Chapter 47: Nurturing My Human, Part 5: Moving from Reel to Real
It is time once again to Stew on this! It is ironic that I get caught up in content of my reel, because I am the one who writes it, directs it, and stars in it...
We have come to the final installment of our exploration of Row Row Row Your Boat. Thank you for rowing along with me this far down the stream…
This chapter is about the closing phrase of the song: “Life is but a dream.” Just as with all the other parts of this wisdom-filled tune, there are multiple ways I could interpret this phrase. I have chosen to go with one that is rooted in many spiritual philosophies: the idea that what our senses tell us is not even remotely the whole story of reality. In fact, the appearance of things can be downright misleading and keep us from the best stuff.
For instance, Hinduism and Buddhism honor the principle of Maya. Often translated as illusion or magic, it is the force that creates the appearance of the “phenomenal” world (that which exists only through human perception and understanding). Maya blinds our eyes to the essential reality behind the appearance, known as Brahman in Hinduism. Maya is ever-changing and impermanent, as opposed to the eternal, unchanging nature of Brahman.
Maya makes it easy for me to identify with my body, mind, and ego, rather than with my true self, my individualized aspect of Brahman, known as Atman.
In chiropractic terminology, it has me identifying with my educated mind rather than my Innate mind.
In Unity circles, it has me identifying with the relative realm rather than the Absolute realm.
In Stew-ese, it has me identifying with my head rather than my heart; with the stuff rather than the space.
In practical terms, it has me identifying with the content of my thoughts instead of with love, peace or joy.
Yes indeed, what is generally going on in my mind is very much like a dream, a movie, or in modern terms, a reel. It all seems like reality, but since I can only have a limited perspective on the wholeness of reality, my mind creates an ever-running reel to fill in the gaps. The actual content of my reel is mostly based on my past programming and experiences, my filters, and my BS (belief system).
In other words, I don’t see things as they are; I see them as I am.
This explains, for instance, why Hillary and I consistently look at the same thing in completely different ways!
Speaking of BS, it turns out that my reel is not only just a filtered down version of reality, I also do not become aware of the content of the reel until about 350 milliseconds after things actually happen!
(In case you are wondering, I got that from a book entitled The Brain Has a Mind of Its Own, by Dr. Richard Restak)
In that 1/3 of a second time lag, everything that is happening must pass through 2 filters to become part of my reel – an experience filter and a BS filter. In that 1/3 of a second time lag, I move from True Present Time (TPT; where I express my truest self) to Apparent Present Time (APT; where I tend to hang out most of the time).
Life is but a dream reminds me that I can always CHOOSE to dust off my filters and move closer to TPT. I can shift from the R-E-E-L to the R-E-A-L! I can always leave the theater and enter the bottomless well of love, peace and joy that is always waiting in my real self; always waiting in my heart.
It is ironic that I get caught up in content of my reel, because I am the one who writes it, directs it, and stars in it! But, because of that, I can change it. Or at least question it!
This reminds me of the Woody Allen film, Purple Rose of Cairo. Mia Farrow plays a lonely housewife who finds comfort in going to the movies. She particularly loves a film called Purple Rose of Cairo. While she is watching it for the fifth time, one of the actors in the film notices her in the audience, realizes he is trapped in a film, and walks out of it to join her in “real life.”
You and I can do that too, anytime.
I intend to, because when I get trapped in the content of my movie, my heart tends to close down and the way out of the theater gets difficult to find. It becomes so much easier for me to lose my oars, resist rowing on, or go brutally up schmootz creek without a paddle and invariably miss out on all the merrily’s!
My joy is NOT contingent on the content of my movie!!
If I do not like a movie, I would never dream of going up to the screen, cutting it up into pieces and then rearranging those images to better suit me. I tend to try to do that with my life’s movie, however! I would much prefer to either change the channel, change what is in the projector, or leave!
If life is but a dream being projected in my mind, then I have the power to shape my experience of reality and create more of the life I want to live. In the dream of my own creation, I am not bound by the current circumstances; I can manifest my sweetest and deepest dreams into reality.
Also, if life is indeed but a dream, and all the content in the dream is ever-changing and impermanent, then “this too shall pass” becomes a very helpful and completely true affirmation whenever the schmootz hits the fan.
My intention is to keep moving from reel to real by continually wiping off my filters through mindfulness, intention, meditation, prayer, gratitude, forgiveness, and all the other ways I know.
I intend to practice freeing myself from the content of my reel.
The main reason for this intention is that all the lack, drama, sickness, hopelessness and despair I experience in life is in the content of my reel. There is a lot of good stuff in there, too, but getting inextricably attached to it can create suffering, too.
On the other hand, the real-ness in my heart only offers love.
The content of the world’s movie seems like a nightmare to many right now, myself sometimes included. I am not planning to ignore what is going on or to deny or negate my own feelings. But, stepping out of the movie once in a while and looking at it all with the eyes of my heart definitely helps.
The point is I have a choice. When it is horrible out there, I still can choose to move from reel to real. When I show up horribly, I still have the same choice. And every time I make that choice, I are more able to hold high watch; to be the change I wish to see in the world, to stay grounded in my values and principles and make the best possible choices for myself and for the world.
Perhaps best of all, I can remain open to all the beauty and joy that are going on right outside the theater.
Well, perhaps even better still, I believe that every time I move from reel to real, I bring others and the world along with me. I believe that is true for all of us.
So, I am going to keep a tight grip on my oars, keep on rowing no matter what, maintain a gentle heading pointed downstream, and row row row gently toward love, embracing the 4 merrily’s for every 3 row’s, so I can live the real behind the reel.
Life is but a dream, and I love you for being part of mine.
Stew on that, and I will see you next time. Perhaps the next chapter will be about Mary Had a Little Lamb?
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