At precisely 7:00 a.m., Bob Brightman heard the sound of the alarm on his bedside table and slowly wakened from his slumber. He shut off the alarm, stretched his arms wide, and ambled to the washroom. A few minutes later, he groggily joined his partner, Salina, in their rustic kitchen. The room was aglow with the warm sunlight that was shining through their kitchen’s eastward-facing window.
“Coffee?” Salina asked, as Bob approached her and kissed her softly on the cheek.
“You know it,” said Bob, with a grin. He added milk to the coffee and assumed his favourite position in the wicker chair next to the window. His first sips of coffee tasted like mornig nectar.
Holding her own cup of coffee, Salina moved into a chair directly across from her dream guy.
“You know,” Bob said, “last night I dreamed that I was drinking coffee that tasted every bit as real as this.”
“Tell me more,” said Salina.
“Well, I was holding my favourite mug, the one you gave me on my birthday. I could feel its weight, the heat of the coffee, and even smell the aroma of freshly-ground coffee beans. Strangely enough, just like I’m doing now.”
Salina took a few sips of her coffee and looked around their kitchen. “It’s incredible, isn’t it,” she said, “how the mind can replicate reality in our dreams.”
“It definitely is,” said Bob, “even to the point of fabricating skyscrapers, mountains, and people.”
“Truly amazing,” said Salina.
Lost in contemplation, Bob seemed to freeze momentarily. “You know,” he said, with a puzzled expression, “it almost makes you wonder if the mind could be rendering this, right here and now.”
“What do you mean?” asked Salina.
“You know, dreaming us, drinking coffee in our kitchen.”
“Well, that’s preposterous,” said Salina.
“Is it?” said Bob.
Salina smiled and softly pinched her cheek. “I feel pretty real to me,” she said.
“But we feel real in our nighttime dreams, too,” said Bob. “When we dream that we’re skiing, driving a car, or eating a meal, it all seems very real…until we awaken.”
“Oh, you–you crazy Mr. Brightman!” exclaimed Salina. “Don’t be so silly. Enjoy your coffee and then get your butt into the shower. “Our backyard lawn really needs to be cut today.”
Bob smiled and slowly sipped the remains of his coffee; but as he showered and, later, cut the grass, his question about the nature of reality kept begging to be answered. As Salina washed the breakfast dishes, she also found herself pondering the following question: “How would we know if our lives were occurring within a dream?”
That afternoon, Bob was rummaging through his collection of books about spirituality when he came across the following quotes. Given what Salina and he had talked about earlier that day, it gave him pause to contemplate the issue deeply:
“All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their mind, wake in the day to find that it was vanity; but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they act on their dreams with open eyes, to make them possible.”
– T. E. Lawrence
***
“Live in the consciousness of Spirit, in that oneness with God wherein you know that life is a dream.”
– Man’s Eternal Quest, by Paramahansa Yogananda
***
“Everyone is sleeping. When you see other, when you see otherness, when you see duality, it is called dreaming. Only in the dream do you see objects. When there is other, it is a dream, and prior to this dream, you must be sleeping. Sleeping is ignorance. When you wake up from this state, you wake up to awareness.”
– Wake Up And Roar, Satsang With Papaji,” by Eli Jaxon-Bear
***
Dear Readers: We can awaken, now. When you realize this, a world full of new and exciting possibilities opens up before you. We’re informed of this in Matthew 6:33: “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” You are Spirit eternal. (If you’re curious about learning more, you might find my YouTube video entitled “Living The Dream” and my blog article entitled “Notes From Beyond” helpful.)
Dare to Dream (and care for one another).
With heartfelt regards,
Art
Copyright © – 2026 – R. Arthur Russell
P.S. Please share this article if you enjoyed it. If you’d like to view my latest book (This Taste of Flesh and Bones), press here. My YouTube videos can be found at Think2wice@I-Am-Aware. May the content of either or both help you along your spiritual journey. “Thank You” & “Note to Publishers” 🙏🏻🧡
