How Thin the Veil

There is a danger involved in willingly allowing one's consciousness to expand. Consider it like a two-way mirror. For those on the mirrored side, everything they see is merely a reflection of what they expect to see. There's nothing else behind it. Expanding one's consciousness allows one to see that there IS something behind it and completely not what they expected.

This really isn't the problem, tho. The problem is returning to a more restricted view with the knowledge of the existence of the veil. Once you've seen that there's more to life than the simple reflections of your experiences so far, it's disconcerting to ever look at those reflections in the same way again.

There are many ways that we re-adjust to reality. "It was just a chemical imbalance in your brain and it was simply letting you see all the things you imagined you would see anyway. You can't trust your physical senses when your consciousness is expanded." That's a good one. It's very grounding. But it also feels like an attempt to not really deal with the question of existence beyond the veil. It's more like putting it off or trying to assuage someone's fears so that they don't go crazy, act up, and cause problems for the other "patients in the ward."

Human curiosity drives us to discover and understand that which we don't understand already. A mystery is a wonderful thing and a terrible thing all at the same time. We love to have a mystery solve but we hate not being able to solve it, at the same time. So where does the peace-of-mind come for those of us with TMI about what's on the other side of the mirror? How do we step away from the mirror and start enjoying life again, KNOWING that life could all be a facade, a show, an experiment, a dream, etc.?

By having something more important come in take the place of that desire. Work is good for that. There's 8 hours on each week-day covered. Physical distractions like Food, Drink, Sex and Sleep keep our heads out of the clouds too. A deficit in any of these four physical distractions can lead to thinking about the mirror too. Mental and physical puzzles can also keep our heads busy trying to solve them (car upgrades, crossword puzzles, video games, etc.).

Now I come to emotions. They can completely distract us from all of that too... when they fulfill an emotional need. Love, tenderness, anger, joy, resentment, sadness, pity, mischievousness, etc. all distract us from the mirror while at the same time letting us glance into it now and then as if we were breaking the fourth wall in a movie. I think when one's emotions are real we forget about the mirror altogether. When they're not real, we're VERY aware of the mirror and are trying to put on the best show we can.

The mirror is the veil. We each stand on either side of it and then announce to the world which side we're on. Those still dealing with the fact that it exists are horrified by the idea that it exists and the idea that they were pawns in a game all along. Those who've accepted the mirror's presence have the choice to use it to their advantage in manipulating the lives of others, or to simply acknowledge it's simultaneous existence and non-existence, thereby treating everyone with the same love and respect, regardless.

I know this post has been deep. It was meant to be. Writing down my mental responses to the experiences I've had while trying to find the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow has been very healthy for me. I know I don't want to go back to seeing only my reflection in the mirror. Nor can I. I'm just learning to accept the mirror for what it is to me... and then to be able to move on with that knowledge.