When we close our eyes, we still sense all our surroundings; this is because we live in a virtual reality inside our mind. Our raw sensory input would be overwhelming and confusing, so we filter and process it into our own private 3D film, with surround sound. These internal constructs are really the only way we interact with the “real” world. The reason our dreams seem so real is that the same “hardware” we use to process what happens around us can be run as a simulator during our downtime.
Is it any wonder that when confronted with the unbearable, the unthinkable, we retreat to the comfort of that private existence that we can control?
The extreme case of this is sometimes called “solipsism,” a condition where we believe we are the only “real” being, and everyone and everything we see and hear is our own construction. I don’t particularly subscribe to this notion; though by its nature it can’t be disproven, especially to those experiencing it. Interestingly, there are legitimate scientists who posit the notion that our entire existence could actually be part of some huge simulation. (Matrix, anyone?) Again, this would be hard to prove or disprove, but it is an interesting idea.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/16/opinion/sunday/is-the-universe-a-simulation.html?_r=0
How can we make a distinction between the “big” reality of the so-called visible universe and the many “small” universes in each mind?
Well, we could assume, with our current world-view, that the “real” universe is more important because it contains and makes possible the internal mind-universes, but it’s also possible that the reverse is true, and that the minds within actually create the reality we see as over-arching. Even if this is not the case scientifically, it certainly is true in an experiential sense.
Universes Are Destroyed
In my life I have known some people who I think have been “dipping their toes” into a solipsistic world-view; they saw their internal reality as the only one, and were quite willing to dismiss others as irrelevant. Carried to an extreme, this leads to lies, cruelty, bigotry, dismissiveness, and most importantly, the molding of reality to suit their needs:
- Dictators engage in genocide.
- Entire groups of people are marginalized.
- People who are ignorant or less-cultured are dismissed as useless or stupid.
- Bullies form alliances and abuse the weak or the different.
- Nations go to war.
- Fraud and theft are somehow justified.
- Those without power are exploited.
- Certain groups are blamed and scapegoated.
Every time one of these events occurs, a universe ceases to exist, or fails to develop, finally imploding in a “lights-out” reverse Big Bang.
The Multi-Verse of Minds
What would happen if we became aware of the infinities in all the minds around us? If we could tolerate this consciousness overload, it would seem certain things would suddenly become crucially important while others would become unthinkable:
- The loss of any thinking being would be as the loss of ourself.
- Sharing knowledge and teaching the less-aware would become the top priority.
- No one would or could be “left behind”
- Cruelty would not exist, since we would experience the pain of others.
- Lies would become obsolete.
- Helping others would be the highest calling.
Let’s Get Real
I am not expecting any of this to happen, at least anytime soon. There are simply too many “closet solipsists” all around us, and the simple idea of “get out of your head” is not easy for everybody to implement. Also, we tend to respond more to the messages of our various hormones rather than to our higher self. However, it is something we might want to think about as we create our internal reality.
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