Reality
Real is what you think it is. Consider a person who is suffering from hallucinations, they may see a pink elephant riding down the high street on a unicycle—they see that, they believe what they see--- part of their brain may be telling them that what they are seeing is irrational but—they see what they see and they believe what they see so to them, that, bizarre as it is, is reality.
Take a step closer to you, you don’t have hallucinations but you do have a cordless mouse on your computer. Sometimes it stops working and you have found that if you hold the batteries in your hand for a few moments then put them back in they start to work again –you consider that the warmth of your hands has an effect on the batteries. Your neighbour has the same mouse and the same experience but they believe that since humans are electro- biological machines by holding the batteries they impart / partially recharge them.
Which is right--- not really the issue here--- each has a situation that they explain in a way that satisfies them The belief that each has is real to them and may effect how they relate to other parts of their life and being. Providing they are consistent they can each have what is , to them, valid explanations and connections between beliefs, experiences and actions.
They will be led by the beliefs they have to view things in certain ways . they will look for things that validate their views and dismiss anything that seems contradictory. This then is how people create their own reality, based on their experience and on what they observe and what they ( Unconsciously) choose to delete.
This all helps us understand that there are many ways of approaching and dealing with situations. We, individually, may be confused or frustrated by the actions of others because we do not share their reality and until now perhaps you didn’t even acknowledge that there are multiple realities. To be 100% clear there is no one true reality, no absolutely guaranteed unequivocal “right”. You might refer to others as deluded, brain washed, stupid, insane because they do not see things in the terms that you do. They may stress the importance of elements that you feel are inconsequential. Consider that in this universe there is a wealth of possibilities that as yet we are not even aware exist—we are getting clues to hint that so called scientific “Facts” are not as cast in stone as we thought. Who still believes that the earth is flat?
I’m sure most people think that the brain is an organ that reaches maturity at a certain age then begins to deteriorate over the remainder of life, that every day xx many neurons die off. FMRI scanners now show “Brain plasticity” it is true that neurons die--- but then cells in all parts die--- the new part of the story is that new neurons are being created. Every new learned fact, piece of knowledge, retained memory is retained through a bio electric process that creates new neurons . It is not the case that the brain is ever going to burst out of the skull but what is true is that a process of death and replacement goes on. In the same way that you clear out the garage of junk but then quickly fill the space with the things you need to store--- till they become junk and that cycle goes on and on.
So what use is the knowledge that reality is what you believe it to be?
Well it is a tool that you can use, a very useful one providing you keep it handy.
In stead of getting into arguments over how wrong someone is you can realise that through their differing life experience they see things in a different way and express them in different terms than you would use. This means that instead of trying to beat them psychologically or emotionally into submitting to your reality you can re-express your view in terms that they will comprehend and in a manner to which they can respond. You become the one who rises above the petty argument system and instead gets fast insight which allows you to steer the situation on to a calmer way forward.
How often have you heard on TV if not in real life dramas where tension builds to a crescendo and a totally frustrated character screams “Why cant you see things from my point of view”
This is not a demand from them that you change your understanding of a situation but that you recognise that other people have different priorities and are therefore bound to observe things from a different standpoint.
Sometimes stepping away from yourself, standing as an outside observer watching your own actions in the way you observe those of others is an immensely powerful and valuable experience. A new reality !!