choices in a very narrow domain of experience and choice.
3. Living in Bondage
You live in bondage to every limitation you have failed to recognize or overcome, which you are either forced to or willingly accept. You are subjugated to countless things that are really beneath you, but which cause you to think less of your self. You are oppressed or defeated by every wrong that you do not confront, resolve, eradicate, or learn to rise above.
If you were to look at the daily life of a person addicted to drugs, the narrow choices they make, the limited options they can see, and the inevitability of suffering which derives from those choices — and you were fortunate enough to not be in that situation yourself — you might think: "I'm really thankful that my life isn't like that. It would be so oppressive and so hopeless."
Yet, in many ways, your life is probably a lot like that. You just have a different set of addictions, and are as lost in your own little self-centered world as the addict. Don't think so? Well, neither does the addict, who feels entirely in control of their life, and who feels as if their choices are bringing them exactly what they want and need, including greater happiness. It's called denial.
There is a strange phenomenon in which a person can be living in a state of bondage, bound by the enjoyment of the things they take pleasure in, and never realize they are living in a prison of their own mind, their own choices, their own desires. They never question their behavior, or what they are doing with their life, because their basic assumption is that they are doing exactly what they want to be doing, and getting what they want.
Isn't that the way nearly all of us live our lives, with that sort of self-centered, self-rationalizing, self-deceiving interpretation? It shapes our very perceptions, so that the things that are trapping us and binding us and leading towards greater suffering are interpreted as the opposite: we imagine they are freeing us and leading us towards greater happiness.
How many of us question the choices we are making in our lives? Do we question whether we need a super-sized, super-hamburger, super-fries, super-drink, and so on, or do we just go ahead and order what we want? Based upon the prevalence of junk-food franchises, it seems that most of us just go ahead and order more and more of this stuff ... which brings us "happiness"? Even if they call it a "happy meal," it is leading to obesity, clogged arteries, heart attacks, strokes, diabetes, and so on. What's so happy about that?
We walk through life imagining that we are "free," yet we live in bondage to all the choices that bring us suffering. The fact that we are "free" to choose between a large variety of options that will bring us greater suffering is not true freedom. Spiritually, freedom is not a quality of ignorance, or the egotistical arrogance to choose anything we like, whether it causes us or others harm or hurt. Freedom has a quality of discernment — choosing what is right, good, and true, rather than what is not. The idea is to be free from what brings us down, not to feel "right" about freely choosing what brings us down, ultimately.
It's kind of like the movie The Matrix. You are already living in a world of illusions. You can choose the blue pill or the red pill. You can choose to awaken or you can roll over and go back to sleep. It is entirely your choice and your responsibility. And, in many ways, your destiny. Either you accept the saving Grace, or not. But, one way or another, you choose.
As Shakespeare wrote, "All the world's a stage, and we but actors upon it." Most people are content to play the role they are playing, and never question it. If you told them that there was something more, something better, something other than the life that was defined by the boundaries of their personality traits, and the role they are currently playing in life, they would simply not be interested. They would not want to change. But, even then, we are all forced to give up this role, when we leave this world. We have no "choice" then. So, we would ask, again, if there was a better choice, here, now, and you didn't have to die in order to choose it and live it, wouldn't you be willing to, maybe, perhaps, choose it? For those who refuse to awaken to a Greater Reality, Shakespeare also wrote, "Life is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." That is life under the karmic system, in which you are given a role, set on the stage, and tell your tale, with gusto. You really get into it. And you imagine that it really means something, that you really are the role you play, that the stage set is real.
The truth is, it is all illusion. Everything we experience is merely an interpretation, representation, imagination, appearance, illusion, manifestation, or reflection of something — it is not "the real thing." In fact, what we "experience" may not be very real at all.
There is the touch of the Divine, which is real, and everything else, which is illusion.
We are here to help bring you out of illusion. You are the one who has to make that choice. No one else can do it for you.
4. The Value of Suffering
Suffering is not a "gift."
Problems are not a "gift."
Adversity is not a "gift."
And people who cause us problems and suffering in our lives are not a gift, and not our "greatest teachers," as the New Age philosophy is proud to declare. That is just a lie.
No matter what any so-called spiritual or religious authority may say, there is no value in suffering. None. Zero. It does not benefit the spiritual being who is suffering.
And, no matter how many spiritual authorities or philosophies declare that suffering is not real, that it is unreal because we forget it when we die, that is not true. Suffering erodes or destroys the human spirit. It drains the energy, Light, and divine consciousness from us, and leaves us fragmented, weak, polluted, and subjugated to negative forces beyond us which are not in our best interest.
Suffering is the means of crushing the human spirit (or any spirit, including that of animals).
Suffering is a basic requirement of the karmic system which has ruled this world for eons; transgress some arbitrary line and suffer; do something in ignorance of the karmic "law" and suffer, because ignorance is no excuse. There could not be a more unjust or nonspiritual system than that of karma. Not only is it inherently destructive of all that is good; it is applied selectively, to minimize rewards for good beings and to let evil beings have free reign.
The karmic system is an aberration from any true loving, helpful, system of learning. In order to appreciate this fact, you need to know that there is no such thing as karma, suffering, pain, disease, death, or separation from God in the rest of the Divine creation.
No one has ever learned anything of value from suffering, other than: suffering has no value.
People rationalize suffering because it is everywhere and everyone suffers. They say it must be "god's" will, it must be good for us, we must learn from it. Some spiritual teachings praise suffering and hurt as some sort of divine "gift" which empowers us. This is simply not the case.
Suffering wears down the spirit and soul, it does not build them up. We lose energy in suffering, and we grow less conscious, more constricted or bounded, less functional or able. As a result of suffering, we only suffer more.
What true loving parent (Father or Mother) would ever wish that their child suffered in life, so that they could "learn"? None. Well, neither would a true Father-Mother God ever wish suffering on us. And, suffering is not simply a "choice" we are making, to learn. It is an unjust imposition upon us, by forces which have made themselves intermediaries in our relationship with God. They stand between us and God. The karmic system does not bring us closer to God. It never has and it never will. It falsely stands in the place of Divine goodness, love, and Grace.
You cannot take a plant out of the light and expect it to grow better. You cannot take a being of Light out of the light, and expect them to grow better in spiritual darkness. Even more, there is no such thing as an optimum "balance" of good and evil in the life of a human being; light and darkness are not equal; spiritual darkness is not part of the "cycle" of life and growth for a spiritual being. We seek a return to the Light, not perpetuation of life in darkness, suffering, and hurt.
5. Paths to "Enlightenment"
There aren't really any paths to enlightenment.
That doesn't mean there is no such thing as a more enlightened state of being, but rather there is no road map or path that is sure to lead to such a state. It may or may not help to have a description of a place you would like to go, without actually being there or having a real way to be there. Enlightenment is not a fixed state of being. It isn't a place you arrive at.
The more a person knows who they are, the less they may seek to "become enlightened." It is a paradox. Not that being in a state of higher consciousness isn't desirable, but desire itself tends to fall off as one comes into a clearer sense of self.
Actually, lots of things fall off in the movement towards a more enlightened state of being, and none of it happens in any linear, prescribed, or predictable way. You cannot plan for enlightenment. You can't intend it and make it happen by intent or will power. And, you cannot "create" it. In fact, those who pursue enlightenment generally realize that they have no control over the process or the experience at all. None.
So, what does that say about there being some sort of known, predictable, or traditional "path" to enlightenment? There is none. Not even if you are following some well-known tradition. The map is not the territory; the territory does not reveal the destination; and the destination is not a fixed place or state. Being conformed to some fixed spiritual path is no better than being conformed to the world. You have to think for your self, ask your own questions, realize the answers (which will inevitably be different from what you have been taught or told), and find your own way.
Chaos and unpredictability extend to the subtle levels of experience. You may know which way the wind is blowing, and you may have followed the weather for a long, long time; and you may be mindful of the orange cloth that shows you exactly which way the wind is blowing at the moment; but, if you release a balloon into the air, you have no idea what will happen to it, what path it will follow, when it will meet with unexpected gusts, how its course will be altered, or where it will wind up. That's just a balloon in the wind. How much more complex and indecipherable is the "path" of enlightenment, in which you are moving in a direction you do not know, cannot see, and cannot predict?
This is why different people on the same spiritual "path," who practice the same techniques, may have entirely different experiences, and one may have a sense of enlightenment while the other has no sense at all of enlightenment. Is it because of how we are practicing, our intent, our commitment, or level of desire, or our deservingness? None of these is the ultimate reason why enlightenment eludes us, or our path is less than clear.
The reason is: there is no such thing as "becoming" enlightened, or "growth" of consciousness. There is no such things as a fixed, predetermined state of enlightenment.
Various sects in different traditions pronounce certain followers as "enlightened," giving them an official seal of approval. How absurd. Or they pronounce someone as being the reincarnation of a previously enlightened teacher, and therefore once again an enlightened teacher. How absurd. What makes anyone think they can tell if another person is "enlightened"? By how they answer a bunch of questions? By how still they are while sitting? By their desires? By the fact that they are crawling around on the floor as an infant in an "enlightened" way?
It is not possible to know the state of consciousness of another being, because you can only evaluate it in your state of consciousness. If someone were enlightened, it would be like trying to prove how clear they were by showing a high-definition picture on a standard definition TV. It is not possible. Whatever "enlightenment" is, does not fit within the narrow confines or bandwidth of this physical world. It cannot be seen by the senses or arrived at by the mind.
What is referred to as enlightenment is beyond the senses and the mind, beyond anything that can be experienced on the physical plane of existence. So, who imagines they can discern it, here? Not only are there no clear "paths" to enlightenment, there is no such thing as a clearly discernible enlightenment. So, if you are seeking to become enlightened, you need to know that you don't know where you are going, and no one else will have any idea when you arrive there.
The worst thing would be to live life in the expectation of some day arriving at a "state of enlightenment" in which you would experience peace, joy, or some other spiritual quality — and not ever learn how to find those things in the present moment, here, now. Waiting for enlightenment — or seeking a fixed "path" to a "predetermined" destination — is counterproductive or misleading.
We are supposed to live from Grace, with a connection to peace, joy, love, and the highest good, within us, here, now. It is not something which is removed from us or separate from us, but something we are meant to experience now. Imagining that there is a path to where you are supposed to be now, only puts that in the way.
6. Gurus, Lamas, Masters and Teachers
There have been some well-meaning people in places of spiritual authority, who have taken it upon themselves to uphold a tradition, to try to impart knowledge, or to live a life distinct from the norm as an "example" of enlightenment.
That being said, the vast majority of gurus, lamas, "masters," and appointed spiritual teachers have not led humanity to enlightenment, by their example, their teachings, or their adherence to tradition. There is much knowledge in spiritual traditions, but wisdom can only be found in us, in the seeker. And those who experience a higher state of consciousness are often unable to assist anyone else in the experience of that higher awareness.
Most often, spiritual teachings from gurus and lamas is of the form: do what I do, think what I do, believe what I do, and you will be in a state of enlightenment. That presupposes two things: that they are in fact in some state of enlightenment, and that by doing what they do you can get there. Neither of those is a given. In fact, many spiritual teachings are merely a rote recitation of what has been done before, and do not signify any state of enlightenment — or "path" to enlightenment.
Here's an example of what we mean. In problem solving, or the arriving at some deeper understanding of the nature of reality, what a person does is experience a deep level of intuition, which is then (perhaps) explained via the rational mind. Their understanding is merely an afterthought to what they realize on a deeper level of being. They may, however, try to explain their solution — and the way they arrived at it — in rational, linear, reasonable terms, and even steps, when in fact there were no steps. They simply arrived at that realization.
The same is true of spirituality and what is referred to as enlightenment. It is arrived at in a way that is not at all rational, linear, or reasonable. There are no steps. It is a state of realization, an experience of higher consciousness. And it does not help anyone to get there by describing what the experience is like, or what they have done to get there. Because they have not done anything that can be mimicked by anyone to get there themselves. It simply doesn't work that way.
And so we have some apparently well-meaning people who try to tell spiritual seekers how to be like them, who say things like: "Don't do anything, you are already enlightened," or "You are trying; don't try; it just is," or "Everything is one, just practice seeing things that way," or "Do all the rituals and practices that I did, and you will experience what I do." None of this works.
There are factors which make the quest for enlightenment even harder. There are gurus and "masters" who are there to confuse, trap, or mislead the unknowing seeker. They profit by the unawareness of the innocent. This is why there are gurus who can accumulate billions of dollars worth of assets, and countless devotees, while they claim to be living a "monk's" life. And, you can be sure, they do not lead anyone to enlightenment, no matter how many followers they have, how learned their teachings, or how fluent they might be in ancient dialects and traditions.
If there is one thing to be learned from all gurus, lamas, masters, and spiritual teachers, it is that you have to think for your self. Do not assume that you know less what is right, good, and true for you than do an endless list of self-appointed spiritual experts and authorities. In fact, you need to believe the opposite: that you have within you all the wisdom you need to be and live as who you truly are. Do not go looking for someone else to stand in the place, within you. Not anyone.
7. The Most Common Traps
The world may be filled with illusions, but they constitute a real problem or trap. Consider your own life. Are you trapped, trapped in your thinking, your actions, your emotions, your desires, your relationships, your worldly attachments, your social conditioning, your habitual existence? Do your thoughts, words, and actions agree with the norm? Have you become "acceptable" in the eyes of society and lost your true inner knowingness, inner direction, and spiritual vision in the process? Do you imagine you are free while you are incapable of thinking freely? Does the truth escape you?
The thoughts that run through your mind often come from others; they are other's ideas; they are other's desires; they are your programming. This is why it is so hard for a person to be truly creative. This is why it is so hard to have an original thought, to realize and express the truth. This is why you remain stuck in your problems — especially those which you cannot even recognize at all. By definition, one who is trapped is restrained or ensnared, physically, emotionally, mentally, or spiritually. The most effective and universal traps are those that:
- are not seen for what they are (illusory)
- include something desirable (bait), or
- cannot be seen at all (hidden).
For example, if you think you have a perfect career (which could be entirely illusory), have married the perfect spouse (which could just be romantic fantasy), or know perfectly well who rules the world (which is in fact totally hidden from view), you may have no idea at all the trap you are in. The most basic things you take for granted are not as you might imagine. Whatever keeps you from realizing the truth is a trap. Whatever keeps you from awakening is a trap, whether it is pleasant or unpleasant. Life is a minefield of traps, dead ends, and false successes. The more you think you are succeeding, the more likely you are failing, failing to find the deeper truths of life, failing to free yourself from the lies you have accepted. That is the origin of your doubt, confusion, or inability to resolve life's problems. If you cannot see what is there, or "see" what is not there, your choices and actions, your thinking and behavior, are baseless. This produces a great deal of fear, insecurity, and uncertainty.
There is nothing to fear about letting go of problems, rejecting wrong, rejecting self-negating influences, rejecting evil, rejecting the lie. Sure, those who are invested in your problems may react, and try to strengthen their grip on you, including relatives, peers, and social institutions. You will see for yourself, as you awaken, just who prefers that you remain asleep, in their trap. Institutions such as the church have a deathly fear of losing their absolute control over you — your own perceptions of right and wrong, good and evil. Those whose existence is based upon lies, fear losing their control over you. They will tell you that you are wrong and they are right. Why should anyone object to your being spiritually free? Be very wary of those who would seek to control you, your thinking, your mind, your choices, or your behavior.
Learn to bypass the emotions. The less emotionally activated you are, the less you are controlled by people and things outside you. Understand, emotion has no positive value. At the very least, it causes energy drainage, and loss of energy reduces awareness. Further, emotion is never a sound basis for action or choices you make. So, learn how to reject emotion, by not believing it, by not accepting it, by not letting it act through you or enter your behavior. You will be much more at peace within you as a result. And, you will be less susceptible to negative or evil influences around you. Learn to stand back from emotion, and find and maintain your inner peace. There is a difference between true awareness and fear. Fear fills the space created by a lack of awareness, denial, or lack of understanding. Awareness is a good thing. The willingness to deal with problems is a good thing. Fear is just an unnecessary impediment in that process.
Next, consider the mental level. You are responsible for what you do with the thoughts in your mind, what you accept and what you reject. Regardless of what forces may affect you, whether social conditioning, self-negating programming, etc., you must discern. Sort out what you want in your mind (truth) and what you do not (lies, self-deception, doubt, fear, illusions, etc.). This is, and can only be, your responsibility. If you honestly refer your experience to your True inner being, and listen to and follow your conscience, you will be much less susceptible to negative or evil influences around you. Fear has a way of absorbing all of your energy, all of your thinking. Do not give in to that. Decide that you will let go of your fears long enough to get some perspective, to think things through without emotion, to look for true solutions. And let in a bit of Light and Truth to dispel the darkness. Realize, it is a positive step to let go of the negative. You don't need any further justification than that.
Exercise Two: Take a little time to survey your life, where you are, where you have been where you are heading. What traps have you fallen into, and did you see them as traps at the time? Do you still have an allegiance to something that no longer serves you? Have you committed yourself to a spiritual "path" that doesn't really lead anywhere? Do you have greater awareness now? Do you carry with you any upset, trauma, or damage to your sense of self or self-worth? Do you rationalize or accept thoughts or feelings from the past that no longer serve you, or which attack your peace of mind? (in 200 words or less)
Be aware of attacks on the psychic level which manifest in your mind. As you go through this world you are subjected to the thinking and fears of others. They saturate our society, and can be very self-negating. You may not even realize that some fear you have is not really your own. Perhaps it is the pressure of the way others think or feel, around you. They may greatly fear death. Or, they may have fears about life. Most people walk around with a lot of fear inside, and it does in fact spill over to affect others they are in contact with. It may be unspoken and unseen, but it exists on the psychic level.
8. Psychic Realms — the Astral Level
The world of illusions extends beyond the physical realm, through the astral level. The astral level is a more subtle level of existence, and it is where beings go between lives. The astral level has many heaven and hell worlds, where beings experience the "rewards" of their actions in the physical world.
The astral level is where we are convinced, life after life, of the necessity of reincarnating to work out more of our karma. We are never told that this process is basically endless, and that we are never free of karma (the consequences of our prior actions).
The astral level, which is as "real" to its inhabitants as our world is to us, is the source of the most popular false spiritual teachings, which masquerade as "truth" and "wisdom" on this Earth. They are very deceptive, and intended to perpetuate the karmic system of suffering, no matter how glorious and worthwhile they try to make life sound on Earth. It is a common myth that "the angels envy us, in physical bodies" because we get to feel and experience what they cannot, on the higher levels. That is not the least bit true.
Most people have no idea that they have been conditioned and programmed from a time that precedes their physical birth. On the astral level or "soul plane," every basic ability or weakness you have, physically, mentally, emotionally, psychically, or otherwise, was programmed prior to your physical birth. Your parents were determined as well, usually to maximize the programming effect, or the "lessons" you were to learn in this life, in this virtual world.
This world does its best to bury your True spiritual essence, from the moment you incarnate. After you are separated you from your True self, it sends you looking for "love," "happiness," and "success" — as some sort of compensation for losing your Self. People often mistake their "compensation" (money, for example) for true success; yet, they fail to even know who they are or realize their true inner being. This is very common in society. People are programmed to chase after success and happiness outside themselves, imagining that happiness is a result of something outside them, or that it will "happen" to them at some point in life. But, they are greatly disappointed, because happiness is not found outside them; the things they chase after in the name of "success" do not ultimately make them happy; and regardless of what they achieve, they must always die and lose it all in the end. Money, sex, drugs, alcohol, power, relationships, materialism, religious indoctrination — all of these are just traps that increase suffering and exploitation, even though they may make you "feel" good.
The limitations we experience in this life are predetermined before we are even born. And, unless we are able to do something extra-ordinary, those limitations and difficulties are carried with us throughout our lives, and we do not rise above them. After a given life on Earth, we return to the astral level where we review our "progress" in overcoming our limitations; the process is endless, because we are set up to lose ourselves in the world from the moment we take birth here. Making all kinds of self-defeating choices, we dig ourselves in more deeply in the karmic system. And, no matter how unreal this life might seem from the astral level, the fact is, we cannot awaken from this dream and be free. It just does not happen for people who see life on Earth as being in "the real world."
9. Real Life
Is it possible to live a real life in the world of the unreal? Can you be true to yourself in a world of lies and untruths? How do you get past the illusions of life, the traps and limitations, and get free?
There are two paths in life, an upward path and a downward path. There are, in this society, lots of people making lots of money, having lots of sex, seeking lots of power, exploiting everything and everyone. They have given up any spiritual basis for their lives. They have given up the basic inner spiritual guideline for thinking, choosing, and acting: what is right, good, and true to the Highest.
We are not supposed to hold everything in life (including ourselves) to the lowest standard of ego, emotion, and desire, but to the highest standard of Goodness, Truth, and Light. Unless you do so, every step, every thought and action, every desire, will be measured against a false standard. Your every step is going in the wrong direction, spiritually. But, because the world rewards such behavior with ego pride, aggrandizement, approval, money, pleasure, and recognition, you might imagine you are going in the right direction. As long as you keep getting that reinforcement for your behavior, you might never look back. And, you might never look more deeply within yourself. You can live your entire life like that, never taking a single step in the direction of True spiritual Peace, Truth, Love, and Light. All you have are false, empty, substitutes for what remains missing within you.
You may have had many, many lives in the charade of reincarnation. And, they have effectively brainwashed you. If you were to have a life of relative "success" you might think you were really getting somewhere. But, your next life might very likely be one of abject poverty, hunger, and hopelessness in some Third World country. What then was your "success" if not an illusion?
If a person suffers from nightmares, he or she might simply hope to have a pleasant dream — this is precisely what we have been taught, programmed, indoctrinated, brainwashed, or forced into. Another dream. Another illusion. Another dream "life" which has nothing to do with who we truly are, and Real Life. Having had countless tortured lives, lives of suffering, disease, loss, and death, we are brainwashed into hoping for a "good" life. And so we habitually spend our lives seeking life's little pleasures, which are absolutely meaningless: money, position in life, sex, foods, drinks, and so on. None of these things can possibly bring us happiness because they are means by which we forget who we truly are, what Life really is, who God is, and what we really doing here. Our True Life is of God, our Father-Mother; Life is not this dream we are in, this absurd role we are playing, or the "successes" we find in this world of illusions.
A real life takes a certain surrender to the Highest Good. This means getting your lower, ego-emotional nature out of the way; getting real, finding your real self, and living from there, not growing an ever bigger ego or non-self. The ego is just a false role, shaped by the world, that you are forced to play in the world; and it wants what it wants, not what you want. Life is not a matter of negotiating with the ego, yours or anyone else's. It is not you starring in your own version of "Let's Make a Deal." Realize, if you get everything you could ever want for your ego — and you can't because ego is never satisfied — you would still have nothing for your self, your true self. You would have given everything to the "not you," and the real you would have nothing.
The same is true of all relationships. If you work out a deal in which you get what you want — and it is generally the ego-emotional nature that has all of those wants and desires — it is your ego that gets it; you still don't get anything. Of course, the real you doesn't really need very much from outside you; it mainly needs to find what it needs within you. If you keep looking outside you, or try to get what you want from others, the real you will remain self-doubting, unfulfilled, and somehow empty, inside. You cannot fill yourself up with any other person. You can only build your ego, fantasies, or illusions that way, mistakenly. Once you realize that you cannot "get" anything you need within you, from someone or something outside you, you can begin to look for and find it in you.
10. Reality and Illusion
Have you ever had moments when it seemed like nothing was real?
There is a difference between what might be called greater awareness and what medical professionals might prefer to think of as some kind of neurosis or psychosis. Let them sort out what they consider to be "normal" or not; that is not our focus here. We are simply going to point out the value in discerning between reality and illusion.
New Agers have a saying that they "create their own reality." But, that isn't the case. Generally, we live in a world of illusions and create even bigger illusions. It is extremely rare for a person to have any sense at all of the Greater Reality.
How well does a person manage in life or in business if they hold a lot of financial illusions? How well does a person manage if they hold a lot of spiritual illusions, if they mistake what is worthless for what is of value, if they do not know the difference between truth and indoctrination? How well do we do, if we do not know how to draw upon our own resources, if we remain lost in illusions, ego, pride, and narrowness of vision — individually or collectively?
Our lives are filled with political "realities," economic "realities," scientific "realities," and so on, which have almost nothing at all to do with Reality. They are more a realm of illusion. Things we believe to be real and true today turn out to be illusory and untrue, tomorrow.
The interpretations we "learn" and bestow upon everything in our world are not necessarily accurate or helpful in assisting us in avoiding suffering. They can be very self-limiting or self-destructive.
It is generally easier to cope with your "world" the more aware you are. Here is a simple example: in a room with furniture, rugs, lamps, and so on, it is good to know where everything is — and what proper relationship to have with it. You need to know that a wooden table is hard, and that you would probably suffer if you walked into it and hit your shin.
In a similar way, you evaluate and interpret everything in your experience. Most people habitually use "traditional" interpretations, popular programming, cultural values, and the prevailing social and political indoctrination to form their perceptions, understanding, and relationships with the world at large.
It is very rare to step outside of our conditioning and programming, see things as they really are, and respond from a place of higher consciousness, true awareness, wisdom, truth, and integrity. Instead, we have been compromised in being in the world, and are overly shaped and conformed by the world.
We develop a relationship with the unreal, rather than seeing it for what it is, and we do this in all areas of life. A common example would be the thousands of people who send birthday cards or wedding cards to the characters on daily soaps, feeling that the characters portrayed by actors and actresses are somehow real.
How many people think that "reality television" is Reality, or that what their politicians say must be true? How many people think televangelists are their link or connection with God? How many people cannot tell the difference between what is real and what is illusion in their relationships, or sell out, or settle for not having real love in their lives? Too many.
How do we keep from stumbling into things, hurting ourselves, or being hurt by others? How do we come to know what is ultimately of value, and what is not? Unfortunately, popular traditions and social trends often lead us astray — they cater to our illusions rather than providing us with real solutions, real answers, or the Greater Reality.
How do we live in the context of a greater reality if we are not presently experiencing it? Is it more true to live within the boundaries and constraints of our lives — in the world — or to live in the greater Reality of spiritual life? Why not seek a life that is less bounded, less habitual, less lived out of custom and tradition, less formed by socialization and programming, less indoctrinated and conformed to the thinking of others?
How are we to live that Way?
How are we to live in the world in a way that is true to who we are, and arrive at a Greater Reality?