The Nature of Reality

Purpose For reasons that will eventually become clear, the fundamental reality that is the basis of all we call reality cannot be truly understood or described. On the other hand, the process by which that fundamental reality both becomes and produces all that we call reality, because it is a process, can be understood and described. And one purpose of this book is to describe the process by which the fundamental reality both becomes and produces all that we call reality. However, to understand the process by which the fundamental reality both becomes and produces all that we call reality, it will be necessary to understand something at the outset regarding reality that has only previously been understood by a relative handful of individuals throughout recorded history. And what it is that has only previously been understood by a relative handful of individuals is that what we refer to as reality comes in two completely different varieties that have a relation to each other that is analogous to the relation that exists between a mirror and a reflection that lies within that mirror, since one of the two varieties of reality is the reality that is actually there, while the other variety of reality only appears as a reality within the reality that is actually there. The kind of reality that is actually there is the fundamental reality, and that fundamental reality will be referred to in this work as non-apparent reality. On the other hand, the kind of reality that only appears as a reality within the reality that is actually there—but in so appearing can be mistakenly known as the reality that is actually there—will be referred to in this work as apparent reality. And that sort of reality is made up of experiential reality in general and so is made up of the physical, mental, and emotional experiential realities in particular. It is necessary to understand at the outset that there are these two completely different kinds of realities because the process that we are here to understand and describe is the overall process by which the reality that is actually there, i.e., the fundamental or non-apparent reality, not only produces the apparent experiential realities but also becomes aware of those apparent realities in a mistaken way by mistakenly believing them to be realities that are actually there where they actually only appear to be. And because there is a mirror-reflection relation that exists between non-apparent and apparent reality, when non-apparent reality mistakenly believes the apparent experiential realities that it has itself created to be realities that are actually there, it unknowingly and automatically converts those apparent experiential realities into experiential delusions that then function like misperceived reflections to hide its own reality, i.e., itself, from its own awareness. And as a result of this self-obscuring that takes place when non-apparent reality falsely believes what are only apparent experiential realities to be realities that are actually there, a self-perpetuating situation is established that results in non-apparent reality effectively trapping a portion of its awareness in a delusional experiential reality, leaving that portion of its awareness unable to become aware of its true self and nature, and thereby leaving that effectively trapped portion of its awareness with no choice but to become and remain aware of itself as being what are only apparent experiential realities that it is, as non-apparent reality, itself creating and superimposing upon itself. To make a long story short, as a human being, you are presently functioning as an individualization, or individual movement, of the indivisible non-apparent reality that is actually there where physical experiential reality, as an apparent reality, only appears to be. And while functioning as an individualization of that indivisible reality, you have unavoidably become caught up in a delusion that the self that you really are—as opposed to the self that you presently mistakenly believe yourself to be—is itself producing using a human mind. And the primary purpose of this book is to provide you with the opportunity to free yourself from that delusion because living in a delusional reality is not how the reality that you really are wants to live or be; not just because living in a delusional reality produces so much psychological suffering, but also because living in a delusional reality prevents the reality that you really are from becoming aware of its true self and actual nature. And toward that end, what will be presented here is a detailed description of both the process by which the fundamental reality produces all that we call reality, as well as the process by which the fundamental reality effectively traps indivisible portions of its awareness within individual experiential reality-environments that it has itself created using what we refer to as the mind. The ultimate purpose of describing all of this is to provide you, i.e., the fundamental reality that you really are, with the tools needed to free yourself from the delusional reality in which you are, in all likelihood, presently effectively trapping yourself and in which delusional reality you will continue to effectively trap yourself for as long as you continue to mistakenly believe that what you really are is what is actually only a set of somewhat arbitrary apparent experiential realities that the reality that you really are is itself creating.