Reality

Over the years of working with people I have come to realize that everyone lives in a different “reality”. Each person’s “reality” consists of a series of stories based upon their unique life experiences, beliefs, and memories. In addition, each “reality” is influenced with what we bring into this life, such as past life memories and DNA settings. No two people on earth, even identical twins, have all of that in common.

I use the term “reality” in quotes because we have lots of evidence from science now that shows us that our memories of experiences do not conform to what actually happened. Instead, we have bits and pieces of information that form the basis of a constructed memory, or story, about the event.

We also have lots of evidence to show that our minds cannot distinguish between what is real and what is not. When we think something, it is often recorded as being real, such as having a conversation with someone in your head and then thinking the conversation already occurred. My favorite experiment was one where one group of people worked out on weights and the other group spend the same amount of time imagining themselves working out. Both groups had the same increase in strength after 30 days compared to a control group.

Likewise, the body and emotions respond to stimuli in the environment according to our stories, not according to what is real. An example would be a stress response to another person’s facial expression that is interpreted based on story as threatening when the other person is not at all threatening. So to the mind, the stories are real and they cloud our ability to determine what is true based on their lack of accuracy as well as the drama they create.

So how then do we know what is true? The only reliable way to know if something is true, is to quiet the mind for a moment and shift your focus to your heart chakra. There is a feeling that arises from that area that is different when something is true or false. Truth often feels light and open while false often feels heavy and closed. Each of these feelings is a vibrational awareness that is relatively neutral in the sense that it has no emotional charge. Only the heart can see what is real beyond our stories, beliefs, and dramas.

It takes some practice to learn to listen to your heart but the reality that emerges is well worth the effort.