Life Is But A Dream: Waking Up from the Dream of Life

When we think about our lives, the people in our lives, the work we go to, the city we live in, the galaxy we’re a part of and the whole universe, we think of it as so real, tangible, ever present and everlasting. But because we perceive it in our minds and we can only perceive that which our minds can grasp, it’s actually a very small universe. It is also transitory – it doesn’t last. It only lasts and exists when we think about it. If we see it as a dream then we can locate truth.

There’s a song that goes, ‘Life is but a dream.’ Take this to be the truth: that life is just a dream. All that we experience is just a dream on which the dreamer is who we are trying to find. Then our minds go still and we can go back to who is actually dreaming. Our minds are creating that which we perceive as real, but which at its depth is just a dream. It’s exactly the same as dreaming when we’re asleep. When we dream, everything seems real – until we wake up.

Enlightenment is the same. We wake up to the fact that our minds have created a very small world and the truth or background on which everything is based is infinite. It is eternal and it is who we are. This is our true self, our true reality, unlike life that is just a dream.

Our minds have an ability to remember things, so they can create perceptions, anticipations, truths and reality that seem very real to us. But since they are based on memory and impermanence, they can change and are therefore not the ultimate truth.
Anything that is ultimately true is permanent and everlasting. Identify with this and be it. Realize that our memories are faulty; they have gaps and holes in them, just like dreams. Can we remember what we did 27 days ago at 3 o’clock in the afternoon? With all the disjointed memories, our minds create a reality in the same way our dream mind creates a reality, and we think that it is real. It might be longer than the dream but it’s based on the same principles. The mind is creating a dream. Let’s wake up from it.

Sometimes when we’re dreaming we realize that we’re dreaming and we relax so that we can enjoy the dream. We just flow with it. We don’t fight it or believe it; instead, we just realize, “Oh, I’m dreaming” and we flow with the dream’s events. We can do the same thing with our waking dream which our mind has created. Flow with it and understand that it’s a dream, and that we are truly far more infinite, everlasting and permanent than it is. We are on which our minds are temporarily creating our dream world. If we open our eyes and wake up from the dream, we can see what is, and this is what our minds can grasp. We can then just be.

Some might argue this, saying, “Well, if it’s just a dream, why do we care how we treat others? Why aren’t we just cruel and vicious to others?” But remember, in a dream every part of the dream is you. And with that understanding, love arises spontaneously for every character in the dream. Even in our waking dream which we’re experiencing right now, there are rules and consequences to our behavior. What makes the dream so much more enjoyable is caring for everyone because they are a part of us and we know that being kind to others also benefits us, making the dream much more pleasant.

However, we still ultimately realize that life is but a dream. This is the understanding that enables us to wake up. We wake up to who we are, what we are, and then all is well. The background on which the dream is arising goes beyond words and descriptions. When we are that background, all is infinitely well, beautiful and peaceful beyond description. We can experience that by waking up from the dream and just being.

We still do our part to improve the dream and make it better because we care for everyone in the dream, and we also realize they are a part of us. But when we wake up from this dream called life, all is well.