Experiencing and Reality

     Reality and the world we actually experience are two different things. What is within us is what shines out to the rest of the world to see. Sometimes people will hide what they shine, but even that wears thin and what they are shines through. Wait, hold up a minute. What we see shine through is not part of reality, it is an experience. For instance, someone out feeding the poor would be called kind or generous. The reality is that he is only a man feeding people. The experience is what we label the person as. This holds true for how we judge the world and the people within it.

     If someone races through a yellow light at top speed a person might say “Wow, what an idiot!” The reality is that a person just drove through a yellow light and that is all. How you experience the situation will be how you shine outwards. Positive people may laugh and negative people may swear. Still positive and negative is not reality, that is an experience and a judgment.

The Hermitage has a great example:

Let's say for the moment that you are a man. You are looking at a woman in a green sweater. What is going on?


Reality:
You are looking at a woman wearing a green sweater. You are standing outside on a day with fair skies, and it's about 90 degrees.


What you are experiencing:
"Dang that's an ugly sweater, I wouldn't be caught dead wearing a shade of green like that. She sure has nice legs, though. Damn, it's hot today, I'm about to pass out."

The more that one analyzes reality and begins to understand the more one can start to work toward the separation from experience. You will see who you are and how the world outside of you is just reality.