The mystery of life itself

Waking up from the biggest dream the universe has ever seen. You just... wake up.
Himself, Him... doesn't really matter. 🙂 As long as there's an ego, once that's gone... there's Him.
Btw, I wrote the whole thing, but you only quoted a part. 🙂

nimblewolf11 said:What exactly is the Self? And how does one actually manifest it?

Once you start noticing your false persona, you know you're finally touching the true Self.

The more you act from that core, the more he realizes himself.

Michael Hernandez77 said:It’s about waking up from the greatest dream the universe ever had. You just wake up.
Himself, Him... it doesn't matter. 🙂 As long as there is an ego, once that's gone... there is Him.
By the way, I wrote the whole thing, but you only quoted a snippet. 🙂

The universe *is* the dream; there's no need for the Universe to "have a dream." 🙂

But that's only a "problem" for the seeker, whereas most people have much deeper issues than that.

Jack, no... the universe isn't that dream, and there's no bigger "issue" than this.
Actually, I guess there isn't even another problem besides this one. It's just waking up and realizing that you are the only "problem."
Everyone is searching for it, whether they realize it or just feel it instinctively.

Michael Hernandez77 said:Jack, no... the universe isn't that dream, and there isn't a bigger "problem" than that.
To put it more bluntly, there really isn't any other problem besides this one: waking up and realizing you are the only "problem."
Everyone is searching, whether they realize it or just act on instinct.

They aren't searching; they're just grinding away in the vortex of life. Creation is a Dream, and man has manufactured a "dream within a dream," slowly getting crushed by the weight of mere impressions.

If we’re being precise, there isn't even a problem at all. But if we have to put it into human terms, then this is humanity's greatest struggle. Once we move past it, the Dream can finally flow naturally. The universe is a multi-layered illusion—there is no good or evil here—but an illusion within an illusion becomes a burden so heavy that even the creator shows up, pleading.

Since you can't really debate or philosophize about God, or even about life itself, language and poetry are the only things that let us buzz about it on a forum like this to feed our intellect. That's why it's easy to say, "No, Jack," because those are just words. But I say, "You're close, Michael Hernandez77, but the universe is a very real dream." 🙂

Look, Jack, you're making this way more complicated than it needs to be. Sorry, I just have to say it.
Let's just set aside the universe, the Creator's dream, and even that ultimate concept we call the Creator.
The biggest headache of all is that whole "dream within a dream" idea. But honestly, let's just drop it—it’s just a drain on your energy and focus.
Maybe we should just ask ourselves, "Who am I? Am I just the person aware of my thoughts, feelings, and senses? Does my 'Self' actually depend on them?"
And what about those old sayings, like how "the kingdom of heaven is within you," or the idea that "what we're searching for is the very place we're searching from"?
Or even that line from the prophet: "He who does not know himself, does not know God."
Are these just deep metaphysical metaphors meant only for a chosen few?
No need to overthink it, though. Let's just lay all the cards on the table.
It's just us. Love. 🙂

Michael Hernandez77 said:Look, Jack, you're overcomplicating things. Sorry, but I have to say it.
Let go of the universe, let go of the Creator's dream, and let go of that ultimate object we call the Creator.
The root of every single problem is just a dream within a dream. But even then, let’s skip that—it just drains your energy and focus.
Ask yourself: "Who am I, the one who is aware of my thoughts, emotions, and senses? Does the 'I' actually depend on them?"
Think about what it really means when people say "the kingdom of heaven is within you"... or that "the place we are searching for is the very place from which we are searching." You don't need anything more than that; just lay all your cards on the table.
There is no "us two." There is only Love. 🙂

I'm not clinging to any of this. 😁 That's why everything I say is meant to help: "Leave the busywork alone," but when it comes to intellectual play, I'll take as much of that as I can get for inspiration.

Most people don't actually struggle with the question "who am I?" Instead, they jump straight to conclusions—they rush to "become" something. That's exactly the excess they don't need. Thinking "this is who I am" leads directly to "I am this body," "I am this," "I am that." Eventually, they give themselves an answer based purely on imagination, rarely realizing they haven't actually reached self-knowledge at all. It might be better to start at the beginning with "what am I *not*?" 😁
This subject matter is incredibly sticky for the mind.

Praise be to God, whose unity was there before anything else—except that what came before was actually Him—and after whose unity nothing follows, except that what follows is Him. He just is. For Him, there’s no before or after, no above or below, no near or far. There isn't even merging or splitting, or how, where, when, or any sense of time, space, or existence. He simply is, just as He always was. He is one without needing a concept of unity, and unique without needing a definition. You can't separate Him from a name or a description because His name is just Himself, and the thing being described is just Him. So, really, there is no name or object outside of Him, because He is both the name and the thing itself. He is the beginning without being "first," and the end without being "last." He is the exterior without being "outside" and the interior without being "inside." I guess what I mean is that He is the very essence of the first, the last, the outer, and the inner. In a way, there is no first, last, inside, or outside except Him, but those things don't become Him, nor does He become them.

So, please, try to understand this so you don't get tripped up: He isn't "in" things, and things aren't "in" Him. It's not about things coming in or going out. To truly know Him, you can't rely on knowledge, logic, thinking, mental images, or even your senses—not through your physical eyes or your intuition or any kind of observation. Nothing sees Him except Himself; nothing perceives Him except Himself. Only through himself does He see himself, and only through himself does He know himself. No one sees Him but Him, and no one perceives Him but Him. His veil is just a tiny sliver of his unity; nothing covers Him except Himself. That veil is basically just His existence hiding within His own featureless unity. No one sees Him but Him—not some messenger or prophet, not a perfect saint, not even an angel close to Him. No one knows Him. His prophet is Himself, His message is Himself, and His word is Himself. He sent Himself, through Himself, from Himself, to Himself. There wasn't any middleman or any cause other than Him. There's no real difference between the sender and the sent, or the sent and the receiver.
That's why the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "Whoever knows himself, knows his Lord." And he also said (peace be upon him): "I know my Lord through my Lord." The Prophet (peace be upon him) is pointing out that you aren't really "you." You are Him, without the "you" part. It's not like He enters you or you enter Him, or that He flows out of you or you flow out of Him. What I'm trying to say is that you aren't some existing entity or a collection of traits. Actually, it's more like you never were, and you never will be—not through yourself, not through Him, not in Him, and not with Him. It's not that you stop existing or stay existing. You are Him, without any of those limits. So, if you know your existence this way, then you know God; if you don't, you just don't.

Most people who claim to "know God" make a huge mistake. They think they have to negate existence or negate that negation to reach God, but that's just a total delusion. Knowing God isn't about negating existence, nor is it about stopping that negation. See, things don't actually have an existence of their own, and something that doesn't exist can't exactly "stop" existing. If you try to negate something, you're assuming that "existence" is its own thing, which is basically just idolatry. I guess if you know himself without needing to negate existence, then you know God. Otherwise, you don't.
Ibn Arabi

Just chew on that for a bit. 🙂

Michael Hernandez77 said:Praise be to God, whose unity precedes everything except Himself, and after whose unity nothing follows except Him. He simply is. For Him, there is no before or after, no above or below, no near or far. There is no merging or dividing, no how, no where, no when—not even the concepts of time, moments, age, existence, or place. He is, just as He always was. He is one without needing a definition of unity, and unique without needing the concept of uniqueness. He isn't made up of a name and a thing being named, because His name is Himself and the thing named is Himself. In truth, aside from Him, neither name nor object exists, because He is both the name and the reality. He is the beginning without primacy and the end without finality. He is the exterior without outsideness and the interior without insideness. What I mean is that He is the very essence of the first and the last, the very essence of the outer and the inner. Therefore, there is no such thing as a beginning, an end, an outside, or an inside, except for Him—and even then, those things don't become Him, nor does He become them.

Look, you have to understand this so you don't end up chasing shadows: He isn't contained within things, nor are things contained within Him. There is no coming or going. You can’t find Him through book learning, logic, deep thought, or even mental imagery. You won't find Him through your physical senses, your intuition, or any kind of observation. Nothing sees Him except Him; nothing perceives Him except Him. He is the only one who truly sees Himself, and He is the only one who truly knows Himself. No one else can see Him, and no one else can perceive Him. His veil is just a tiny fragment of His unity; nothing covers Him except Himself. That veil is simply His existence hiding within His own attribute-less unity. Not a single messenger, not a prophet, not a perfect saint, and not even the most enlightened angel standing right by His side can know Him. He is His own prophet, His own message, and His own word. He sent Himself, through Himself, out of Himself, to Himself. There was never a middleman or any cause other than Him. There is no distinction between the sender and the sent, or between the sent and the receiver.
The Prophet (bless his soul) once said: "To know oneself is to know one's Lord." He also noted—and I mean this with all respect—that he knows his Lord through his Lord. What the Prophet is really driving at is that you aren't actually "you." You are Him, without the concept of "you" getting in the way. It isn't like He is stepping into you or you are stepping into Him; it’s not even a matter of Him flowing out of you or you coming from Him. It’s not saying that you or your traits are some kind of separate entity that exists. Rather, it means you never truly existed in the first place—not through yourself, not through Him, not in Him, and not with Him. It's not that you stop existing or that you continue to exist. You simply *are* Him, free from all those limitations. If you can grasp your existence in that way, then you truly know God. If you can't, then you don't know God at all.

Most people who claim to "know God" make a massive mistake: they think they have to achieve some state of self-annihilation—or stop trying to annihilate themselves—as a prerequisite for spiritual connection. That’s just plain wrong. Here’s the thing: knowing God isn't about erasing your existence, nor is it about reclaiming it. It’s simpler than that. Things don't actually possess an independent existence on their own. And if something doesn't truly exist in that isolated way, you can't exactly "stop" its existence. To suggest that you have to cancel out your being is to assume that your being was a standalone reality to begin with, which is nothing more than idolatry. It's straightforward: if you know himself without relying on the illusion of independent existence or self-negation, then you know God. If you don't, you don't.
Ibn Arabi

Take a moment to reflect on this. 🙂

Thanks, but none of this is news to me—especially not when it comes to Sufi mysticism. I actually talk about many of these same concepts using different terminology. I could easily copy-paste endless examples for you if we wanted to, but we’d just end up circling the same drain. It’s all great for inspiration, sure— 🙂 but my conclusion remains the same: despite how convinced they might be, nobody on this forum is actually living permanently in the Real. True spirituality is a rare find. That’s why this forum is such a lovely place, though; it’s like a beautiful playground for kids, full of intellectual tinkering, occasional tears, and wonderful insights. That’s why I keep coming back. The imagery and symbolism used by those who have truly attained Enlightenment are beautiful, but you can find all that in books, too. Personally, I prefer the books. Best regards, hitting the road tonight.

So why does it even matter if we wrap this up here? Is it really that vital to decide if there are people on this forum who have actually seen the truth? Who is this even for—is it just about someone's ego? I don't get it.
Copy-pasting isn't a crime, I guess, especially if it comes from actual experience. For what it's worth, I'd say there is one person here living in the truth, and we know exactly who that is. You.
Because honestly, trying to act like the judge of who's real and who isn't... maybe only He can do that, since He's the one who pulled back the veil. 🙂

Michael Hernandez77 said:It’s like waking up from the most massive dream the universe has ever seen—you just suddenly snap awake!
Himself, Him... honestly, it doesn't even matter! 🙂 As long as there's an ego involved, it's all about himself—but once that disappears? Then, it's all about Him.

Even after you wake up... the ego isn't just going to vanish—it’ll still be right there!

Nicole Smith said:Ever had that moment when you start noticing your fake persona creeping in? It’s such a trip! When do you actually realize you're just playing a part instead of being yourself? You know, I feel like I could say it—that you’re actually touching himself.

The more you act from within yourself—from your true core—the more your reality actually starts to align! Isn't that just incredible? When you stop performing for everyone else and start acting from who you truly are, everything just clicks into place. It’s like the universe finally catches up to you!

It’s not just about touching—it’s an entire process. And honestly? It might have already begun.

The word "himself" is just so incredibly stretchy—it can point to so many different things depending on how you look at it, don't you think?

Michael Gonzalez77 said:The universe—it’s really just that one big dream!It’s really not necessary for the universe to "see a dream," you know?

Michael Hernandez77 said:The root of all our troubles—honestly—is just the dream. In a dream...

It’s pretty much the exact same thing that Michael Gonzalez77 "said" (check the bolded part)—almost identical!

The issue isn't actually the dream itself—though, Michael Gonzalez77 wrote a pretty great piece about that whole "dreaming about sleep" phenomenon!

But honestly, let's just move past that—it's such a drain on your energy and focus, don't you think?
Let's take a moment to ask ourselves—So, who am I? It’s funny how that question can just hit you out of nowhere, isn't it? Who am I, really? Is it my job, my name, or maybe just this collection of thoughts running through my head right now? It's a big question—maybe one of those deep ones that keeps you up at night! But hey, isn't that part of the fun of being alive? Exploring the mystery of ourselves!,

Over and over again!

By the way—just a quick thought!

Why does everything seem to happen in cycles—or just keep repeating itself over and over? And more importantly, where is it all actually coming from?

nimblewolf11 said:The ego doesn't just vanish once you wake up...

It isn't about reaching a destination; it’s an ongoing process. And that process might have already kicked off for you.

That concept of "himself" is pretty flexible and can mean a lot of different things depending on how you look at it.

I used the phrase "touching himself" because your question made it sound like you were totally new to this. I was just trying to explain the process simply, but it turns out you already know your stuff! 😁

What’s even the point of correcting someone when they're just sharing their own version of things? Everyone's got their own take, I guess. So, I'm just sending out some love instead! 🙂

Michael Gonzalez77 said:Because a dog is just a dog. It isn't some complex psychological machine like you seem to think (assuming you’re actually being serious here, which I doubt). Dogs are animals, plain and simple. They don't have complicated internal wiring like humans do. The only creature that truly suffers from being "restless" inside is man. It’s all because we can't control what we own—our physical bodies and our minds—yet we insist on identifying with them. A person doesn't "have" thoughts; rather, thoughts and emotions happen to inhabit a person. It's like that ridiculous idea that a dolphin would need two days just to teach a human how to stand by a pool and toss it a fish. 😁

Honestly, I don't get why people are still struggling to understand this whole thing about the dog.

My cat gets restless too. He'll be lying there perfectly calm, then suddenly his ears perk up, he stares at something invisible right in front of him (I never see what he's looking at), and that's it. If a stranger walks in, he gets agitated. Just like that.

Michael Gonzalez77 said:Because a dog is just a dog. It isn't some complex psychological machine like you seem to think (assuming you aren't just joking around here). Dogs are like most other animals—they don't have that deep psychological complexity; their internal programming is way simpler than ours. The only thing that actually experiences "restlessness" is a human being. And the reason is simple: we can't control what we own—this body hardware and this mind software—yet we insist on identifying with them. A man doesn't possess thoughts; rather, thoughts and emotions possess him. It’s basically like that story about how it took a dolphin two days just to teach a guy how to stand by the pool and toss it fish. 😁

Honestly, I don't get what part of this whole dog story is still confusing.

And look, Michael Gonzalez77, you don't need to be some high-level psychological machine to feel restless. All it takes is a basic nervous system reacting to a threat.

Michael Hernandez77 said:Look, Jack, you're overthinking this. Sorry, but I have to say it.
Just let go of the universe, let go of the creator's dream, and even let go of that ultimate entity we call the Creator.
The root of every single problem is just a dream within a dream. But honestly, forget that too—it's just a massive drain on your energy and focus.
Ask yourself: "Who am I? Am I just the sum of my thoughts, emotions, and senses? Does the 'I' actually depend on them?"
Think about what it means when they say "the kingdom of heaven is within you"... or that "the place we seek is the very place from which we are seeking."
Or take the prophet's words: "he who does not know himself, does not know God."
Are these just untouchable metaphysical metaphors meant only for some elite few?
No need to go further. Just lay all the cards on the table.
It's not us against them. It's love. 🙂

We're all God's children. God is love. Arrogance is the only thing jamming the antenna we all have to reach Him.

That sounds easy enough to say, maybe even a bit too simple. 🙂
Is that just your own experience speaking, or is it faith? I mean, if we’re all His children, where is He actually located? I guess maybe He’s just existing in some other dimension while we live our lives parallel to Him? But then... wouldn't that basically be polytheism? Can anything really exist alongside Him or outside of Him? Is He the object or the subject? Honestly, I have hundreds of questions swirling around...
Just show me the way. That’s really all that matters.

Drew Cooper4 said:Besides, Michael Gonzalez77, you don't need to be some complex psychological machine to feel restless. A simple nervous system is enough for a threat to set you off.

My cat gets restless like that too. He'll be lying there perfectly calm, and then suddenly his ears perk up, and he stares at something in front of him like he's seen a ghost (I never see what he's looking at), and it just goes like that. If a stranger walks into the house, he gets unsettled. That's it.

Unless you've put him through some physical trauma, believe me, your cat is a much calmer "person" than you are. Even with those sharper senses, he's totally chill being who he is. He's 100% a cat without needing to go searching for himself.😁

Elizabeth Castillo87 said:In a way, every single individual is their own entire universe, simply because you’ll never find two people on this planet who share the exact same collection of memories.
So, regardless of what spiritual thinkers might claim about our essence or whatever that entails, our memories aren't just some dusty attic of useless junk; they are the very foundation of who we are.
While everyone says we ought to live strictly in the present moment, that definitely shouldn't mean we toss our past experiences out the window.

It seems like enemies always tend to share the same grievances, much like friends often find themselves stuck in the same loops too. 😒

Indeed, everything really just boils down to your perspective. 👏👍

Michael Hernandez77 said:That’s easy enough to write, maybe even too easy. 🙂
Is that actual experience talking, or just faith? If we're really His children, then where is He? I assume He's somehow displaced, like we're all just living parallel lives alongside Him? And if so... isn't that basically polytheism? Can anything actually exist alongside or outside of Him? Is He an object or a subject? The questions just keep piling up...
Just show me the way. That's the only thing that matters.

Yeah, there are endless questions. I've spent plenty of time overthinking it, studying everything under the sun, but everything in this world seems to contradict itself. You can overanalyze and brain-drain yourself until you're just left with a tangled mess of neurons.😁, whereas the truth is usually plain and simple, right in front of us. Maybe the answer isn't more thinking, but more doing. Just dive into something. Try actually living out a faith—mine happens to be Christian—and see if it brings peace or if the pieces finally click into place.