There is an old zen fable about a man who dreams and wonders which world is real. Is our dream world real or is this our real world? For those of you who think the answer is too obvious, consider this.
We imagine ourselves to be in a certain profession. We learn to do a certain thing for a living. Our identity is wrapped up in it. Then the profession changes or the employer goes out of business. So we change and now we have a new identity. Which one is real?
People get married and live together or live together without being married. Then one day, the relationship is over and they become single again. Which experience is the reality and which one is the dream? When we enter into a subsequent relationship is one more real than the other?
We go to a beautiful place on vacation. We enjoy this other place and the entertainments it has to offer. It might be a spiritual experience and we are enveloped in an altered state for a few days, whether it is in Las Vegas, a camping trip or a hot springs resort. When we drive back whether all the way from our destination or from the airport, we are suddenly aware of a different energy than we experienced where we were. Which state is real?
Does an experience become more real simply because we do it more often? If our work was in Las Vegas or at a hot springs spa, wouldn't that seem real? Of all the things we have done in our lives, which are most real?
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