I have read and have benefitted from the metaphor of our lives being like watching a movie, or being in a play as an actor, or like a dream. Everything that streams across the screen is accepted by the "Awareness". I've got a couple of questions about "the movie or the play." Nathan Gill, who wrote Clarity, says regarding the play of life, "It is Your cosmic entertainment. You are Your play. It has no existence separate from You. The play of life is not a separate creation watched and presided over by You. The characters in the play have no separate existence, only an apparent one. The characters are You celebrating Youself." And Tony Parsons says, "Realisation ... come as a direct rediscovery of who it is that lives." Finally, Ken Wilber says, "Our movie of life is the film that the Witness creates out of its own infinite plenitude, simply so it will have something to watch at the movies." He also says, "When you realize it's a dream, you can afford to play."

OK. Here are my questions. Whose movie is it? Am I creating it? Or is God/The Mystery creating the movie? My movie intersects with others movies, yes? And sometimes my movie conflicts with others movies? Or sometimes my actions end up hurting someone else in their movie. And how is it that the characters in my movie are Me celebrating Myself?

Who is it that lives? Is it God/The Mystery that lives through me? I am thinking that that is the case...at least I hope so.

If it's a dream, what if the "playing" I want to do hurts someone else in their dream, especially if they don't realize that they are dreaming, too?

Here's what I hope is the case, or at least the understanding I have. Realizing that "I" am no one, this lets God/The Mystery live through this "no one". This "no one" is now God's play, God's pleasure, God's entertainment. This "no one" can now sit back and enjoy the movie with God, finally free to "be".

Thanks for your reply.

_________________

The curtain rises on the scene

There's someone shouting to be free

The play unfolds before my eyes

There stands the actor who is ... me.

Dear L.,

Thank you for your sincere email. To answer your questions, let me state that no one is creaing the movies, they are an appearance and everyone sees them according to their viewpoint. One time a wiseman said, “Tell me how you see the world and God and I shall tell you everything about yourself and even predict your future.” Every human being lives from his/her viewpoint and that can’t be helped. It is all part of consciousness growth. A giant step is taken when one recognizes that his particular viewpoint is just a viewpoint and has nothing to do with reality. Then after that we start seeing that there is only One Source (pure energy or nothingness). It is at this point that we start to see that nothing is outside of this Source and it ‘appears’ as the world of objective reality.

You said very wisely, “Here‘s what I hope is the case, or at least the understanding I have. Realizing that “I” am no one, this lets God/The Mystery live through this “no one”. This “no one” is now God's play, God’s pleasure, God’s entertainment. This “no one” can now sit back and enjoy the movie with God, finally free to “be”.

It is all true, however, you missed an important point — this ‘no one’ only refers to the ego part, but who you are and that which lives is ‘YOU.’ This is hard to explain in words but there is only Source. Just see it from Adyashanti’s quote, “We are always looking for God, with his eyes.” Therefore the one who is seeking is the one who, as yet, hasn’t recognized that which lives. That which lives as ‘you’ is your consciousness, but consciousness is ONE. Again, although there is no ‘you’ as an ego but there is ‘YOU’ who is unborn and functioning in a unique expression and form temporarily to recognize that which sees and knows. The one who is aware now reading these words, who it L.? Who and what are you right this very moment? There are no words except to say you are awareness. That awareness does not belong to anyone — IT JUST IS!!! We call it God and then make IT into an entity as separate from us. There is only ONE LIFE acting as you and me and there is no separation anymore than there is separation in the ocean that appears as billions of waves. The waves are not separate but seem to be because they have a millisecond lifetime.

In truth L., there is only YOU! Once this is recognized then there is only rejoicing, celebration and true aliveness!

With love,

Burt