Our reality the illusion, what do we do about it?

[mcdwg]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8tbm8Es35Y

I came across these youtube videos that really gave a great perspective on what we call reality. I know many of us have heard that our world, our reality is just an illusion so we shouldn't get too attached to it, but what if  just like some of the speakers say why don't we just play along not to be the best, not to find a purpose, but to just experience.

A speaker gave an analogy that our life is like a movie, we go to the movie and we get very immersed in it to the point that we get ticked off, happy, cry, etc. We don't go to the movies to say oh it's just fake, for those two hours or whatever time it takes we get caught up in the movie. So if our life is like a movie and if we know that is not real do we just try to get away from it or dismiss it or do we play along to see what happens next.

Many have said that this movie sucks and they want out others like myself will say that hey maybe it's not too bad maybe i'll play along and learn from this human experience, but in the meantime whether we want to be here or not we are always looking for something, is it fulfilment, financial freedom, happiness, security, and it gets tricky here because all of these can be very relative depending on the individual, all these most likely will not be long term anyways.

We have been programed from our birth that going to school, getting a degree, getting married, having kids, getting the house, the car, that all these can give us happiness or fulfillment, but of course this is not true. After getting our degree we feel like we accomplish our goal but now we have to start paying the loans, and get married and have kids but then things don't work out so we get a divorce but I get to keep the car but after a while the car gets old so I get a new one and now I have more debt.

So what is it that we're looking for, after watching these videos I really think that all we're looking for is true joy, the joy of just being here, the joy of the moment, but of course then the ego comes along and starts saying but what about this, and that, and the other putting up security blankets

I sometimes like to watch youtube videos of mission trips to third world countries and many of these missionaries describe the fact that when they go into these countries for some reason people seem to enjoy their life even if they have little food or very little material things, and what this tells me is that even though these people have barely anything that they enjoy life a lot more because they are enjoying the moment since they don't know what tomorrow will bring, we on the other hand are constantly cluttering our mind with what about tomorrow, next week, next month, next year, next five years, how much will i make, what kind of car should i get and in the process of wanting more and more we of course are destroying our human world because of excess.

So our reality is an illusion that we as creators develop every day, going to work saying how it will suck is the reality that we will create or we can just create a reality of enjoying that day fully embracing whatever comes our way because we know in the end is just another experience that we can learn from.

I never thought I would write this much and my ego is saying but what if you make no sense or people think you don't know how to write, oh well I had joy writing it and that is what matters, there are nine videos that I watched they are really good in my opinion.

Take care

[CFTraveler]

What do we do?  Create what we want.

[grzazek]

Great isnight there mcdwg, a lot of great points. Personally, I would give up all these material possessions in favor of a hunter gatherer type lifestyle, but i don't wanna be that person on my own  .

[mcdwg]

Great isnight there mcdwg, a lot of great points. Personally, I would give up all these material possessions in favor of a hunter gatherer type lifestyle, but i don't wanna be that person on my own  .

Thanks for the reply grzazek,

I think once in a while we all feel like getting away from all this craziness, media influence, traffic, fast pace lifestyle that we have, but at the same time we still want the ammeinities that we have grown up with. I picture this guy in the middle of nowhere with his family enjoying the wildlife in his RV with a satellite tv on, portable pool, portable stove, it is really hard to let go. At the same time we feel that since we have access to virtually anything we want then those people in third world countries must be really miserable, when in fact they may enjoy life a lot more than we do.

A lot of times I watch these mission trips and they are so excited that they will provide something to these people, they will make them happy wit the new house, and the new water well, but in the end it is them that are forever changed because they realize that even though these communities may not have much they would share whatever they had with them and welcomed them in open arms, they go out to give something material but they come back with a sense of great joy having lived with these communities and getting something greater in terms of spirituality.

So when we do something for someone that is not asking for our help then all we're doing is satisfying our ego, telling ourselves wow I am a good person. Classic example the spanish conquistadors who brought christianity to this world saying that the natives needed it to be saved, or they would be condemned to hell.

something is clicking oomething is clicking, the veil is going away literally, this is awesome

[Stookie]

A lot of times I watch these mission trips and they are so excited that they will provide something to these people, they will make them happy wit the new house, and the new water well, but in the end it is them that are forever changed because they realize that even though these communities may not have much they would share whatever they had with them and welcomed them in open arms, they go out to give something material but they come back with a sense of great joy having lived with these communities and getting something greater in terms of spirituality.

At the same time we feel that since we have access to virtually anything we want then those people in third world countries must be really miserable, when in fact they may enjoy life a lot more than we do.

My parents have done several mission trips and my mom's daily job is at a non-profit that resettles refugees. My Dad was in Peru last month and will tell you, they may be proud, they may be caring, they may make the best out of their situation, but they would not choose it.

The people he was helping were widows whose husbands were killed several years ago by rebels. His group helped turn their run-down shacks into a not-so-run-down shacks with a place to store their water so they don't have to walk back and forth to the well that is turned on by the government for 2 hours twice a week. He said they were some of the most grateful people he's ever met. And this does change the people who go there to help, for the better. They become even more compassionate.

All the places my parents have gone to were places where the people could not help themselves after some sort of crisis, such as an earthquake. It's not like they are living happy in the woods - 3rd world living is real, refugees are real, illness without medical help is real. That's where mission trips go.

I see what you're saying though: like an african tribe that still hunts and lives in it's roots (and haven't been slaughtered by rebels with machetes - it happens).

Anyways, I agree with CF.

[Xanth]

Life is an illusion... not a new concept by any stretch of the imagination, but it's one that really grabs our attention, at least mine.
That's a great video, and I absolutely love the analogies made in it.

Really nice find, mcdwg. 

[mcdwg]

My parents have done several mission trips and my mom's daily job is at a non-profit that resettles refugees. My Dad was in Peru last month and will tell you, they may be proud, they may be caring, they may make the best out of their situation, but they would not choose it.

I see what you're saying Stookie, but I think it still falls within how a reality can be seen in some many different ways. One example I would say is of those so many refugees that have been brought to the US. i have seen many cases where they were placed with a host family, were given a job, eventually a place to live, they may have their family already here, so in essence they have been provided everything they need but if you ask them how do they feel many of them would say they miss where they came from, their land, their sense of community.

I say this because I went through this myself, I lived in a thirld world country for 14 years until I came here, I am ow 33 and even though I feel greatful to this nation for giving me the opportunity of doing so many things I never thought I could, like joining the Military. I can honestly say I still miss many of the simplicities back when I was in that country. We barely had anything, but fortunately we had our basic needs met. did I dream of living here, oh yes I did because of the many opportunities it offers. But I do miss playing with my friends in the woods, enjoying nature, and not rushing to do anything because life was simple.

Your parents helping in crisis situations is very commendable because it is much needed, so let me put it this way, the way I seee it is if  I am walking and break my leg then I need help to get where I was going but If i am walking enjoying my walk and somebody says hey you need a ride get in the car, do i really need the ride, not really. I may take it but I was fine the way I was. Lame example but I hope you get my reasoning.

Take care

[Stookie]

I see what you're saying Stookie, but I think it still falls within how a reality can be seen in some many different ways. One example I would say is of those so many refugees that have been brought to the US. i have seen many cases where they were placed with a host family, were given a job, eventually a place to live, they may have their family already here, so in essence they have been provided everything they need but if you ask them how do they feel many of them would say they miss where they came from, their land, their sense of community.

I suppose in many cases it's true they miss their home and community, but to be a refugee, you don't have a home anymore - it's gone, burned to the ground, families slaughtered, your moved to refugee camp, and there is no where to go. This classifies refugee status.

I know from my mom that some refugees don't do well and have a hard time adapting in a new country, especially learning our economy and budgeting. But they really don't have anywhere else in the world they can go. "Home" isn't an option.

I think we're getting off point though. I really like the idea of going back to a time of small communities, hunting, fishing, farming, and having a real community of people that you actually know and work with and have fun with. We live in cramped subdivisions in $200,000 houses that are 5 feet apart from each other and don't hardly interact with our neighbors.

But doing that in a society that is already established in a certain way seems near impossible. The best a person can do if they decide to live in a society like ours, is choose to live in a way that fits their morals and ideals (not societies) as best they can. I come across a lot of people who seem to feel stuck and forced to live a certain way and blame it on the world around them, but it's easy: you just have to realize that you do have a choice. The more you "will" your life circumstance, the more you will see through the illusion, and the closer you will come to liberating yourself from it. It's real freedom you can feel, not laws that tell you you're free. And then you can be an example for others that are "stuck" in society.

If i am walking enjoying my walk and somebody says hey you need a ride get in the car, do i really need the ride, not really.

I love that statement! Very "Thoreau-ish". Thoreau used the same example when trains were the most popular form of travel. He said if you had a meeting in another town and you took the train, you could get there in a couple hours, have time to rest in a hotel before the meeting, and basically kill time with little experience to be had. Walking there it would take a full day, but with open eyes, you can experience the wonder of the world around you, enjoy nature, enjoy the walk, and have a greater experience to take with you in the long run.

[Pauli2]

The illusion is the reality. There is nothing you can do about it.

[mcdwg]

The illusion is the reality. There is nothing you can do about it.

Respectfully I disagree with you since we are the ones who create the reality, as creators we can do lots, I mean whether we realize it or not, we create our realities even in our sleep.

[OutOfThePrison]

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1406370011028154810#

[OutOfThePrison]

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1406370011028154810#docid=-5003968210604570515

[Xanth]

It's simple really.
There's no such thing as a false reality.
You can't be somewhere and that somewhere be fake.

It's all real.

Watching those videos now. 
Just wanted to comment before hand.

[OutOfThePrison]

It is the best scientific exploration about the Non-Physical. These videos are amazing!

[Stookie]

It's simple really.
There's no such thing as a false reality.
You can't be somewhere and that somewhere be fake.

It's all real.

Watching those videos now. 
Just wanted to comment before hand.

It might all be real, but not necessarily in the way perceived.

[Xanth]

Well, I'm saying that it's real in the sense that whatever reality I find myself in, physical or non physical, everything is quite solid.
Whatever reality I'm in, it's "real".

I'm not sure I can explain it anymore than that really.  LoL 

I always say, you can't spell Reality without Real.

[Stookie]

Well, I'm saying that it's real in the sense that whatever reality I find myself in, physical or non physical, everything is quite solid.

I know the everything around me here is physically "solid", yet I also know it's solidity is an illusion. My physical perception drives that illusion. Non-physical experiences can be the same.

What your describing is your perception of reality. So what you perceive, correct or not, becomes your reality. Change your perception, and it's not that reality anymore, it's changed into a different reality. So then you have to ask where it stops at. Is there a point where perception is pure without influencing your perceived reality? And if perception defines our reality, wouldn't perception itself be the reality, not what's being perceived?