What Is Real?

In the Seth exercise in my former blog, “Magic and Dreams, Framework 2,” Seth suggests that our thoughts are more real than physical reality. He also suggested that our dreams are more real than physical reality.

For anyone born and raised on this planet, there is nothing more real than physical reality. From the time we are very young, we learn that physical reality can be quite pleasurable or it can be quite painful. In either case, it seems quite real.

We must at least recognize that our physical experience is quite subjective. No two of us experience life in quite the same way. Everything that happens to us every day is perceived through a lifetime of other experiences. We all perceive physical reality through various colored lenses.

We do not see life as it is. We see life as we are. We certainly do not see ourselves with any objectivity. We live according to our thoughts or ideas about ourselves, about others, and about the world.

In the midst of this subjectivity there must be someone that we can call the True Self. If such a self exists, the finding and actualizing of that self could be seen as a common spiritual goal. How do we go about finding that self and how do we go about recognizing what is true or false about the self we currently know?

Seth is suggesting that our thoughts are more real than our physical experiences. While that seems counterintuitive or downright outrageous, there are some analogies for such a viewpoint. The painter is more real than the painting, the inventor more real than her inventions, the idea more real than its actualization.

Nothing exists that was not first imagined in someone’s mind, even if that mind was God’s. The life we experience is the life we have thought up, the life we have imagined, the life we have dreamed.

If we are not happy with that life, we need to have some different thoughts, imagine and dream something better. One of the big problems with that is that much of what we create in life may be the result of unconscious thoughts or beliefs. If our thoughts, imagination, and beliefs are unconscious, how can we possibly change them?

Depending on what you believe, the self that you are today and the life you are experiencing can be seen as the result of your childhood as well as all of the experiences leading up to the present. It is also possible that some of what you are experiencing is due to a past life. How does one disentangle all of that?

I have found over the years that it actually isn’t necessary to understand the source of our current woes, whether it is a physical issue, a relationship issue, a financial issue, or a primarily spiritual issue.

There are those who believe that no one can be healed mentally or emotionally without understanding and healing their childhood. Others may believe that past life work is the only way to understand current life problems. Still others see dream work as the Holy Grail to life healing. In the physical, psychological, and spiritual marketplace there are enough healing methodologies to fill a library.

My belief is that there is no one system of thought, no one healing methodology, no best spiritual system for everyone. The best system for you is the one that appeals to you, the one that works for you. If someone tells you that they have found the truth (especially the capital “T” Truth), run as fast as you can. No one has a corner on the truth for you.

In my next blog I will talk about how you can change your life without ever knowing the “cause” of your troubles. I will also talk about how you can find out what your unconscious may be creating behind your back.