Perception is Reality
Our perception becomes our reality. This is a many edged sword and has probably caused more suffering than any other single thing throughout history. The ability for two people to see the same thing and interpret it vastly different has allowed us to expand our knowledge and grow as humans while also creating extremes of miscommunication. Reality is a very interesting concept which we still grapple with at all levels. Truth is no different. Perception becomes the key for allowing a person to come to a necessarily personal definition of reality and truth. Point of view colors everything we view, how we feel and what we do in response to our environment. Many examples exist to illustrate this in the 'real world'. Religion and politics are prime examples of groups of people with different perspectives. My favorite metaphor relating to this are glasses; not real glasses but imaginary glasses that color a persons world due to knowledge or experience. For example let us take a mountain: one may view a mountain in the distance and see the shape and colors and find it beautiful, another trained in geology may not be able to not see the type of rock or faulting etc evident through training. I liken this to the geologist having a pair of glasses on that cannot be taken off. It becomes increasingly difficult for the two people to 'see' the same mountain. As we experience life and acquire knowledge we keep putting on more pairs of glasses which in turn create different thoughts about the situation which then completely alter the internal experience and related emotions. Naturally this leads to different actions in the situation and the two people will respond differently. This can be useful to us as sharing our different perspectives can help us grow and expand our thinking, however once attached to a particular perspective it can also become dangerous as a foreign perspective can feel like an attack on our identity and the emotional body may respond negatively. This is due to the natural way we identify with our perspective as the 'truth' or 'reality'. Most humans are aware that there are many different ways of looking at the world, however many people will firmly hold onto their beliefs as the most correct and this is where the problems begin.
Belief Systems
Belief systems are an amazing adaptation of humans living in an ever changing world. A simple explanation for why we are so attached to them stems from our brains ability to distill down the incredible amount of information we receive from our senses into something that can be navigated with relative ease. If we were to constantly evaluate all new data we could very well be paralyzed with indecision so our brain takes short cuts and says something like "this is the way it is and this is how we will respond" much like a program. This is an evolutionary trait that allowed us to come together as groups and move forward for the sake of the group. However it is very easy to get trapped in a belief system that does not serve growth and understanding at a higher level. You really must believe something and life is much more joyful when you are not constantly second guessing everything you do. Some people do not appear to be willing to ever evaluate their belief systems and move through life ignoring alternative possibilities. This actually has some significant advantages as if you believe you know everything it becomes very easy to align your self with the 'proper path' and not have to think very hard. This can be seen in the most controversial of subjects such as religion and politics where there is no room for anothers opinion that differs from their own. Unfortunately this is also the root of much of humans suffering throughout the ages. While very beneficial for isolated groups to maintain harmony it is a distinct disadvantage in our current global community where there are so many different perspectives vying for supremacy.
Belief systems are intimately tied to personal identity. When we feel that our identity is being challenged by a different belief an emotional response is innate. This is why you can't change someones mind for them, that is an attempt to change their identity. All change comes from within and requires an honest evaluation of what you believe when faced with new or different information. This is a difficult thing to do regardless of who or what you are. Those that do attempt to alter their belief systems often feel how uncomfortable it is to think they may have made a mistake in forming a belief. Examples of this are those undergoing an existential crisis which is a form of questioning what you believe. These folks, while definitely on the right path for growth, often times are severely depressed as the brain does not like to have to rewrite it's own rules, potentially coloring past and present actions with the possibility of having chosen an incorrect path. No one likes to be wrong, this is just human nature, even though almost everyone is at some point under a belief which does not harmonize with the universe. Therefore it takes a lot of will power and emotional stability to adjust our beliefs to the best ends. Keeping an open mind sounds easy but we know this is not true. Bias is the default condition of humans and most likely will remain so for the foreseeable future. Even this article attempting to be as neutral as possible is of course heavily biased. Bias means perspective, perspective shapes reality, reality is the common framework we all live in. Truth is linked to your reality and none of these concepts can be fully appreciated as stand alone topics.
So what should we believe? What is the true reality? These questions which seem like they should have an answer cannot be answered by me. Ask a million people and you will get a million responses. There are however some signposts to point seekers of higher truth in the right direction, although ultimately the path you take must be your own. The only advice I can give is to attempt to disconnect your identity from worldly beliefs. The ability to evaluate lifes experiences in a non-emotional way will take you a long way in discovering what makes sense to you. Of course emotion is real and a necessary part of life, it is the beast and you are the rider. It becomes your choice to let the beast lead or to let the rider lead. Together they become the experience and that is why we are all here.
Belief systems are intimately tied to personal identity. When we feel that our identity is being challenged by a different belief an emotional response is innate. This is why you can't change someones mind for them, that is an attempt to change their identity. All change comes from within and requires an honest evaluation of what you believe when faced with new or different information. This is a difficult thing to do regardless of who or what you are. Those that do attempt to alter their belief systems often feel how uncomfortable it is to think they may have made a mistake in forming a belief. Examples of this are those undergoing an existential crisis which is a form of questioning what you believe. These folks, while definitely on the right path for growth, often times are severely depressed as the brain does not like to have to rewrite it's own rules, potentially coloring past and present actions with the possibility of having chosen an incorrect path. No one likes to be wrong, this is just human nature, even though almost everyone is at some point under a belief which does not harmonize with the universe. Therefore it takes a lot of will power and emotional stability to adjust our beliefs to the best ends. Keeping an open mind sounds easy but we know this is not true. Bias is the default condition of humans and most likely will remain so for the foreseeable future. Even this article attempting to be as neutral as possible is of course heavily biased. Bias means perspective, perspective shapes reality, reality is the common framework we all live in. Truth is linked to your reality and none of these concepts can be fully appreciated as stand alone topics.
So what should we believe? What is the true reality? These questions which seem like they should have an answer cannot be answered by me. Ask a million people and you will get a million responses. There are however some signposts to point seekers of higher truth in the right direction, although ultimately the path you take must be your own. The only advice I can give is to attempt to disconnect your identity from worldly beliefs. The ability to evaluate lifes experiences in a non-emotional way will take you a long way in discovering what makes sense to you. Of course emotion is real and a necessary part of life, it is the beast and you are the rider. It becomes your choice to let the beast lead or to let the rider lead. Together they become the experience and that is why we are all here.