There is the waking life and the dream state. In the dream state, we can experience objects as absolutely real, and have emotions, our bodies respond and hearts beat fast during this REM stage of sleep. Yet, it all seems real, just as in the waking state, everything is real. We can feel softness, hardness, things that bend and things that do not bend. Our senses tell us this. What then, is the Atma, and are things real and distinct in the Atma?