World within in you
Believing that you are the creator of your reality is the way to effect change and transformation in your life.
BY Deepak Chopra Sep 12, 2008
How can we hope to solve the mysteries of life when we’ve inherited a set of beliefs that disregard its mystery; when we’ve convinced ourselves of the logic of the following: (1) The material world exists; (2) It is full of things, events and people; (3) I am one of those people, and my status is no higher than anyone else’s; and (4) To find out who I am, I must explore the material world. These beliefs allow no room for soul-searching, let alone room for the soul itself.
As convincing as the material world seems, no one has been able to prove that it’s real. Neurologists assure us that the brain offers no proof that the outside world really exists and, conversely, many hints that it doesn’t. For all we know, the entire outside world could be merely a dream.
When I’m asleep, my dream world is as vivid as the world I see upon waking. However, I know that the former has been produced inside my head; I’d never make the mistake of thinking otherwise because of the assumption that dreams aren’t real. Yet we’re unable to prove the existence of the outside world, which undermines the basis of materialism.
You are not in the world; the world is in you. Rocks are solid because the brain registers a flurry of electrical signals as touch. The sun shines because the brain registers a flurry of electrical signals as sight. There is no sunlight in the brain; its interior remains as dark as a limestone cavern, no matter how bright it is outside.
People used to find these ideas very natural. Centuries ago, the doctrine of one reality was central to spiritual life. Religions, peoples and traditions varied greatly, but it was universally agreed that the world was a seamless creation imbued with one intelligence, one creative design.
Western monotheism called that one reality “God”; India called it “Brahman”; China called it “the Tao”. Every person existed within this infinite intelligence, and whatever they did was a part of creation’s grand design. You didn’t have to become a spiritual seeker to find the one reality; every person’s life was already a part of it. The creator permeated each particle of creation equally, the same divine spark animating life in all its forms.
How did the belief in one reality fall apart? Well, we discovered an alternative that also puts each person at the centre of their own world, however, instead of being included, the individual feels alone and isolated, driven by personal desire rather than a shared life force or communion through the soul. This choice is called “ego”, though it has also been referred to as the pursuit of pleasure, the bondage of karma, and banishment from paradise. So thoroughly does ego permeate our culture that it doesn’t feel like a choice any more. We’ve all been carefully trained since childhood in the ways of “I, me and mine”.
The brain spends every second manufacturing the world and every possible experience. To embrace one reality again, we need to accept that the world is within us. Somehow we’ve learned to accept ourselves as limited beings. We’ve come to assume that the outside world must be far more powerful; that the world dictates the story-line; that the world comes first and we come a distant second.
If I see myself as the creator of my reality, I have no need to find an escape or to control anyone or anything, as I can effect change by transforming the thing I’ve always had control over anyway: myself.
Chopra is touring Australia in September. For information visit redcarpetpresents.com.
Believing that you are the creator of your reality is the way to effect change and transformation in your life.
BY Deepak Chopra Sep 12, 2008
How can we hope to solve the mysteries of life when we’ve inherited a set of beliefs that disregard its mystery; when we’ve convinced ourselves of the logic of the following: (1) The material world exists; (2) It is full of things, events and people; (3) I am one of those people, and my status is no higher than anyone else’s; and (4) To find out who I am, I must explore the material world. These beliefs allow no room for soul-searching, let alone room for the soul itself.
As convincing as the material world seems, no one has been able to prove that it’s real. Neurologists assure us that the brain offers no proof that the outside world really exists and, conversely, many hints that it doesn’t. For all we know, the entire outside world could be merely a dream.
When I’m asleep, my dream world is as vivid as the world I see upon waking. However, I know that the former has been produced inside my head; I’d never make the mistake of thinking otherwise because of the assumption that dreams aren’t real. Yet we’re unable to prove the existence of the outside world, which undermines the basis of materialism.
You are not in the world; the world is in you. Rocks are solid because the brain registers a flurry of electrical signals as touch. The sun shines because the brain registers a flurry of electrical signals as sight. There is no sunlight in the brain; its interior remains as dark as a limestone cavern, no matter how bright it is outside.
People used to find these ideas very natural. Centuries ago, the doctrine of one reality was central to spiritual life. Religions, peoples and traditions varied greatly, but it was universally agreed that the world was a seamless creation imbued with one intelligence, one creative design.
Western monotheism called that one reality “God”; India called it “Brahman”; China called it “the Tao”. Every person existed within this infinite intelligence, and whatever they did was a part of creation’s grand design. You didn’t have to become a spiritual seeker to find the one reality; every person’s life was already a part of it. The creator permeated each particle of creation equally, the same divine spark animating life in all its forms.
How did the belief in one reality fall apart? Well, we discovered an alternative that also puts each person at the centre of their own world, however, instead of being included, the individual feels alone and isolated, driven by personal desire rather than a shared life force or communion through the soul. This choice is called “ego”, though it has also been referred to as the pursuit of pleasure, the bondage of karma, and banishment from paradise. So thoroughly does ego permeate our culture that it doesn’t feel like a choice any more. We’ve all been carefully trained since childhood in the ways of “I, me and mine”.
The brain spends every second manufacturing the world and every possible experience. To embrace one reality again, we need to accept that the world is within us. Somehow we’ve learned to accept ourselves as limited beings. We’ve come to assume that the outside world must be far more powerful; that the world dictates the story-line; that the world comes first and we come a distant second.
If I see myself as the creator of my reality, I have no need to find an escape or to control anyone or anything, as I can effect change by transforming the thing I’ve always had control over anyway: myself.
Chopra is touring Australia in September. For information visit redcarpetpresents.com.
