Beyond the Matrix: The Only Way Out

The ultimate solution to all human problems, according to the contemplative traditions of the world, is not to be found in things of the world, but rather by turning within, finding the center of consciousness, and then allowing all our actions to flow spontaneously from there.

And, in fact, it is often not until something happens that turns our world inside out, that we manage to have an experience of going deep within. The movie, The Matrix, presents a modern version of the very ancient idea that this world is not what it seems to be.

Plato expressed this centuries ago in his parable of the cave. In recent years, an increasing number of cognitive scientists, such as Donald Hoffman at Cal Tech, are also suggesting that this world is not what it seems - that in some way that is difficult for us to understand, the "world" as we experience it is not the "real" world.

In the Matrix, Morpheus expresses this idea to Neo when he says: "You're here because you know something. What you know you can't explain. But you feel it. You've felt it your entire life, that there's something wrong with the world. You don't know what it is, but it's there, like a splinter in your mind, driving you mad.

[Morpheus continues]: It is this feeling that has brought you to me... Like everyone else, you were born into... a prison that you cannot smell or taste or touch, a prison for your mind. Unfortunately, no one can be told what [that prison we call] the Matrix is. You have to see it for yourself."

Category:

Education

Tags:

• meditation
• matrix
• mindfulness
• spirituality
• buddhism
• yoga
• healing