the dream is real

July 25, 2010 by Ian MacKenzie

On the side of a bus, the new poster for Inception says “The dream is real.”

Tantalizing movie tag-lines aside, I decided to pose the exact opposite.

The real is a dream.

And then I played with a thought experiment:

You sitting in morning traffic is a dream.

Working a job (you may, or may not enjoy) is a dream.

Status is a dream.

“I have to” is a dream.

Judging others is a dream.

“I’m not good enough” is a dream.

Depression is a dream.

“I can’t make a difference” is a dream.

The War on Terror is a dream.

Happiness is a dream.

A cold meaningless universe is a dream.

Fear is a dream.

You are a dream.

Only love is real.

Posted in Personal Musings, Philosophy and tagged with , . RSS 2.0 feed.
  • http://blog.kloppmagic.ca Stefan

    If you are able to believe that all of those items on your list are a dream, it isn’t a far stretch to consider love a dream as well. Similar feelings to love can be achieved by eating quality chocolate or consuming good wine, so why is love different? ;)

  • Ian MacKenzie

    @stefan – eating chocolate and good wine can induce temporary satisfaction, but pale in comparison to actual love. it’s like comparing a thimble of seawater to swimming in the ocean.

  • http://foodandyoga.ca Karen

    Experience is the imprint that our reality leaves on us. I don’t see a duality between dream and reality – I think all these things leave the impression of experience to a greater or lesser degree. They may be press through to different levels of consciousness (chocolate being on the surface, visceral, level) and love penetrating all levels above and below.