Most people, however bad their life might seem from time to
time, don’t want to leave it. The fact is, people are addicted to this human game. I see it as a game that we, for mysterious
reasons, have decided to play. After all, what else is there to do?! We don’t
know.
But what happens when
we die – leave the human game? Many
people have beliefs, perhaps strongly
held and even exclusive, but few have certainties, based in experience. My personal belief takes its source in what
happens to a dream character when we wake up.
The character is seen to have had no real existence, though we didn’t realize
this while we were dreaming. I think that’s
what happens when we die. I cannot say “I”
will see that I had no real existence, since “I” will be seen to have never
really existed – to have been imaginary, with a body somewhat like a counter in
a board game, enabling me to play, collect rewards and forfeits, compare
myself with others etc. We call this “real
life” since that’s how it appears to us, and if we understood that it is no more
real than a dream, it might lose some of its excitement. Like the follower of
this blog who unfollowed me when I queried “is life important?” Life, to her, still relatively young, was
vividly important.
Who, then, will see that I was only a dream character? We have to resort to impersonal verbs: “it
will be seen” – like that. The really fascinating thing is that for
some, this seeing has occurred while they were still actively playing this
dream game. They tell us that though life is transformed, it still continues much as before, though since it's apparently a dream in which they no longer have a personal identity, they see it very differently.
Should anyone be interested in acquiring this “seeing,” it seems it
cannot be commanded.
I may continue this
subject in a day or two.
Malcolm, I am never sure what to say about this line of philosophizing of yours. I think that, in principle, I agree with this. However, for me, it works better to conceptualize life (mine) as a leaf floating on the surface of running water. From the center of the leaf, my world can seem solid and maybe even stable, but if I could see it from the bank, I'd recognize that it is not that at all; not stable, not solid; not something that can be chosen or directed; and not at all unique. It is part of some flow that originates and terminates at points beyond my personal ken. When I get into that "floating" awareness, things seem much simpler. I can relax out of the driven need to "drive the boat" as it were.
ReplyDeleteKeep sharing your thinking on this, my friend. I find it stimulating.
Yes I like the idea of a floating leaf. Have to cogitate that some.
ReplyDelete