Do you remember ever being unconscious?
Seems like a stupid question but it gets to the heart of a very common, almost universal misconception. The idea that consciousness can end.
What happens when we wake up? We remember who we are and where we are. What we need to do. The memory of where we just came from begins to fade immediately.
What happens when we fall asleep? We dream. Sometimes as we dream, we realize that we have another life that we had forgotten about. This one.
“Lucid dreaming” is what we call the experience of realizing that we are dreaming during the experience. We become conscious of the fact that we are dreaming while our bodies are sleeping. With practice, it is possible to gain the ability to retain our self-awareness as we pass from waking consciousness into the dream state. Once you are able to do this, you will realize that consciousness remains unbroken at all times.
The memory of it however…
I was once placed under anesthesia whilst undergoing a major surgical procedure. I retain no memory of what I experienced during most of this “unconscious” period but I do remember the last few moments before I “woke up”.
I was deep in conversation with another person (who it was I cannot recall), when I suddenly became aware that the anesthesiologist was trying to wake me up. I remember informing my unknown friend of this and that it was time for me to leave. We bid each other farewell and I distinctly remember knowing that we would meet again.
I then woke up on my gurney to the voices of the doctors and nurses around me. There was no break in my actual consciousness. Just the segue to a different scene with the memory of what came before receding as if it had been merely a dream…
What’s the difference between dream and reality? Is the memory of a dream a real memory? Certainly nothing you remember now is real anymore. All that remains of everything you’ve ever experienced are memories. The vast majority of which are forgotten forever.
Memories are so fragile. They can be false. They can change. They can fade away and be lost forever like the wake of a ship in the night.
Who will you be when your body is gone? When your brain is gone? When all your memories are gone?
I’m not being rhetorical here. Really think about those last questions. If you can slay this particular dragon, you will find yourself ensconced in an unassailable Fortress.