What is Reality?
What is reality?
Wiser men and women than me have been pondering this question for almost as long as we came down from the trees. But for our everyday purposes, reality is this moment. Reality is the world we experience, here and now.
Much of what we consider reality is, however, an illusion. Even brilliant scientist Albert Einstein told us this: “Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.”
But what does that mean? Simply put our individual awareness of “reality” is the creator of the illusion.
Bullshit? Well, let’s break this down, shall we? Consciousness creates reality. What that boils down to, however, is both ludicrously simple and mind-bogglingly complex.
No two people think alike. Further, no two people feel the same. How I describe the sensation of, say, depression, is probably not how you would describe it. And even if our descriptions are similar, we probably have different experiences with it.
The same applies to love, anger, jealousy, contentment and any other emotion you care to mention. Each of us has an individual and unique experience with these emotions. There are certainly similarities, but it is still different for each of us.
So let’s stretch this out some. Since we all feel things differently, we experience them differently. For example, the report of every single one of our senses differs from person to person. I love the smell of coffee, but I know people who find it disgusting. My wife enjoys the taste of cantaloupe, I think it tastes awful. I love the feeling of sand between my toes, while she finds it distressing. Much of the music that I enjoy others may not. The blue of the sky makes me feel happy…but some people feel that way under cover of grey clouds.
What is reality? The Definitions are Individual
Since all of our senses differ, how we perceive the world differs. Thus, that overall perception of reality for one is an illusion for another. Ergo, reality is an illusion for us all.
Some people find this notion terrifying. If this or that is unreal, then what IS real? Maybe the better question is, does it really matter?
This is where collective consciousness comes in to play. Rather than individually accept our own thoughts, feelings, actions and experiences as the creators of reality, people prefer the notion of reality handed to them. The reality where, rather than be empowered to be a creator, we are disempowered to be followers. A “normal” gets established, and people accept it for what it is, because they cannot accept that reality is actually completely individual.
I can see how this might be scary. Because power can feel scary, and we are shown ready example of “power corrupts”, ceding it somehow feels noble and selfless. The more I learn in life, the more I realize how totally wrong that is.
“We are part of this universe; we are in this universe, but perhaps more important than both of those facts, is that the universe is in us.” – Neil deGrasse Tyson. If everything in the entire universe is energy, which can neither be created nor destroyed, then all is one. Our consciousness creates reality, both through awareness and our subconscious. This is why being in the here-and-now and totally aware allows us to manifest almost anything we desire.
What is reality? Reality is the creation of your consciousness. My perception of reality is not yours, but we both exist within the same confines of the world upon which our core spirit energy, these luminous beings, exist in these bodies.
What is Reality? Choices and Decisions, Conscious or Subconscious
I know that for most people, reality includes a lot of less-than-desirable things. Debts, bad relationships, dictators and economies and hunger and war and on and on and on. Some of these matters are fairly personal, while others are way outside of ourselves.
When we choose to accept this as reality, it is exactly what we get. It is because of everyone’s differing perceptions of reality that we can be so deeply divided. That’s why when most perceive a thing as awful and inhumane, people are able to perceive it as necessary and right. No, this is not in any way a justification for terrible things that are manifest, but it does give an explanation for how they persist.
“What you resist, persists.” – Carl Jung. What does that mean? How many times do we face “realities” we do not desire? How often are they due to resisting them? Consciousness creates reality – what we give our thought, feelings and actions to manifests. Sometimes whether we want it or not.
Choose to be aware and present in the now. Decide to be more conscious of what you think about, how you feel, and actions you take from there. When more of us work on our own so-called “realities”, we can develop better not only for ourselves, but for the collective consciousness.
This may or may not seem like some new-age hooky-spooky bullshit to you…but consider this: would you rather find that reality is and always has been in your control, and thus can be changed…or that you are a pawn of others, with no ability to do anything but accept the shit-sandwiches you are being served?
What do you believe your reality to be?
What is reality?
This is the three-hundred forty-first entry in my series. These weekly posts are ideas for, and my personal experiences with, walking along the path of life. I share this journey as part of my desire to make a difference in this world along the way.
Thank you for joining me. Feel free to re-blog and share.
The first year of Pathwalking, including some expanded ideas, is available here.
After more than 6 years of Pathwalking, I have launched a Patreon to garner support for these works, and more.
