Real / Imaginary

[Guest guest]

Things that can only appear as thoughts but cannot be experienced

directly are imaginary. In other words, conceptualized using the

imagination.

 

That's not to say things that CAN be experienced are " real " - but for

practical purposes they're real enough.

 

A few imaginary notions:

 

* Past, yesterday - where is it? Why is it never here? Why the

continuing belief it's real if I've never encountered it and never

think I will?

 

* Future, tomorrow - not just imaginary, delusive. Thinking about it

is really thinking about the past (there's no memory here about how

to project 'future', so I can't explain further).

 

* Now / present - without past and future to fit it between, where

does it fit? There can't be a point of 'now' without a past or

future to compare it against. This one isn't around either, although

the notion can be helpful in negating past and future.

 

* Existence - there's no such thing, unless you say everything exists

(in which case the word isn't needed). The reason is there's no such

thing as NONexistence. Can you point to the corner and say " That

chair there is nonexistent? " You have to first imagine a chair (doh,

imagination), then look at the corner and basically acknowledge that

the imagined chair is only imaginary.

 

* Reality - same as above. There is nothing unreal. Give me an

example of something unreal. A pink elephant? It's imaginary, but

why the word " unreal " when that's enough?

 

* Consciousness - again, where is unconsciousness? There may be a

time-lapse, but no unconsciousness... rather, one perceived a TIME

LAPSE. No unconsciousness means nothing to define that state called

consciousness. Or, it's all consciousness if you like.

 

There are so many things taken for granted that aren't there at all,

and although handy for socializing (if only because everyone else is

similarly deluded) they are just not there.

 

Most of these notions aren't even needed to go about daily life,

they're just dead " extras " that seem true purely because assumed true

and never questioned.

 

Peace...