Hi Kyle,

You asked, "Is life/reality just a waking dream? I get the inclination that it is."

Yes, the dream analogy is one that has been used as far back as the Buddha. When one realizes that this is a dream, one becomes awakened, or enlightened.

What's important is to realize that we're not the dream; we're the dreamer. We can enjoy the dream and learn from it, but when we identify with the dream and start to treat it as reality, we get caught up in all kinds of struggles, fears, preoccupations that are ultimately trivial, and delusional.

If we realize we are the dreamer, and the dream is just a short interlude in our eternal lives, then we can have a perspective on the dream, learn to take the struggles less seriously, enjoy the joys more fervently, and focus on others rather than ourselves. Then we start to really live life fully.

This is a story about the Buddha:

When the Buddha started to wander around India shorterly after his enlightenment, he encountered several men who recogized him to be a very extraordinary being. They asked him, "Are you a god?"

"No," he replied.
"Are you a reincarnation of god?"
"No," he replied.
"Are you a wizard, then?"
"No."
"Well, are you a man?"
"No."
"So what are you?" they asked, being very perplexed.
"I am awake."

Buddha means "The Awakened One."

When we wake, we can reenter the dream knowing it's a dream. If we continue to view the dream as real, we are deluded, and will be jostled around by the dream without understanding it.

Love and peace, Craig