Exploring the Nature of Reality: A Philosophical and Scientific Inquiry

What is commonly understood as reality is multifaceted and fascinating. It encompasses both internal and external manifestations. This essay delves into the nature of these realities, the certainty of our perceptions, and the underlying principles of consciousness and perception.

Internal vs. External Reality

The term reality refers to the sum total of conditions and events, without any finite definition. It is often divided into internal and external realities.

Internal Reality is the constant model that the brain constructs from limited sensory information, decorated with qualia, colors, and sensations. These sensations, such as touch, pain, and taste, represent aspects of the external reality in a useful but not direct manner. This internal model includes the body and the self, and this is what we will ever experience. We will never directly perceive the external reality; the internal model only aligns with external reality when we are awake and alive.

External Reality, on the other hand, continues regardless of our personal experiences. It is more complex and contains significantly more information than what we experience through our limited sensory models. Modern measuring instruments and scientific models help us glimpse this reality, revealing aspects like radio waves, atoms, and elementary particles that our natural senses cannot detect.

Perception and Certainty of Reality

The core question posed is what is the nature of reality, and how can we be certain that what we perceive is real? Traditional belief holds that what we perceive is shaped by our body mechanisms for survival. In reality, our perceptions may not reflect the absolute reality that exists outside.

We are often deceived into thinking that what we perceive is the absolute reality. Our five senses—sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch—are limited, and our thoughts, while integral, play a significant role in the perception process.

Thinking Beyond the Senses: The Role of Thoughts

Our cognitive process is not just about the five senses but also includes thoughts. Together, these are known as perceptions. These perceptions occur automatically without our conscious effort or selection. We have no direct understanding of how these perceptions are generated or interpreted.

Science books provide us with secondary knowledge, analogous to information stored on a flash drive. Our vision is a prime example. We are aware of colors, but do we ever feel our eyeballs adjusting to light and distance, or our retinas, optic nerves, or brain interpreting the signals? 'Interpreting' itself is a vague term. Who or what is the observer that sees?

During the day, we see a bright blue sky, a sensation that is undeniable, yet our intelligence tells us it is not truly there. Colors and sounds are reactions of our bodies and brains to electromagnetic waves and air vibrations, respectively. There is no color or sound outside us.

The experience of a bright flash of lightning followed by a thunderous roar is entirely within our perception. Extending this to the remaining three senses, we can see that the cosmos itself is in our head. This is not merely from the head but from a non-material light that perceives the cosmos.

The Nature of Consciousness

This light that perceives is consciousness or awareness. It is alive and intelligent, self-luminous and self-evident, including the entire field of perception as a seamless hologram. It is the subjective aspect of the ultimate cause of creation, and the subjective dance of perceptions is its objective aspect.

When all perceptions cease, this light remains in immaculate silence, simply being alive. Thus, everything is an immense potential in immaculate silence, beyond our comprehension.

Conclusion

The nature of reality is nuanced and complex. Our perceptions are not a direct reflection of external reality, but rather a model shaped by our senses and thoughts. By exploring these aspects, we gain a deeper understanding of the interconnectedness between consciousness and the cosmos.

Keywords:

reality consciousness perception