Creating Your Own Reality - Part 1
September 28th 2006 10:19
"Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one" - Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
If what we generally refer to as 'reality' is an illusion dictated by your own perception, it would logically follow that if you were to change the way you percieve the world you could effectively change your enitire reality.
In order for this to be proven there are two major points that must be considered, namely that 'reality' is created or at the very least affected by your perception of it (which will be the focus of Part 1) and secondly that your perception of reality can be altered, and how this can be done (which will be dealt with in Part 2).
The first question we need to ask is what defines reality? In the book "The Teachings of Don Juan" by Carlos Castaneda, the 'man of knowledge' Don Juan says "What we call reality is only one way of seeing the world, a way that is supported by social consensus." In order to understand this, it is convenient to split reality into two levels, 'Personal Reality' & 'General Reality'.
When observing any given phenomenon, we use our senses to judge wether or not it is 'real'.
For example, when hearing an unexpected sound you instinctively look in the direction from which the sound came from so that the sense of sight can reinforce and confirm what the ears have just percieved, or if you see an object & wish to confirm its status as real we can reach out and touch it. Once the sense of touch has agreed with the sense of sight we can assume that the object does exist in a physical sense. In other words, reality is confirmed by a consensus of the senses. However, there is a flaw to this theory, that all the above mentioned criteria can just as easily be applied to a dream, which would imply that dreams are just as real as the reality in which you are now sitting and reading this. But, dreams are experienced only by yourself and within the confines of your mind and as such can only be considered 'Personal Reality' at most.
There appears to be a missing ingredient required before an object can be considered as existing outside of your own mind & therefore real. This is what Don Juan referred to as 'Social Concensus'. The description of the world is created by your perception (the process just described) & when agreed upon by an outside source (another person confirming your description) can be assumed to be correct and a matter of 'General Reality'.
These two levels of reality are best considered not as existing seperately but as a microcosm & macrocosm, for 'Personal Reality' is just 'General Reality' in its pure, innocent state until confirmed by another 'Personal Reality' (which is clearly no more valid or invalid than the description it is attempting to prove or disprove). Or to put it another way, becomes subject to "Social Concensus". Therefore 'reality' both 'personal' & 'general' are entirely defined by our perception of this.
For example, if we were dancing in a nightclub listening to a loud, rythmic piece of music, we have a situation where everybody is enjoying the music, dancing. We are all appreciating qualities such loudness (enabling us to hear & literally feel the track vibrating through us) & the constant repitition of rythym (enabling us to 'catch the flow' of the music & predict the beat so we can dance to it easily & naturally). As everybody is experiencing the same sensory input & enjoying it, it is not only possible for us to assume that is 'real' but also to assume that it is 'good' or 'enjoyable' in some way.
Now, if we had a different situation where we were in a room full of the same people, all in bed trying to go to sleep, we would find that the very same qualities that made the piece of music pleasurable in the last scenario have suddenly become the very things that annoy us. The loudness prevents us from going to sleep, the repitition & rythym just reinforce the irritation & make it seem like it will never end. As everybody in this situation is experiencing the same sensory input yet not enjoying it, we can assume that it is indeed 'real' and that it is in some way 'bad' and not at all enjoyable.
Here we have two different scenarios where our perception not only defines reality but appears to be capable of experiencing the same qualities in completely contrasting ways depending on our perspective or context. I would suggest that from this we can say that we can change our 'personal reality' to make it enjoyable or infuriating depending on the way in which we decide to perceive it, the more people join us in this change of perspective the closer we come to making it a 'general reality'.
Change yourself and you change the world.
Relevant links:
Carlos Castaneda / Don Juan - Teachings of Don Juan
Wikipedia Article
Creating Reality - Library of Halexandria2
Albert Einstein (Wikipedia)
In order for this to be proven there are two major points that must be considered, namely that 'reality' is created or at the very least affected by your perception of it (which will be the focus of Part 1) and secondly that your perception of reality can be altered, and how this can be done (which will be dealt with in Part 2).
The first question we need to ask is what defines reality? In the book "The Teachings of Don Juan" by Carlos Castaneda, the 'man of knowledge' Don Juan says "What we call reality is only one way of seeing the world, a way that is supported by social consensus." In order to understand this, it is convenient to split reality into two levels, 'Personal Reality' & 'General Reality'.
When observing any given phenomenon, we use our senses to judge wether or not it is 'real'.
For example, when hearing an unexpected sound you instinctively look in the direction from which the sound came from so that the sense of sight can reinforce and confirm what the ears have just percieved, or if you see an object & wish to confirm its status as real we can reach out and touch it. Once the sense of touch has agreed with the sense of sight we can assume that the object does exist in a physical sense. In other words, reality is confirmed by a consensus of the senses. However, there is a flaw to this theory, that all the above mentioned criteria can just as easily be applied to a dream, which would imply that dreams are just as real as the reality in which you are now sitting and reading this. But, dreams are experienced only by yourself and within the confines of your mind and as such can only be considered 'Personal Reality' at most.
There appears to be a missing ingredient required before an object can be considered as existing outside of your own mind & therefore real. This is what Don Juan referred to as 'Social Concensus'. The description of the world is created by your perception (the process just described) & when agreed upon by an outside source (another person confirming your description) can be assumed to be correct and a matter of 'General Reality'.
These two levels of reality are best considered not as existing seperately but as a microcosm & macrocosm, for 'Personal Reality' is just 'General Reality' in its pure, innocent state until confirmed by another 'Personal Reality' (which is clearly no more valid or invalid than the description it is attempting to prove or disprove). Or to put it another way, becomes subject to "Social Concensus". Therefore 'reality' both 'personal' & 'general' are entirely defined by our perception of this.
Two different aspects of the same reality
Now, if we had a different situation where we were in a room full of the same people, all in bed trying to go to sleep, we would find that the very same qualities that made the piece of music pleasurable in the last scenario have suddenly become the very things that annoy us. The loudness prevents us from going to sleep, the repitition & rythym just reinforce the irritation & make it seem like it will never end. As everybody in this situation is experiencing the same sensory input yet not enjoying it, we can assume that it is indeed 'real' and that it is in some way 'bad' and not at all enjoyable.
Here we have two different scenarios where our perception not only defines reality but appears to be capable of experiencing the same qualities in completely contrasting ways depending on our perspective or context. I would suggest that from this we can say that we can change our 'personal reality' to make it enjoyable or infuriating depending on the way in which we decide to perceive it, the more people join us in this change of perspective the closer we come to making it a 'general reality'.
Change yourself and you change the world.
Relevant links:
Carlos Castaneda / Don Juan - Teachings of Don Juan
Wikipedia Article
Creating Reality - Library of Halexandria2
| 67 |
| Vote |
Add To: 
Subscribe to this blog
