Remember, we are in Messiah kindergarten. Remember, “Messiah” means, one in whom God’s plan for humankind is being brought to fruition. It is an evolution, of sorts, and in this evolution we are baby Messiahs. Since Messiah is a very important role, we need to give all of our attention—our whole heart, our whole soul and our whole mind—to the lessons we are learning now. (Ref: Mark 12:30)
Today’s lesson is a key lesson for Messiahs, although it is not the easiest of lessons to learn. In fact, it is a lesson that some students of non-duality deny entirely. They say this teaching isn’t what it appears to be; it means something other than what it says. However, the masters do not deny the teaching. Only some students—those who do not yet know—deny it.
The teaching I speak of is that the world is not real. It is an illusion.
First, let’s look at the dictionary definition of “illusion”. An illusion is “a thing that is or is likely to be wrongly perceived or interpreted by the senses. It is a deceptive appearance or impression.”
One mistake that we make is not questioning our senses. We believe that if we see it, it is true. But is that entirely correct? We see the sun rise and the sun set everyday. The earth that we are on looks stationary, as we observe the sun moving across the sky. But is that true?
The earth that we walk on seems horizontal. Is that true?
Moonlight lights up the night sky. But is there such a thing as moonlight?
If our senses are not reliable some of the time, can we be sure that they are reliable the rest of the time? Is it possible that we see with our brain, a brain that has been conditioned to see in a self-centered way, a way of seeing that is entirely faulty?
Here are some quotes to consider before beginning today’s reading in NTI:
“Vision consists of your eyes detecting light and converting it to electro-chemical impulses in neurons which are then given meaning by your brain. Hence, the real ‘seeing’ occurs in the brain with the interpretation of the impulses. ~ Debbie Hampton, author of Beat Depression and Anxiety by Changing your Brain
“… bear in mind that your own sense of vision is carried by nothing but millions of nerve signals that just happen to travel along different cables. Your brain is encased in absolute blackness in the vault of your skull. It doesn’t see anything. All it knows are these little signals and nothing else. And yet you perceive the world in shades of brightness and colors. Your brain is in the dark but your mind constructs the light.” ~ David Eagleman, author of Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain
“What we perceive as our physical material world, is really not physical or material at all, in fact, it is far from it. … Quantum physicists discovered that physical atoms are made up of vortices of energy that are constantly spinning and vibrating, each one radiating its own unique energy signature. Therefore, if we really want to observe ourselves and find out what we are, we are really beings of energy and vibration, radiating our own unique energy signature -this is fact and is what quantum physics has shown us time and time again. We are much more than what we perceive ourselves to be, and it’s time we begin to see ourselves in that light. If you observed the composition of an atom with a microscope you would see a small, invisible tornado-like vortex, with a number of infinitely small energy vortices called quarks and photons. These are what make up the structure of the atom. As you focused in closer and closer on the structure of the atom, you would see nothing, you would observe a physical void. The atom has no physical structure, we have no physical structure, physical things really don’t have any physical structure! Atoms are made out of invisible energy, not tangible matter.” ~ Arjun Walia, author of Nothing Is Solid & Everything Is Energy – Scientists Explain The World Of Quantum Physics, an article published in CE—Collective Evolution (an e-magazine)
“It is because the thoughts you think you think appear as images that you do not recognize them as nothing. You think you think them, and so you think you see them. This is how your ‘seeing’ was made. … It is not seeing. It is image making. It takes the place of seeing, replacing vision with illusions.” ~ A Course in Miracles Workbook for Students, Lesson 15
“There is no body, nor a world to contain it; there is only a mental condition, a dream like state, easy to dispel by questioning its reality.” ~ Nisargadatta Maharaj, Indian sage.
“If one is able to remove the ego-sense by means of one’s awakened intelligence, he cleanses from his consciousness the impurity known as world-appearance.” ~ The Yoga Vasistha, an ancient Hindu text.
“After Realization, the supposed seeing ends and what is known will be known and what was supposedly ‘seen’ will be ‘seen’ no more.” ~ Floyd Henderson, author of The Advanced Seekers’ Series
