The True Nature Of Reality And Life

What is this thing called life? What is the real nature of it? Why can some people walk through life with joy while others suffer?  (Photo by feintnate)  

I wrote about the true nature of reality in the Light part of Creating The New World series, but I suspect not many readers got it. So let me explain again. This is very important, foundational concept.

You in the movie of life

Have you watched a good movie in which you were so immersed that you felt like you were actually living that story? Or have you read a book that put you in the same kind of state of mind?

You identified with one of the characters, perhaps the leading character. His or her feelings felt like your own. When the situation changed, you felt their surprise and confusion. When they had to make a difficult decision, you struggled, too, as if it’ll affect your own life.

Only when the movie was over and the titles started to run with the music, you came back to yourself, sighing, “Oh, wow, what a story. . .!”

This life is like that. Your Higher Self chose a certain setting and jumped in to experience the story. Like you watch a movie.

You as the actor and audience of life

Actually the analogy works even better with live theater play than a movie. Your Higher Self chose a role and jumped in to be part of the play. At the same time, your Higher Self is the audience of the play. This is what I mean when I say our Higher Selves split part of themselves to incarnate in the physical bodies.

Most of us are so immersed in this life theater production. It feels all so real. Only when we die, we come to realize it was a play, or a movie. Some people call this condition “we have the veil” on us that hinder us to see the true nature of reality.

Is sad movie a bad movie?

Do you like sad movies or stories? I guess many of us do. Sad movies are not necessarily bad movies. Sad movies can be beautiful and we may learn a lot from them. It’s okay to watch sad movies.

Do you like action movies? I’m personally not a big fan, but I guess many of you like them. In those movies, bad guys play critical roles, right? You hate them, but then, the movie’s plot is impossible without them. That’s what those people who have hurt you in your life have done. They played their roles.

By the way, my favorite movies are romantic comedies — not the slapstick “I’ll make you laugh by all means” kind of movies but the ones that look at life with lighthearted humor. Like Lost In Translation, Love Actually, and The Birdcage. A bit of mind-bending, like Eternal Sunshine or Closer, is good, too.

What are your favorite movies? Now is that how you live or wish to live?

You as the director of life

The amazing point is you are not just the actor and the audience of this play. Your third function is to direct it. Well, I mean, you can direct it if you so wish. This is what I mean you have the power to create your life and the world.

While you are so immersed in the life play, it’s easy to forget you are also a director. But you chose your character, and this play is made spontaneously as we go. If you don’t like the story-line, then change it. Make the adversity to a rags-to-riches story or glory by overcoming the challenge story.

Being the director of your own life play doesn’t mean everything will go the way you want. Your awareness as the actor is different from your awareness as the director. (Do you think those actors really enjoy playing the scene where they get tortured or getting dumped for stupid reasons?) The life theater is dynamic and fun But it does give us a clue how we can live better.

The fun is in the process

Now let’s say there is a new movie you are interested in. Would you just read the synopsis, see the last scene, and be done with it? No, you want to spend two hours in the theater watching the movie, right?

Knowing all the outcomes of the story ahead of time spoils the fun. The fun is in the process. We took the trouble of being born in this physical world to experience all these ups and downs, excitements and serenity, interesting twists, etc.

I wrote about victim mentality and slave mentality in the Power part of the Creating The New World series. In it, I explained the telltale sign of these disempowered mindsets is the word SHOULD.

My friend emailed me saying, “I think we ask what we should do because it’s a big shortcut when we don’t know everything.” True. I’m not prohibiting the use of should. The point is we accept the uncertainty of life, to be empowered to the point that it’s really fine to go with the flow with all the unknown. This is what I mean the fun is in the process.

The secret of life

Life is a story or movie. Or a virtual reality game. (I’m not familiar with video games so I didn’t use this metaphor, but I guess it works, too. Perhaps this is why those games appeal so much to some people.)

Does this mean we don’t need to take life seriously? Absolutely not. We took the trouble of incarnation. (And oh, what a trouble it was!) We want to enjoy this fully. So live well.

At the same time, your life will be a lot easier when you notice we are only identifying with the character of this life movie, or identifying as the actor’s role. We can still enjoy the sensations of this movie, but don’t be buried in them. You are actually someone outside the movie, and you can even direct the movie the way you want it.

When you realize this true nature of life, you also notice that there is no reason to stay resentful to those who have harmed you. It’s fine to get upset at them when they harm you — that is the intention, the plot. But you don’t need to remain resentful or run to the spiritual cop to out their wrong doings. They just played their role to contribute to your life story.

I dreamed I was a butterfly. . .

Another way of saying the same thing, that life is a movie or a theater play, is “Life is a dream.” I believe this is what 4th century B.C. Taoist Master Zhuangzi (also spelled Chuang Tsu or Chou) meant by this story:

Once upon a time, I, Chuang Chou, dreamt I was a butterfly, fluttering hither and thither, to all intents and purposes a butterfly. I was conscious only of my happiness as a butterfly, unaware that I was Chou. Soon I awaked, and there I was, veritably myself again. Now I do not know whether I was then a man dreaming I was a butterfly, or whether I am now a butterfly, dreaming I am a man.

Both in the eastern and western worlds, a butterfly is often a metaphor of a soul.

You will wake up from this dream when you leave your body. However, just as some people can do lucid dreaming, you can become aware of the true nature of this life and “reality” while you are in it.

From a butterfly dreaming it’s Akemi, with Love ^_^

Honesty And Freedom

Honesty is one of the most admired qualities.  Most people say they want their life partners, children, friends, and if possible everyone to be honest.  Yet we also know it’s so damn hard to be honest.  

Why does honesty elude us like this?  How can we retain our honesty and integrity? 

Freedom as prereq of honesty

I don’t believe we are destined to be dishonest.  It’s far easier to be honest and say things as they are, rather than twisting the facts and then remembering how we twisted them so that our stories are consistent, often leading us to tell even more lies.  Dishonesty doesn’t feel good and undermines our sense of dignity.  

Yet we lie because most of us don’t realize we have the prerequisite of honesty: freedom.  Complete freedom to say what it is.  Freedom not to worry about the consequences of our honest expression.  

Say you find your employer is compromising the law.  Can you stand up and say honesty that you don’t agree with the practice?  You know you will lose your job if you do so.  Can you still be honest?  Remember Arthur Anderson?  Many otherwise good people compromised their honesty because they were afraid of their job security (and ended up losing their jobs anyway).

Or say you find your friend eating so unhealthy, she is overweight and risking health issues, can you simply express your concern, without any manipulation nor sugarcoating the facts?  Why not?  Because you are afraid of offending her feeling and losing her friendship?  Are you and your friend in friendship voluntarily or do you need her as friend?  

Freedom and autonomy

To feel free, most people need autonomy.  Financial, emotional, and mental autonomy.  

It’s extremely hard to be honest to your employer when your (and your family’s) livelihood is dependent on it.  I don’t object the system of employment at this time, but to usher in the New World based on Truth, it’s a good idea to cultivate our inner entrepreneur.  (Whew, this blog Yes to Me started as entrepreneurship blog, and although it may appear I meandered around into spirituality, I actually have consistency at the base!) Financial autonomy promotes honesty.  

Emotional autonomy means you own your feelings.  No one makes you happy or unhappy.  With or without friends, you are you.  Without this emotional autonomy, relationships of any kind become more about codependency rather than free association.  

Mental autonomy is the ability to think for yourself.  It involves questioning widely accepted social norms and opinions of “authorities”.  

To be completely clear, I’d like to note that autonomy is only a desired ground for freedom, not a necessity.  Because everyone is free on the spiritual level (more on this toward the end of this article) and no one is completely autonomous.  We are interdependent in this world and that is wonderful.  You can be honest while relying on a single source of income, while being emotionally supported by others, and while you are learning and building your own thoughts.  

Still autonomy is very helpful.  Without autonomy (in the conventional sense), we are like slaves.  For a slave to speak up honestly, it takes a degree of “dumbness”, to be ready to die or go on the street anytime as a consequence of his honesty.  And I put “  “ around dumbness because I think this kind of dumbness is good.  It may be based on spiritual belief that we are always supported by God regardless how things may look like.  

Teaching honesty to your children

Most parents want their children to be honest, yet they are unaware of the inherent dilemma they themselves need to resolve to let their children be honest.  Because children ARE dependent on parents.  Children don’t have autonomy, especially financial and emotional autonomy.  They are even dependent physically. 

So how can you let your child know they are free to express their thoughts and feelings honestly?  That they are loved no matter what?  And do you really mean it?  

As long as the parent’s mindset is like, “I want you to be honest, my child, but if you tell me you are the one who broke my favorite vase, I will be upset and won’t talk to you for the rest of the day.” (manipulation and lack of emotional autonomy), they are setting up their child to be dishonest, not honest.   And mandatory honesty is not true honesty.  

I know this is difficult.  Parents are humans, too, still in their development stage, with all kinds of shortcomings.  I just thought being aware of this dilemma may be helpful.  

Further, I think the key in this dilemma is to realize that your child is not your possession at all.  Your child came from the spiritual world to play the role of your child, just as you came to this world to play a certain role.  You are only serving them in their growth in this world.  (Some people call this, “Children are from God.”)  

Honesty to oneself before honesty to others

Honesty starts within.  Before we express ourselves honestly, we need to be aware of what we are thinking and feeling.  Really.  So often, we don’t examine our honest thoughts and feelings and prematurely adopt socially accepted ideas.  

For instance, many people have problem facing their desires, whether the desire is about luxury cars, sex, or the desire to quit the current cushy job to do something they really like to do.  If you resonate with this statement, you are actually better off than most.  People who have serious problem being honest to themselves are in denial.  They may get upset at people who honestly admits such desires and actively accuse them.  

Monogamy and honesty

It would be dishonest by omission if I skip the issue of fidelity in this article about honesty.  So here is my personal opinion. 

I quit subscribing to the idea of monogamy recently because I see inherent issue of honesty in it.  In monogamous relationship, each partner expects the other to be faithful.  This set expectation — lack of freedom — is ground for dishonesty.  If I meet another attractive man while in monogamous relationship, my choices are:

1. I lie to myself and decide I felt nothing to keep my self image of a “good” faithful person. 
2. I be honest with myself but choose to take no action, to stay faithful to my partner.
3.  I be honest with myself but lie to my partner to keep his dream of fidelity, leading myself to cheat. 
4. I be honest with myself and to my partner, leading to potential breakup.  

I may have no problem choosing #2, but I’m not sure if expecting my partner to always choose #2 is a healthy reasonable expectation. 
And I value honesty more than security and steadiness of relationship.  I’d rather have an honest lover than dishonest / confused one who makes love only to me.    

If I feel insecure when I hear him talk about other women (or men, for that matter), that is my issue, not his, not ours.  I own my feelings.  Same with differences in values and opinions.  He may have different opinions than mine, and that is fine with me.  I know that doesn’t undermine the worth of my opinion.  

I don’t want to lock up someone — anyone.  I don’t think I can justify doing so in the name of love.  And I don’t like to be locked up, either.

Does this mean I’m against monogamous relationship?  No.  If two individuals are happy together, that is wonderful — let’s celebrate!  It’s when such condition is enforced, either by manipulation or by social brain washing, that I have a  with.  (A common way of social brain washing is the promotion of soulmate.) 

Can you let your partner be who he or she is?  Can you let them express themselves freely?  Can you honestly say what is on your mind?    

You are free

In conclusion, I’d like you to realize you are already free.  Whether you have achieved financial, emotional, and mental autonomy or not, and whether you feel free or not, you are free.  It is yet another layer of illusion to believe you are not.  

Free will is the primary right and responsibility in this universe.  You can even choose not to feel free, to believe you are enslaved, and you are still accepted as you are.  Free will is such an essential part of life that God even allows us to go against the Light, to become darkworkers.   

I hope this deep sense of acceptance and freedom helps you build your life based on honesty and truth.  (Photo by victor nuno)

How Darkworkers Control You And The World

Do you realize the majority of your thoughts and decision-makings are manipulated?  Do you know the world is held down the way it is for the darkworkers’ continued benefits because, if and when you wake up to your natural potential, the world will change so much for the better so fast that no one will be giving their energy to darkworkers? 

There are many ways darkworkers have been controlling this world for many years by influencing the way people think.

I’m starting a five-part series of how we can create the New World based on the five energy flows of Love, Light, Truth, Abundance, and Power, but before that, I want to give you a big picture of the darkworkers’ manipulation system.   (Photo by paulaloe)

If it’s obviously dark and evil, it’s no good as manipulation

First thing we want to be aware of is that there are many hidden manipulation systems beyond what is obviously dark and evil.  In fact, if an idea is obviously dark and evil, you would be careful with it, and so it doesn’t work as manipulation.  No, darkworkers do a much better job than that.

The challenge of unraveling the dark work is that it is so well masked.  So people believe in it wholeheartedly.

The damages these dark works do, however, are scary huge.  We have been wasting our energy and lifetimes because of the manipulated ideas and the fear they cause.  And it’s ongoing because we are not aware we are manipulated.

Presenting false limitations

One way darkworkers control you is to make you believe in certain limitations.  The limitations may be about you personally or about us as a certain group.  For example, you may have been told or led to believe that the highest position you can attain in the corporate world is such and such  — that you can’t become a senior management because you don’t have a higher degree.  And they use statistics that show the majority of senior management have higher degrees.

Now stop and think.  The stats was about the majority of senior management.  Even today, there are those who hold top management positions without advanced degrees.  And even if 100% of today’s senior management had advanced degrees, that is no proof you can’t become a senior manager without the degree.  There is no such law.  The senior management position is NOT limited to MBA holders.

You are tricked by the stats.  You mixed up probability and possibility.  And you give up your dream and try to be content with your current career options.  You spend your life energy keeping up with the Jones while you stay practically in the same place.  No big change to the world system, another good day for darkworker authorities.

This is just one simple example, warn you.  There are tons of “advice” flying around that are designed to keep you where you are, and then there are tons of people who blindly repeat saying what they have been told, reinforcing the collective sense of limitations.

Some more examples of false limitations:
1.    False limitation: You have to be young to become an entrepreneur.  There is a certain age limitation.
Truth: You can start your business any time.  (And many do.)

2.    False limitation: You have to be old to earn people’s trust.  There is a certain age limitation.
Truth: You can earn trust by being you.  (By the way, if you buy into both #1 and #2, there is no time in life you can become an entrepreneur.)

3.    False limitation: You must have experience to be good at something.  The learning process is limited to certain pattern and timeframe.
Truth: You may be a genius and a fast learner.

4.    False limitation: You need many people’s support to make a difference.  Your own power is limited.
Truth: You can start and gain momentum as you go.  Most support only comes after you start.

5.    False limitation: You must be (smart, good-looking, rich, from a good family, etc. — in short, to be perfect) to succeed.   Again, your own power is limited.
Truth: You succeed by doing it.

What other limitations do you currently believe in that hold you down where you are?

Presenting false priorities

This is about setting up a goal that is not really the best case scenario but only secondary, thus wasting a lot of energy in the meantime.  The false priority goal is indeed a good goal, perhaps worth pursuing in the general sense, but still it is a waste of energy to pursue when you can aim to achieve the truly important goal.

For example, there has been a big discussion about general health insurance in the US.  People spend tons of time and energy talking about how wrong it is that there are so many people without health insurance.  And how we can possibly make the general health insurance plan possible.

Now I actually support general health insurance plan.  However, health insurance plan is not as important as increasing the level of everyone’s health.  When we are all basically healthy, we may be able to make most health care (especially preventative care) free, like public education is free.

But that part of discussion is ignored because:
1.    We believe raising everyone’s health is more difficult – maybe impossible.  (which bring us back to the first point of false sense of limitation.)
2.    If we actually work on increasing people’s health, big chunk of industries will be at risk.  Like junk foods makers and restaurants.  Over-the-counter medicine makers.  And even healthcare industry itself.

Again, this is just an example.  We are led to put our energies on secondary priorities, leaving the most important issues intact.

• Is learning history, such as about holocaust, important?  Sure.  But not as important as ending the current war.
• Is national defence important?  Yes, at this time.  But not as important as bringing world peace, and ultimately, making a borderless world.

It works on the personal life level as well.  For instance:

• Is getting a good performance review important?  Not really, especially if your goal is to start your own business.  Your priority in this case is to learn about your new business, to lay out the business basics, and to learn marketing.

Can you think of other instances of false priorities?

Presenting false goals

This is when they promote goals that are not really natural and that most people fail to achieve, therefore making you feel like a failure.  The trick of false goals is to make the goal feel achievable, and make people believe others have achieved it.  A variation of this is to use goals only a few people can achieve.

An example of false goals is the idea of finding a soulmate, or the one ultimate life partner with whom you are guaranteed to have supreme happiness ever after.  Now I am not against the idea of monogamous love relationship – as long as it is the natural result of two individuals’ independent choices.  It’s a result, not a goal that you have to look for everywhere, strive to achieve all your life, while ignoring or suspending your true feelings.

But movies and other mass media make it feel that is the ultimate happiness you need to spend your time and energy on.  Married people also try to believe they made the right choice and play it out, rather than honestly saying, “I love this person.  I’d like to be with him or her although I don’t really know what tomorrow brings.”

False goals often come with lots of hypes and is presented in the form of “If and when you become (fill in the blank), you’d be happy.”  And while you work so hard toward the goal, putting the majority of your energy on it, ignoring the happiness right there for you, most of the social system is left intact.

How you have been made to run like a race horse

Basically, darkworkers treat you like a race horse.  First, they put the blind of false limitations on you so you can only see what is in front of you, making you think you have no other options but to run on the track.  Then they show you false priority or false goal to make you believe you have to run hard toward them –  the goals they set and don’t really affect them.  They also give you the whip of fear – both subtle and not-so-subtle ones.

You run hard, without knowing there are green meadows just beside you off the racing track.  Not only that, you are actually a person, and you can create this green meadow when you redirect your energy from running on the track to creating the meadow.  The truth is you don’t have such limitations that keep you on the race track.  You don’t need to work on the project someone else said it’s important.  You can make your own goals while you enjoy being you.

The challenge of raising your awareness

When you first start noticing the control mechanisms of darkworkers that you have been taking, you may feel confused.  So many ideas you have believed so long . . . maybe untrue and counterproductive to you?  All the time and energy you have spent on those “goals” are . . . wasted?

The confusion may show up as anger, either at the darkworkers or at yourself.  Or at me – hey, what’s this little girl talking about?  Let’s just sniff off this doubt that is growing . . . let’s just get back to how we have always been living and thinking. . .  if we ignore it, we can stay the way we were. . .

Exactly.  If you are so happy with your life, you don’t need to change.  If, on the other hand, you want better life for yourself, for your loved ones, and for the world, read on.

It’s critical not to blame the darkworkers, either.  After all, we gave them our energy and power.  They tricked us, but we are responsible for our own awareness.  What we need to do now is to raise our awareness and quit buying into their BS.  Blaming darkworkers does no good.  In fact, that is still a way of giving energy to them.  Don’t try to “fix” them.  Just raise your awareness.  Start living with your new awareness that you can think for yourself and set up your own path and goals.  Know that you have plenty of power to create your own life.

Do you know other ways darkworkers manipulate us?  Or do you think this world has been working just fine?

« Previous Page — Next Page »