Is There A Real World Out There?

How do we perceive reality, the things as they are or the people as they are? Is my perception of things and people changing or remainnig the same? This is a profound existential question. According to me, my perception of things and people changes depending on the condition of my mind. When my mind is quiet, clear and open, my perception of the external world of things and people becomes clear. But when my mind is clouded by my past experiences, biases, and prejudices, my perception and understanding of the external world changes. The past has an impact on the present. As is my vision, so is my vision of reality. If my vision is blurred so is my vision of reality. If my vision is clear like the clear blue sky my perception of realty is clear without any distortion. Letting go of my biases and prejudices is very important for me to see the truth. Clearing up and quieting my mind is very important for me for my mental and emotional health, for my relationships with people in my life. It took time for me to have clear perception of the external reality. One of the barriers to seeing the external reality as it is had my own insecurity. My relating to my beloved wife was affeced by my jealousy which had an adverse effect on our relationship. It causes deep wounds of hurt and pain in both of us. Learning and practicing meditation helped me immensely to clear and quiet my mind. Our realtionship began blossoming and continued blossomimg until she passed away. I learned many important lessons from working on my self-created emotional wounds and creating emotional wounds in others close to me. I grew from my deep suffering. Understanding and working on my own suffering has taught me to live fully and help others going through emotional suffering. As mentioned before knowing and accepting the cause of suffering and diligently working on it has opened the door of empathy and self-compassion, self- hopefulness and self-kindness and forgiveness in me. That is my inner wealth, inner happiness, and inner peace. May we all learn lessons from our own suffering and fill up the cup of our life with joy and happiness! This my prayer. Amen! Namaste! Jagdish P Dave