A Course in Miracles talks about this world as an illusion, a dream. So do Eastern traditions as well as other sources. When the individual has awakened from the dream, he/she will know true reality.

Like the alarm clock I use to awaken me in the morning, I set my cell phone alarm to awaken me from my meditative practice. This morning, when it went off, a question appeared in my consciousness: Is this the way it’s going to be when I awaken from the dream, i.e., an alarm will sound, and – poof! – I’ll be fully awaken, and Home with God in the Real World?

No, I don’t think that’s the way it works. For me, awakening has been a gradual process although there’ve been some big “Ah-ha’s” along the path.

I look forward to when I arrive Home a fully conscious being. Until then, I’ll put one foot in front of the other, be open to God’s guidance, and seek to realize all the God-like potential that resides inside me.