What is "Reality?"
“Reality” is not as real as we think.
No, I’m not about to explain quantum physics to you, or try to convince you to switch religions or go meditate in a mountain cave.
But I will tell you that our perceptions are the only way we can access reality.
Fortunately for us, our perceptions are quite open to change.
Everything that we believe to be “real” is actually a creation of our minds.
Yes, even those highly-verified scientific theories that have come to a majority consensus, and now shape the functioning of our entire society.
Because our science is not an objective measure of how reality really is. It’s a vast collection of measurements of how reality relates to us.
In truth, there is nothing outside of ourselves that we can objectively see.
We have these highly complicated sensors on our bodies that capture information, relay it to our brains, and piece it all together to construct a model of the world around us. That model is inextricably shaped by our perspectives.
Colored by our biases.
Distorted by our traumas.
Controlled by our egos.
And sculpted into a story by the mind that perceives it all.
Every event we encounter is filtered multiple times:
First, by our sensory organs and nervous systems, aggregating raw data, which is distorted once by the current state and natural aptitudes of these sensory organs.
Then, by our past experiences, as the brain searches for patterns this new information can relate to. Even our greatest attempts to counteract these subconscious biases are still distortions because they are born of the bias itself.
Much of these distortions are the works of the body at a physical level. But the Artist, the Creator, the Conscious Mind within us will not allow us to receive this information without giving it a final editing pass:
So we tell ourselves a story about the event. To give the event meaning and purpose. To attempt to link cause to effect. To find a place for this event in the world we wish to perceive. To project our identities to define the event, and to use the event to define our identities.
Because each event we experience is a part of the continuous story of our own lives. It is a story we must tell ourselves to give a sense of continuity to our existence. To create a sense of stability, realness, verisimilitude, and hope that lends us some sense of security in an ever-changing world.
We are all storytellers by nature.
How else would we learn, and grow, and transform from one state to the next? How else would we decorate our experience of life and celebrate the passing of time?
I’ve heard it said that art is how we decorate space, and music is how we decorate time. I argue that both (and more) are ways to tell stories through different forms of media. Each creation is a microcosm of a story; a contextual frame around a moment of existence that attempts to open the door from one reality to another.
There is no one “real” world in which we can all collectively inhabit.
We each have our own world, and the great challenge of our society is to bridge the gaps between these worlds. To allow each and every world to exist alongside each other with compassion. To find ways that these worlds can all inhabit the same Universe, singing in harmony to the song of creation.
Some may feel resistance to this idea. That somehow living in these stories is mere fantasy, which is bad, and that only the “objective” truth can be good.
Many of us have been raised to believe that logic and reason are the only gods we must worship with undying faith. That they are the only tools that can lead us to salvation.
Or that the words of a holy book are the incontrovertible laws by which we must all live, or suffer the consequences.
Indeed, those tools have helped to save many lives. They’ve greatly reduced the suffering of many, and given meaning to many more. Yet we have all experienced firsthand how those same tools can be leveraged to create immense suffering.
They’ve created a world in which wars are “justified.” A world in which the lesser of two evils is “the only logical choice.” A world in which these things are “just the way they are.”
A world where luxury and modern comforts are within easy reach for everyone who can afford them, at the expense of everyone who cannot. Where cheap dopamine is abundant, and genuine connection is scarce.
Where art, music, and all the things that make life worth living are reduced to commodities to be consumed. Where the lifespan of our bodies are increased only so that we may spend more days producing value for shareholders.
Why does this happen?
Because logic, reason, religion, and economics are all stories, too. Health and happiness for all is not always a primary theme for those stories. Stories like money can take on a life of their own, and spread like a virus through those who believe them.
When money is used as a symbol of value, having more money logically means that you are a more valuable person, who does more valuable things. Thus, those who have the most money are clearly creating the most value in the world.
(As long as you believe in the story of money, of course.)
Some would say that this assertion that modern money equates to real value is simply a flawed logical foundation, and therefore the result that follows from this logic is flawed as well.
But of course, logic is a story as well. The foundation of any logical argument is only that which is agreed upon, not what is “objective.” There can be no solid logical foundation for this story of money because there is no objective measurement of value.
There’s actually no objective measurement of anything. Measurements, by definition, are the comparison of one thing to another. You can measure quadrillions of times over thousands of years, but you will never be able to compare and measure one thing against a single, immutable truth.
You could break the world into the tiniest particles and reconstruct them however you please. You could eat the finest ambrosia and drink from the fountain of youth, but you would never find a greater medicine than that which inspires love in you.
Which is why we have stories.
Stories allow us to choose for ourselves what we value. The stories we tell ourselves are the tools by which we sculpt the reality we experience. When we tell these stories to others, we are sculpting their realities, too.
Stories allow me to decide that health and happiness are of greater value than money because they create things that I find much more valuable. They help me understand how much I love and care for my wife, my family, my friends when I try to contextualize those ultimately ineffable feelings.
Our stories, the differences between them, and the lengths we go to refine and share them are proof that all of existence is ineffable. We may try to define it, but it only has meaning to us. Everyone else hears the same story, but experiences something entirely different.
Words can only ever be signposts pointing in the direction of Truth.
They cannot take us there. Only we can do that.
Stories can show us the way and guide our footsteps along the path.
Yet, we decide which path to take and which stories to tell along the way.
Thanks for reading! It has been a while, so thanks to everyone who has stuck around. I’ve been taking a break from blogging due to life and diving headfirst into a whole new kind of career. Regardless, these meditations and musings are important for me to grasp these ideas and incorporate them into my own story. I look forward to getting back into the craft of sharing my life in entertaining, informative and thought-provoking ways. Why? Well, someone has to do it, and I can feel my pen itching to move.
This video from Terry Pratchett’s Discworld is particularly relevant to today’s newsletter, and a major revelation for me about the power of story.