are they clouds or just smoke?

ive read through many of Grand Masters stories and dharma talks and to say the least they are amazing... i dont doubt their realism, instead they make me feel there is so much going on that im not even aware of... i know i can cultivate the dharma and possibly have similar experiences like GM's stories... its like there are two sides to life in samsara... one of ignornace and the other of realization... i have a hard time briding the two sometimes...

Hello Lyciss and welcome.

In my experience I find it true that there are two sides.  I find that the more I culltivate the more the Dharma makes sense, the more that it makes sense the more I put it into practice, the more I put it into practice the more experiences I have.

A favorite Zen proverb states:
I hear and I forget
I see and I remember
I do and I understand

I hope this helps.

Brenda