Reality Is The Dreamer, Not The Dream

The fear of death only arises when we presume that our existence has some value beyond the Now. Such a presumption is based on the illusion of our existence outside of the Now, which occures when we focus our conscious energy on our memories of the past and/or fantasies of the future. Of course our ability to remember and to anticipate circumstances are critical to our survival (as individuals and as a species). We intuitively recognize the importance of these abilities, but when hubris takes over we forget that they are only tools that allow us to live more effectively in the now, and instead we mistake our imagined perceptions of the past and of future to be even more "real" than the present, and we suffer greatly as we try to live there.

A big reason for this common mistake is that we have been taught to forget what reality even is. Reality is not what we see, touch, taste, hear, or otherwise experience outside of ourselves. Reality isn't even what we think or feel "inside". Reality is much deeper than all of these things which depend on the organics of our brains and nervous system to happen. Reality is the underlying awareness of all of it; or simply, the ability to be aware. Reality is the dreamer, not the dream. When we remember this basic truth - I mean, really remember - then our fear of death will be void, because in the context of the Really Real death has no meaning.

(J.D. 1-24-14)