Here is the script for a little theatrical piece I once writ. If you care to join me, we come in where the first character begins to speak:
“Hello, I am not an actor, but I will herein pretend to play one for this presentation. This is called, “A Certain One Act Play In 4 Acts.” I will be playing the part I am pretending to play.
There was once a person who talked very much about himself, other people, the relationships between the two, and about Life itself. The person seemed intent on verbally describing almost
everything they thought, felt, experienced, hoped for, etc. It was pretty much a case of “talk, talk, talk,” not at all unlike most people.
On one certain occasion this person was in the presence of someone who took an interest in observing “human existence,” and this observer spent some hours just listening and watching the
first person deliver their non-stop descriptions of their reactions to being alive. Finally the observer injected himself, and pointed out to the talker the ofttimes glaring difference between what was actually occurring and what the talker was describing as the occurrences. The talker paused, looked confused, and expressed his disability to comprehend the comment. The observer then tried to make the point as directly as possible, and directly noted that much of what the talker described as the “reality of the situations” observably had little or nothing to do with the visible reality of what they claimed to be describing. The talker still looked confused, so the observer said, “Your descriptions often do not fit with the actual reality of the things out there, you seem to act as though there are two realities; the one in your head, and the other, real one out there.” The talker cocked his head and repeated, in a questioning tone, “reality, the real one out there...” Suddenly his face lighted up, and he pointed his finger out in front of him and said, “Oh, you mean THAT reality!’”
And now the second actor makes his appearance:
“Hi, my name is Dr. Everybody, from the state of Anywhere, Planet Earth. I am here to reconfirm the grave, and ever present psychological dangers represented by the so-called “talker” in that story. Men and women throughout history have confused the reality they imagined in their own heads with the objective reality of things as they actually are out in the real world. This common, though still aberrant behavior, is at the very heart of all forms of mental illness, both neurotic and psychotic. It is a most serious matter indeed, and not one fit for humorous
intent, as I suspect was done in that story. This deranged confusion between the individual's sense-of-reality and the actual reality of reality was manifest in Men as far back as the early tales of mythology, voices of gods, and the like, and we are fortunate that modern psychology and psychiatry have made the tremendous strides they have in identifying and diagnosing this
frightening confusion. We can now safely state that THE sure sign of contemporary mental health is in the individual's ability to correctly distinguish between their own, personal, faulty and prejudicial SENSE-of-reality in their own minds, and the precise objectivity of actual reality as it always exists for everyone ‘out there.’”
Our third character now makes his entrance:
“Greetings, my name is Guru Whatever, and I am your archetypical “holy person,” speaking to you throughout history, but specifically now, here on this platform. I too, heard the story of the “talker” and their comment of, “Oh, you mean that OTHER reality,” and also the comments of the head doctor before me. I must tell you that an individual’s personal conception of reality is in no wise inferior to what may be called “objective reality,” the one “out there,” and I dispute
the doctor’s claim that these two are in conflict, and that the situation is a dangerous one to be avoided or overcome. All of mankind’s spiritual progress, from the crude days of mythology,
and spirits, to modern ones of revealed religions and fully enlightened teachings, is due to the few people’s correct use of the “two realities.” Were Men limited to what the Doctor calls “precise, objective reality,” as opposed to an individual’s mentally perceived and imagined reality, we would have had no such cosmic giants as Buddha, Moses, or Jesus. All we would have had would be cold, scientific “facts” from the mere minds-of-test-tube-watchers, and as important and useful as these may be, they are not the kinds of information that raise Man’s
spiritual consciousness and inspire him to greater dreams of victory. No, I must disagree with the Doctor most forcefully, and tell you that “dreamers,” those Men and Women with a deep
imagination who can, in their own mind's eye, see another, different, even better reality than the everyday one ‘out there’, are not sick and confused but are in fact the healthiest and most insightful of us all.”
And to complete our quartet:
“Hi, I'm Act-Four, and I have another story for your hearing-molecules”:
There was once a place that had everything this place has; same kind of people, same kind of mountains, and rivers; same kind of science and laws, just the same kinda stuff you got right
here. This place went through the same kind of changes that took place right here, and one group of creatures developed the molecular ability to picture outside things in their own head, to make up names for the things, and then to talk amongst themselves about these things, and to remember how to picture them and talk about them in their own head, and even how to make marks on paper representing this general ability.
These creatures had as much fun as they thought was possible, and they spoke, wrote and thought about every possible thing, and combinations of things they thought were possible, and many times what they thought about things would have looked different from the things themselves if you could have seen and visually compared the two. Thus, it was sort of like they had access to two realities: The one reality of things “out there” as-they-actually-are, and the other reality of things “in here” (point to your head), that is, things as they are imagined-to-be. Like everywhere else, these creatures were in unknown servitude; just as they had unthinking, “one reality” beasts toiling for them, they were slaving away for their unseen master, and were no less for it.”
My little story can be rather boring, I guess, but there is one aspect that someone might find amusing. These creatures’ ability to perceive and accept “two realities,” one in their private head and the other “out there” in the public forum, was specifically for the purpose of making them see everything existing in two potentials, two conflicting potentials. As you know, conflict everywhere in creation will result in energy-transformation, which is necessary to keep food
circulating, and Life alive. And that's about it...oh, one more little thing you might find interesting: so as to make sure these creatures stayed in a more-or-less constant state of conflict and thus energy-ready, they were unknowingly constructed to react to all dual potentials in a most serious fashion. The question of one's inner, personal reality conflicting with some outer, objective one was taken as a most weighty matter, and all of the everyday conflicts arising from differing human opinions, beliefs, even 'facts' were accepted, in many instances, as questions of life-and-death. From the higher, more complex view of the creatures' unseen owner, none of the verbalized conflicts, as pictured by their thinking molecules were of any individual, specific importance whatsoever, that's what I thought some of you might find rather amusing, that the actual CONTENT, apparent purpose, and reality of the dual conflicts were not what was
important, although it SEEMED so, even to the most thinking AND intelligent of these other creatures. The only importance was in the creatures perceiving A CONFLICT, and whatever names, and views they put on any particular instance was of no importance – none, just so long as they DID perceive a duality of reality, and conflicting possibilities.
That's the end of my story, at least that's what it says here in the script.
J.
