“People are afraid of themselves, of their own reality; their feelings most of all. People talk about how great love is, but that’s bullshit. Love hurts. Feelings are disturbing. People are taught that pain is evil and dangerous. How can they deal with love if they’re afraid to feel? Pain is meant to wake us up. People try to hide their pain. But they’re wrong. Pain is something to carry, like a radio. You feel your strength in the experience of pain. It’s all in how you carry it. That’s what matters. Pain is a feeling. Your feelings are a part of you. Your own reality. If you feel ashamed of them, and hide them, you’re letting society destroy your reality. You should stand up for your right to feel your pain.”
-- Jim Morrison
If Jim Morrison could have beaten his alcohol dependency we would still have one of the greatest "nouveau" philosophers. I life real, or is it Memorex? Is what we see and feel real, or is it illusion tricking our minds and driving us insane? There is recent theory offering that a faucet drips because we are there to witness it; that our minds have effect on reality. Does God exist only because man wills it to be?
“Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.”
Experiment: Go to an area in a national park where you can get away from everyone and all noise except that which is nature. I prefer an area next to a stream so other noise is drowned out. Sit, or lay down, and close your eyes. Listen to the nature around you for a few minutes. Calm your breathing and your heart rate; relax. Empty your mind of all thought except the sounds of nature. Do not think of problems in your life, at work, family, just focus on the sounds and try to pick out each from another. After a few minutes or so, open your eyes and look around. This is your perception of reality. This is the world we live in. If you allow any other thought or sound enter this moment, you change your perception of reality. Understand that reality has not changed. What is still is. Your perception is now altered by inter-personal interactions, daily news, a bad day at work, children, family, finances, dreams and nightmares, etc., etc., etc. This is not the world we live in, this is the world we make of the world we live in. Is the world we make any less real than the world that exists? If we weren't here, the world would still exist without what we make of it. True reality will continue on as if our perceived reality had never been. But this does not make the perceived reality any less manifest.
“I believe in everything until it's disproved. So I believe in fairies, the myths, dragons. It all exists, even if it's in your mind. Who's to say that dreams and nightmares aren't as real as the here and now?”
-- John Lennon
Imagine Adam and Eve in the Garden. Life is good. This is reality. Eve gets a credit card in the mail. Reality is still good. She uses it. The reality that Adam and Eve have perceived to this point has just changed. Property has entered the world, and with it has come debt, and worry about how to pay that debt, arguments will ensue over finances, children, and the family ox. The garden is still there, but their perception has been changed.
“How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg? Four. Calling a tail a leg doesn't make it a leg.”
There are two realities. One is "primary" reality or "primary" existence. Everything that existed before us is base reality. It is physical and it exists. The second is "secondary" or "created" reality. This is what we create in order to make the "primary" reality a bit more fun, exciting, and comfortable. It's the same thing, only different. All of the ills, concerns, troubles, worries of mankind exist because of our created reality. The closer we return to primary reality the more truly happy we are. Some would offer that if you have enough money...but, we all know that money does not buy happiness, it simply changes one's perception of their world. It is easier to accept our created reality and learn to live with the occasional bumps in the road. This is our life, experience it.
“Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced.”
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