What Is Reality?

 
 Reality is simply what you make of it, sentience and the adhering of knowledge is all we know, all we are. We know what we see, feel, touch, sense. We take this information and make sense of it. This is reality. So, let's take an in depth look at how this all works to move away from science fiction, into science fact.



The right brain is all about the present moment; right here, right now. It thinks in pictures and learns through the kinesthetic movement of your body. It absorbs energy from the world around you and translates that into information for your sensory systems. It doesn't know the difference between your individual consciousness and the world around you.

The left brain is a very different place. It thinks linearly and methodically. It picks out countless details from the events in the past and makes calculated predictions about the future. The left hemisphere thinks in language, which creates your internal voice. Crucially, it makes you aware of your existence as a separate being from the mass energy field perceived by the right brain.

Your Subjective Reality

Imagine if the human brain had evolved with only the functions of the right hemisphere. Your perception of reality would be completely different. You would be drifting around in a universe filled with energy in the here and now, with no perception of the past and future.
You wouldn't know where your body ended and the ground began, or the difference between you and me.
This is a very different perception of the world. And it highlights the nature of subjective reality; how different perceptions lead to completely different experiences of the reality we accept as truth.
Knowing this about the human brain, the question "what is reality?" changes form. It now hinges on your individual perception.

Types of Reality

This has led to multiple theories of reality by various philosophers and scientists:

Phenomenological reality is based on subjective experience. Whatever you observe is instantly real to you. This theory of reality means that unreality is non-existent. Therefore lucid dreams, hallucinations, spiritual experiences, and astral travel are all forms of one subjective reality.
Consensus reality is based on the opinions and observations made by a group of people. A few individuals may decide on an interpretation of an event, which spreads across entire societies and becomes a consensual truth. Religion is a good example of a socially constructed reality.
Non-reality simply means that there is no such thing as objective reality. Every possible observation or interpretation is tainted by subjectivity and therefore does not constitute truth. Nothing is real.
The latter is supported by quantum theory, which states that nothing is real until we measure (observe) it.