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| the way of wise words> inspirational sayings and stories inner dialogues recommended reading ask cosmic-cherry a question |
Reality or is it?
"If
I perceive I have thee, then I have thee; for all reality is but
perception" John Donne 1571? -1631
What is reality?
Is it a myth? Is it the ultimate truth? Is it ‘in here’
or ‘out there’? Is it to be found where I inhabit the
universe? Is it the word I use to describe my personal circumstances?
Does my supposed reality determine how I live my life?
Getting to grips with reality is a ‘real’ challenge.
Because most of my thoughts and actions stem from my belief in
some kind of ‘reality’, it’s important for me to
know what I ‘really’ mean!
I’m going to ask myself a few basic questions and see how
my answers open up the wisdom of the real and the unreal.
What does my brain do?
It physically processes the information that I have genetically
inherited and the information that I continually perceive and
conceive throughout my lifetime – ideas! Then there’s
my mind...
What does my mind do?
It uses these ideas as information. It deals with these ideas
as if they represent reality. But they are merely thoughts, ideas
about reality.
Therefore my mind does not process reality.
My perceptions, my beliefs and my emotions shape my ideas about
reality.
In this way, I actually create this concept that I call reality.
If indeed I create my own reality, then I can create ‘a reality’
that suits my purpose on this earth at this time and in this space.
So how should I think? What should
I do? I can choose!
I can set myself the idea of a purpose: "My purpose is to
be happy and to help others by spreading this happiness. I am
mindful of my purpose to be happy." This may sound simplistic
but ‘in reality’ it is far from simplistic.
When I consider that for many people happiness is one of the hardest
things to achieve, I begin to understand the complexity of my
task. "I vow to make happiness a ‘realistic’ purpose
that is within my reach if I put my mind to it.
I acknowledge that happiness is extremely difficult to achieve
if I hold an unrealistic idea of reality."
Even though happiness is my purpose, there will be times when
I experience pain and suffering. This cycle of happiness and suffering
is ‘a reality’ for me and for everyone, reflecting the
duality of the universe. But I now realise that I have a choice!
I can choose to create a reality that looks no further than my
suffering, or I can choose a reality that looks for opportunities
and silver linings! I can think and act in ways that manifest
joy and abundance.
THINGS I’M LEARNING TO BE
calm ~ content ~ connected
wise ~ wonderful ~ well
positive ~ peaceful ~ precious
fearless ~ forgiving ~ free