Our entire reality is constructed of beliefs. We believe we are who we are for example, we believe in our name, in our job title, in our work place. We think these things "actually exist" but they are subjective constructs. You can change yourself into anything you can imagine, and project any image into the world you like, learn to associate with any number of people, and eventually become something other than what you are today.

In other words, even what you think of as your Self is nothing but a subjective construct of ideas, beliefs, and desires.

So what actually exists? Even within you? To me the answer is Pure Being. In a state of Pure Being, or some might say Universal Consciousness or whatever term you wish to apply to it, you are experiencing reality as it is, directly, and imposing no filters upon it. You don't believe or disbelieve in it, you don't develop ideas about it, you don't deny or accept it. You experience it.

Afterwards you take that experience and construct a belief. "I went outside today and experienced the sun, it was really hot. Therefore I believe the sun is hot."

"I read an article today, it said the sun is very hot, a machine measured this, I choose to believe in the machine"

"Today someone told me that God created the sun, I choose to believe that this is so because God is good and the sun is also good."

However all these detract from objective reality, which is the experience itself.

Some detractions come closer to the objective experience than others. But try telling someone about the heat of the sun who has lived in a cave that is 50 degrees their whole life. Try explaining heat at all, they will have ideas, you can even convince them, make them believe. But they must leave the cave and stand in a moment of pure being to really experience what your trying to convey.

Finally I'd like to take this thought back to the two friends. Its true that in many cases common interests bring people together, however you can experience someone objectively as much as you can experience anything. You don't have to project onto others, you can accept them for everything they are, like you would accept a tree. You don't need to call it an oak, or label it as anything, you can just experience it, its sounds, its creaking, its character, without judgment, projection or reservation.

However, this is just my experience with reality. It very well may differ from your own

Originally posted by sirnex

It depends on your definition of reality I suppose. If you view the universe as it exists without requiring your existence as being reality, then what you subjectively experience is moot to what reality is. If you view reality as only existing because you perceive it to exist, then we are all either Gods or none of us actually exist or none of us objectively exist and are only the imagination of some greater being. Yet, if any of that subjectivity is true, then it need not matter how we conduct ourselves, because we are not real.

There's that word again: real.
Why would an entirely subjective reality (supposing it existed) not be "real"?
Does "reality" necessitate at least two pair of eyes who appear to see the same? Does it need a consensus? And if it does - why? That's the crucial question, I think.

The double-slit experiments with photons (not to mention thought experiments, like Schrodinger's) indicate that "reality" could be very much dependent on perception. As long as there is a single pair of eyes to observe a reality - it is real.

By the way Ethereal Gargoyle, that is exactly the reason why I prefer using word 'objective' instead of 'real'. Because even the very subjective reality can be extremely real to a person (otherwise we wouldn't have those poor people in the asylums), even it is not real to anyone else. But then again, it is all just conception.

Just a quick insert of an opinion, carry on

-v

[edit on 5-11-2009 by v01i0]

Intresting concetp.

Is this like astral projection?