RE: The Universe is a Dream [ACIM Series Part 2]
The way I understand creation, can be explained by Hinduism's version of depicting Vishnu in active dreaming, resulting in multiverses being created.
I am not an Hindu, by the way, but used it as example because its symbolic description is very compatible with what I know.
God does create this world (and countless other worlds) through what we term as "dreams".
And we are the avatars of God.
Through multiple levels and realms of dreams, God experiences Himself.
One danger from having higher spiritual knowledge is that we tend to go from one extreme end, such as "There is a creator", or "There is a world", to another extreme end, such as "There is no creator", or "There is no world."
Such understanding is itself an illusion in this world-dream, and may even have "fatalistic" result.
For if there is no form, how can the content be presented and be made known?
Buddhism famously taught "Form is Emptiness. Emptiness is Form."
Yes, the message is important, but how can the message be transmitted without any medium whatsoever?
Try not to hold stiff to any particular dogma, whether it be "is" or "is-not" regarding a particular subject.
Again, very valid points you are making. Most of my life Advaita Vedanta has been "my" spiritual path and therefore also much of the Hindu philosophy.
Until one point, when all the (very masculine) wisdom teachings had to be balanced out by the (more feminine) quality of Love. Which cleared the path for a much broader integration of both.
Regarding the teachings of ACIM: Yes, it would be fatalistic if it would only say, that the world dream is just a place of suffering and despair. It also offers the hope of "the right mind", which is the content in form as a remembrance of the Truth. This is our decision - the only decision we can take. So there may be form, but all form is, is a symbol. Form is Emptiness and Emptiness is Form describes this very good. It's not about denying form, but just to see, that form is nothing.
...And in the words of Nisargadattta; "Nothing is Everything".
Beautiful. Both of you. These are the conversations I love.
I have found this "idea" of Reality our minds love to play with can be best described as; "Reality- when every point in the Universe agrees to what happens next in the experience."
Another way to comprehend "Reality" is to ask; "Did a part of the Universe experience it?" and then to ask, "Is there a memory of it?"
Since the dream is a creation, it is real. It has been experienced. It does not, however, exist or sustain in continuum. It will eventually disappear as if it never existed.
A common teaching I have found in literally all spiritual philosophies including Buddhism and Hindu is the observation; "All that exists is in constant transformation." The Illusion concept should not to be confused with the idea of 'was it real or was it not real'. It appears to regard the context that nothing in the Universe sustains eternally. In time, whatever it is, will eventually not exist. It will transform. Therefore all is an illusion. Only the Observer sustains.
A troubling association I commonly hear is the notion that, "If it is an illusion, then it must have no meaning or importance." Why does this make my buttocks clench. (?)
If it is imagined into the dream,.. then it is important. But only for the moment it exists, and only within the context it was dreamed.
Well, according to ACIM the dream movie is projected through one of 2 filters. These filters (which are also part of the illusion) give the dream a totally different meaning (=importance).
One is the Ego-filter and it gives the dream the meaning of specialness, time, cause and effect (guilt), attack and defense etc. This filter is very meaning-full.
The other filter is the filter of the Holy Spirit ("the right mind" or Jesus or whatever symbol of Truth).
This filter is the remembrance of Oneness and reverses all meaning and importance of the Ego-filter. Through this filter - in comparison to the other - everything has indeed to become meaningless for a while, before it gets the new meaning of Oneness.
This is just a very quick overview on how ACIM sees this and after studying nearly all the big philosophies and spiritual teachings from around the world, this was really a game changer for me.
About the topic of what is "real" and what is not, I can only tell you, that I have stopped asking me this question, because in my experience it doesn't lead anywhere but to philosophical mind-fucking.
For me, if you can see it, hear it, taste it, feel it or sense it, it's an illusion and has no reality on it's own. It's a symbol of the egos thought system and here to be forgiven (which is the courses version of "seeing the REALity behind it") .
Thank you for your comment! I really appreciate to take this topic deeper with you guys! 🙏