Why Reality is Imaginary: from a Non dual/ Advaita Vedanta perspective
This might be my ultimate post where nothing will be said after it on the matter, but we’ll see
Now first things first, I want to dissect this thing called ‘reality’ as we know it by stripping away it’s realness. Everything you can have an experience of or determine as a singular or independent object/ phenomenon is entirely and absolutely classified, described and interpreted by the mind; that is to say separate from the mind’s determinations there would be no understanding (for lack of a better word) of it.
A quick example, let us take for instance an apple —the name apple is imposed on the object by the mind, the color red or green is determined in the mind, the taste, texture and feel are all qualities that are interpreted first by the mind before the assumed existence of the ‘apple’ so on that note, since all we’ll only ever be able to perceive is what is immediately defined by the mind then we cannot know anything but the mind. So who is to say whether these mental assumptions ( because that’s what they are and you’ll see why in a sec) are true? Certainly not us as we cannot know anything but what the mind determines
We can’t ask an external source either because regardless that instance would be a hundred percent also be a description made by the mind and if we dare to go deeper , the experience as a whole of going to confirm from an apparent external source would be also a hundred percent determined by the mind which just means the experience would be akin to what we call an assumption, a guess, a made up scenario which brings me to my next point
The physical world does not exist
Now that we have established that we cannot verify if what we experience is true on account of the fact that experience itself is shaped by mind, we can further deconstruct reality too and what better way to do that than to disprove the physical world
It’s simple to see really, once you truly understand my initial explanation of the mind being one with experience then surely you can also see that includes the apparent solid world as well; which once again occurs within mind. Since the mind is what is determining reality then even the concept of an existence of a solid physical world is also determined by the mind which means the concept of a physical world cannot be genuinely verified separate from the story of it. The mind comes first not the experience—keenly notice this while you observe experience, you will see that naturally the mind’s stories comes first and infact instantly with the experience
Breathe, I promise it’s not complicated, you already know this you just need to settle down and notice it—remember what you know
But of course we have to know why this mind is even able to have an ‘effect’ on us, how can it come to be? Let’s move on then shall we?
Mind is only known due to SELF/ THAT/ Awareness/“ ”
In truth even the ‘mind’ is also an assumption because it is qualified and we cannot know if such thing truly exists
So how does the mind’s stories come before our observation? That is because something greater and beyond the mind is at play. Do you notice how you are always Aware of the mind’s theatrics and conclusions? Do you notice how even through the worst most terrible experiences there is a seemingly unaffected Awareness
This Awareness is what allows for the mind to even exist, the fact that You (capital Y) can know of the mind means you are beyond this mind and it also means the stories could not ‘exist’ if You were not able to give it life by witnessing/observing it
If there is no knower then there cannot be the known , something cannot happen if there is not SomeThing which is noticing what is happening. So this means the mind is purely and absolutely dependent on Self to be, even as mind is the world You are what gives the world an ability to be known
Which further disproves the mind of any sort of experience, it is transient which makes it unreliable; very quickly an assumption (not an experience because we are wise enough to know experience doesn’t really exist by now)can change . A man once believed he was never going to get rich, this was the assumption he noticed for years and took as truth, but then one day a powerful prophet told him he was going to be the richest man in the land and instantly that previous idea of poverty he had, disappeared.
You see what a feeble thing an assumption is? You might say the idea only changed because something apparently outside influenced it but that apparent external influence is a not actually external or real—it too was just another assumption but he didn’t know that because he didn’t understand the unreality of the world and the mind
Luckily now you guys do, thanks to me 😉
What does all this mean? It means reality only exists as an assumption in the space of Awareness/Self/THAT—not in the experiences and not in the physical world , this means there is no actual separation from anything (non-duality) except what is imagined, if it is imagined then it is unreal
This means both an “imagination” and a “reality” have the exact same defining qualities, which is , it is interpreted by the mind and made known by Awareness, You
I can stop here but let’s get juicier
Everything you can know of exists
If You didn’t know of something it wouldn’t exist, we know that now
So that means what you know of exists and that includes the ‘experience’ you prefer. Whether it be a million dollars or a golden dragon—so long as you can know it then it IS, fully and completely in that moment, it IS
If the argument is that you don’t see it then I’m disappointed in you, by now you should know that the physical reality isn’t actually physical, it only is an assumption that ‘exists’ because it is before Self (which actually means it doesn’t exist)
If you treat everything with this knowledge in mind then nothing holds power over you because nothing is actually real, whether it is a bad experience or a negative thought—it doesn’t actually exist
All experience is the mind
The mind or it’s stories cannot be verified as the truth because everything is qualified by mind
There is no actual physical reality
The mind is known due to Self which is You
Whatever is known is exactly what IS because everything only exists as an imagination within Self
Choose what you want and have it immediately
I hope this post was helpful, I feel like it would be cause I tried to touch on many areas. Remember to stay with what is real while enjoying and choosing what you want; this is the essence of ‘experience’.