Living in The Matrix

I watched the Matrix the other night. I remember the first time I saw it at the cinema. It was one of the most thought provoking films I have seen. I liked the primary message of the movie. People get into deep trouble when they mistake what they perceive for reality.

Not many people realised that prior to the release of the movie, intelligence agencies were already using the term 'The Matrix' to describe the world.

In the movie, The Matrix is a very elaborate AI computer program that people believe is reality. Thier life force is harnessed to power the Matrix while their physical bodies are in pods. They believe that they are interacting in a real world.

Neo discovers the truth of the Matrix through the teaching of Morpheus. He can overcome the belief that the Matrix is reality. He rebels against the program that created the false reality and escapes the limits of the Matrix. Others believe that he has developed some form of superhuman ability but, in his own reality, he has recognised the truth of what is happening.

Escaping the Matrix is a metaphor for the mystic path to enlightenment.

The Matrix can be defined as the world that we perceive, which includes the physical world, as well as higher planes of emotions and thoughts, which also affect us.

The reality we perceive with our senses is not the true reality, but merely a small portion of reality, masquerading as the whole. But, unlike the "alternate reality" that Neo must extricate himself from, in our "reality," there is no need to rebel. Rather, our goal should be to transcend. We want to "be in this world, but not of it."

The outer world is a reflection of our inner thoughts and beliefs, whether individual or collective, which have been conditioned by our experience in the Matrix. Consequently, the Matrix is a learning environment, where we get feedback on how our thoughts manifest. Thankfully, our negative thoughts do not (typically) manifest instantaneously. Otherwise, we would risk the spontaneous destruction of our world by thinking negative thoughts.

Anyone who blindly accepts these prevalent, negative thoughts will have his or her life path dictated by the Matrix. But those who recognize that it is our collective thoughts and beliefs that power the Matrix will recognize the way out.