I thought of an analogy to explain the perspective of someone who notices the difference between the real world, and the hypnotic world of facts, events and symbols (sometimes referred to as "Maya").
Seeing Maya as the entire universe is the conventional perspective. Imagine your head being positioned within a birdcage. You can see everything (the real world) and you can also see the bars of the cage (the underlying framework of your rational, symbolic mind). After you were born, and as you grew, you were taught and learned symbols. These symbols could be represented by post-it notes being stuck to the bars of the birdcage. Each discreet "idea" has it's own post-it note. Many of the post-it notes are "instructions of operation" on how to get desired results.
When operating in the conventional mode, people are fascinated by the post-it notes. The world outside of the bird cage often intrudes, but their attention is immediately drawn back inside of the birdcage, to check the post-its so they may place the experience.
As some people grew, they were taught that they were not in control of the post-it notes. These notes were written by someone else, and they had no right or power to change the post-it notes they were given, or to write new ones. Other people realized that they can edit and add post-it notes to their birdcage. Some people may have millions of post-it notes and others just a few.
A person who has peered outside of the birdcage long enough to see the real world, and notice the difference between it and the birdcage, still has the birdcage with post-it notes on their head. The difference is that they notice birdcage, whereas people with the conventional view meld the the birdcage and reality together. Because of this, they can see neither as it is.
Seeing Maya as the entire universe is the conventional perspective. Imagine your head being positioned within a birdcage. You can see everything (the real world) and you can also see the bars of the cage (the underlying framework of your rational, symbolic mind). After you were born, and as you grew, you were taught and learned symbols. These symbols could be represented by post-it notes being stuck to the bars of the birdcage. Each discreet "idea" has it's own post-it note. Many of the post-it notes are "instructions of operation" on how to get desired results.
When operating in the conventional mode, people are fascinated by the post-it notes. The world outside of the bird cage often intrudes, but their attention is immediately drawn back inside of the birdcage, to check the post-its so they may place the experience.
As some people grew, they were taught that they were not in control of the post-it notes. These notes were written by someone else, and they had no right or power to change the post-it notes they were given, or to write new ones. Other people realized that they can edit and add post-it notes to their birdcage. Some people may have millions of post-it notes and others just a few.
A person who has peered outside of the birdcage long enough to see the real world, and notice the difference between it and the birdcage, still has the birdcage with post-it notes on their head. The difference is that they notice birdcage, whereas people with the conventional view meld the the birdcage and reality together. Because of this, they can see neither as it is.
