Reality occurs within our mind. In the intro to this blog, I propose the idea of a Universal Mind, with a capital U and capital M, that being the only mind that exists and is the mind that all sentient beings share. I compare it to an infinite computer with infinite memory, infinite processing power, capable of executing an infinite number of threads. Each thread is a reality experience of a life form, be it human, other animal, plant, or microbe.
If reality occurs within an infinite computer then are we living in a virtual universe?
According to Webster’s dictionary the first definition of virtual is:
being such in essence or effect though not formally recognized or admitted; a virtual dictatorThe other definitions all relate to computers, such as virtual reality. We call immersive computer experiences involving displays strapped to our heads to create a three-dimensional vision experience combined with stereo sound virtual reality because it fools our minds into thinking it’s a real world, but we know it isn’t. The real world is real, or is it?
Computer generated virtual reality is not real because it happens within a higher reality, our shared reality of the material world. But is the material world itself an illusion?
Yes, the material world can be considered an illusion because it happens within the higher reality of Mind. The material world is not the source of reality, consciousness is the source of reality. Science recognizes that, at least on the subatomic level, that a particle does not have a definite state until it is observed. Atoms are in this fuzzy state of simultaneously existing in every possible state until an observer collapses the probability function. And the only time that exists for a conscious observer is the present moment.
Mind is where reality happens, and it is the only place where it happens.
But once a conscious entity makes an observation, Mind ensures consistency and persistence for all other observers. Mind can be thought of the holder of facts, the arbitrator of Truth throughout the Universe. Truth is an absolute concept. There are many today that try to suggest that truth is relative, but there is only one Truth in the Universe. Two plus two equals four is true whether you like it or not. The earth revolves around the sun is true, whether you like it or not. And the source of Truth is Mind which is a Universal medium that presents reality to our consciousness. And the reality that it presents is this material world which Mind ensures is consistent and persistent.
So we are not living in a virtual universe, we are living in the one Universe guided by Truth arbitrated by Mind.
But the material world is not the source of truth, it is the result of Truth. Mind is the source of reality and the material world is the appearance. Everything you know about the material world comes through your senses. But you don’t even know that your senses are real because you experience sensation within your mind. Mind is where reality happens, and it is the only place where it happens.
We experience reality within our individual minds, but we are all part of a greater, Universal Mind, which insures consistency between our experience and that of every other individual in this shared reality. Mind tells us what is true and makes reality real.
So it is like VR. It’s like wearing a VR headset that you’ve had on since birth and can never remove. Except when we die, then we take off the headset and can never put it back on. We leave this reality to experience whatever comes next while those we leave behind then continue in this reality without us.
But since this material world is an appearance generated by Mind, which we are a part of, then do we have control over our experience of reality? That’s something we will explore in a future post…