The bane of existence is striving for purpose and meaning in life. The unrealized little me seeks purpose and meaning in life either knowingly by continually adding to the quest or unknowingly by moving along with the status quo. The small ego/mind is identified and overshadowed by events and circumstances in physical reality, looking for happiness, peace of mind, and the end of suffering, no matter how indifferent or acute it may seem.
Whether the goal arises for self-realization, there are no limitations or constraints to living life in all cases. It appears to be for the ego/mind trying to control, manipulate, and find completion (happiness/peace of mind) in an unknowable existence. The simplicity missed by the shadowed ego/mind is the “what is” of events and circumstance as it is; it has nothing to do with anything else, no purpose or meaning; it is just the moment-to-moment happening of any realistic perspective.
The message of “what is” is not recurring; it is the singularity of now, the absolute expression of this moment. The recurring phenomenon is the experience of someone trying to figure out or find completeness in the message of experience. This recurring loop of ignorance is the little me wanting to know and understand. The experience of “I am a somebody, doing something” is illusory; no somebody or something is doing or involved in any real purpose or meaning. It all counts in the dimension of phenomena, but it doesn’t matter. The illusion is momentarily complete in experience, whether in the passive or assertive 3-D world, the dream state, an organic or synthetic altered consciousness, a meta or paranormal experience, or even a mirage.
Doubting the validity of no one, no “I am,” is impossible for the ego/mind to resolve. The covering of existential reality is complete in its conditioned patterns of perception. The only “me” that exists is the claim by the dreamer that there is me. Any freedom from that illusion is driven by doubt and fear of the vast unknown.
The “what is” appears as something already perfect; it is done with nothing to add. The limited relative experience of the individual waiting for something to happen, something to be added, makes this “what is” seem imperfect. It is the seeking, the looking, the trying to figure out that the covering makes it appear to be not found. The appearance of a past coming forward to an expected future is a process that does not exist beyond a dream.
Lost in the dream will always point you to something to be found, attained, and accessed, but it is just an illusion; there is nothing to be seen besides the immediate reality of now. You cannot find something that is not separate from you. There is no separation; there is what is. The struggle is the “I am” convinced the way out is through an experience of something greater. Something found to answer the question of seeking an ultimate meaning to existence or just lost in seeking more and more experience or things to be obtained to quell the search for purpose and meaning in life. It’s illusory, yet existence announces itself to the ego/mind as a perspective reality to what is appearing.