Is life simply a dream?

Is life simply a dream?

By Jimmy Henderson FRC

‘Reality is merely an illusion, although a very persistent one.’

Albert Einstein

Metaphors are also very useful in explaining what is meant by some writers when they refer to the world as an illusion, a delusion or a dream. As conscious beings we can all dream, so there is no logical reason why a cosmic singularity such as a universal Mind should not also be able to create complex dreamlike scenarios as well in which we, as self-conscious archetypal images, would be merely actors. In other words, every event taking place in this world may merely be a dramatisation in a collective dream. Although our sensations, emotions and experiences would seem very real in terms of our limited faculties, within the dream, our experiences may only be due to changes in our consciousness and perception.

“Indeed, the whole world is imagination, while He is the Real in Reality. Whoever understands this knows all the secrets of the Spiritual Path.”

Ibn Al-'Arabi

The fact that we all essentially have the same experience of life and reality would suggest that this one dream is shared by all, and this once again supports the idea of a collective (cosmic) mind.

This dream-metaphor can also explain a number of scientific, psychological, philosophic and religious theories and paradoxes presented in the world today. For example, it answers the question of why in science, we are as yet, unable to discover the ultimate source of reality. When reality is viewed as a shared dream within a collective Mind, and we and our thoughts are seen as an integral part of this dream, it makes sense that we will be unable to stand back and view it from the outside.  

In psychology, the dream-metaphor has some support from research into the structure and functioning of our perceptual processes, which suggests that we may have constructed a self-imposed veil of delusion to hide a reality which is, as yet, not able to be mentally processed.  Research also shows that our own dreams are the result of issues and tensions seeking resolution, and philosophically, using the dream metaphor, human history could similarly be seen as a process of adjustment, correction (resolution) and expansion taking place within a collective Mind or consciousness.

The dream metaphor introduces another possibility, that within the shared dream, we each have a higher self or soul that is a dreamer in its own right. In terms of this analogy, the human soul could be compared to the eye of a storm, a centre of pure self-awareness surrounded by levels of perceptual (sensory), emotional and psychological activity which flow and feed from this core. In other words, one’s experience of human life is ultimately limited to a series of or enactments involving a multitude of characters and scenarios which could be compared to a theatrical dramatisation or even a personal dream. 

This would suggest that each person’s personal circumstances and experiences are the result of his or her own co-created dream and explains the religious dilemma that error and imperfection exists and yet the soul remains pure and is not subject to corruption. They remain like dust on the cloak of spirituality and can be shaken off through a process of acknowledgement, confession and forgiveness. In other words, inner resolution is more a process of ‘letting go’ to unveil the authentic self rather than trying to construct a more perfect sense of self. At the end of the day, perceived imperfections merely represent a lack of understanding of the role and purpose of the collective dream, and these will eventually dissolve into nothingness, leaving behind the only reality, which is consciousness itself.

 ‘The branches of a tree are shaken by the wind; the trunk remains unmoved’.

Helena Blavatsky

Finally, the metaphor of the dream can also help to explain a number of controversial religious ideas such as rebirth and reincarnation. In everyday life we fall asleep and dream, awaken to new experiences, only to later fall asleep and dream again. Yet we remain the same person. This process could also apply to souls as well, having to pass through different dreams (spheres of experience) until they awaken fully.

The goal of life in the case of this metaphor would be to fully understand the nature of the dream and then to awaken to the reality which precedes the dream. In order to do this one would have to learn to step outside of the dream and view it objectively, as if it were a motion-picture or theatrical play.

  

Jimmy Henderson is a philosopher and mystic with an integrated view of life. He is an academic completing his PHD in psychology and also the published author of a number of books and e-books available on Amazon.com (Key in 'Jimmy Henderson' on Amazon.com)  

Also visit his website www.jimmyhendersonbooks.com