rgray222
5th April 2023, 18:52
I have been thinking about contributing to a few threads but after the content got rolling it seemed to me that my views (my realities) substantially varied from many of the contributors. That's not a bad thing and as a matter of fact, those differences are precisely what gives Avalon value. Those differences are exactly why visitors and members return to Avalon every day. Those differing views are what make us human. Sadly we are living in a time when opposing views are not celebrated. In fact, in today's world, those differences are considered fanatical and even hateful by some. If you believe your reality is right it denotes inflexible and limited thinking. Taking a position of being right assumes superiority and judges the other person. Judging situations and events is in our DNA, it is what we do and it is not going to stop but we seemed to have arrived at a crossroads of inflexibility. I posted this image on the meme thread the other day but it seems appropriate here.
https://scontent-iad3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/339741819_3389899414618156_4178846844757984100_n.jpg?_nc_cat=100&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=730e14&_nc_ohc=3mbrnGxrWAQAX_MMbMq&_nc_ht=scontent-iad3-2.xx&oh=00_AfDHHBa4dMwoT-C3VmMpmsf8YB-5EkRk2274fQ7zWJQ1_Q&oe=642F5241
This thread is not only about how we treat people with different views but it is also about why we have the ability to observe the same set of circumstances and come away with a completely different reality. The differences in those realities have become so great that it causes many of us to wonder if humanity can survive.
Here are a few of the reasons why someone may have a completely different reality from yours or even a distorted sense of reality.
Some people belong to a group or groups that collectively hold strong opinions and beliefs. These groups could be oriented by political views, age, sexual orientation or racial adaptation, or any other variable. Therefore they will often change their "perception" of reality to fit into the collective mindset. Losing membership in the group is considered an existential crisis and will most likely result in someone losing their personal identity.
The mainstream media shapes people's reality every day. The media is supposed to report facts so that we can formulate our own opinions and beliefs but instead they report opinions as facts. Not only removing critical thinking from the equation but removing thinking altogether.
Many people have been indoctrinated. While schools teach a core curriculum they have over the years started to introduce ideological content. Nowhere is this more apparent than in colleges and universities but we have started to see it in kindergartens through high schools or secondary schools. After years of being told what and how to think it is extremely difficult to break out of the mold and even if you do break out there is an army of your peers standing by to force you back in line.
Religion is considered a form of indoctrination. It causes people to observe events and come away with a completely different reality than others.
Propaganda shapes our realities. It is used to shape people's opinions, convincing them to support a particular cause or encouraging them to behave and think in a certain way.
We have often heard that perception is reality. A good example is the tone of voice. The same words could be interpreted by one person as anger, another as a warning, and yet another as panic. Different brains hear different things.
Time also distorts reality. Relativity says that when two observers are in different frames of reference, each observer considers the other one's perception of time to be distorted, this happens every day.
Some people have the ability to connect the dots. In other words, they are pulling together three or four events to determine their reality while others only look at a singular event to determine their reality.
It really does not matter how you arrive at your reality. The truth is nothing that is observed is unaffected by the observer. That statement, from science, holds an enormous and powerful insight. It means that everyone sees a different truth because everyone is creating what they see.
All like-minded and opposing thoughts are welcomed.
https://scontent-iad3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/339741819_3389899414618156_4178846844757984100_n.jpg?_nc_cat=100&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=730e14&_nc_ohc=3mbrnGxrWAQAX_MMbMq&_nc_ht=scontent-iad3-2.xx&oh=00_AfDHHBa4dMwoT-C3VmMpmsf8YB-5EkRk2274fQ7zWJQ1_Q&oe=642F5241
This thread is not only about how we treat people with different views but it is also about why we have the ability to observe the same set of circumstances and come away with a completely different reality. The differences in those realities have become so great that it causes many of us to wonder if humanity can survive.
Here are a few of the reasons why someone may have a completely different reality from yours or even a distorted sense of reality.
Some people belong to a group or groups that collectively hold strong opinions and beliefs. These groups could be oriented by political views, age, sexual orientation or racial adaptation, or any other variable. Therefore they will often change their "perception" of reality to fit into the collective mindset. Losing membership in the group is considered an existential crisis and will most likely result in someone losing their personal identity.
The mainstream media shapes people's reality every day. The media is supposed to report facts so that we can formulate our own opinions and beliefs but instead they report opinions as facts. Not only removing critical thinking from the equation but removing thinking altogether.
Many people have been indoctrinated. While schools teach a core curriculum they have over the years started to introduce ideological content. Nowhere is this more apparent than in colleges and universities but we have started to see it in kindergartens through high schools or secondary schools. After years of being told what and how to think it is extremely difficult to break out of the mold and even if you do break out there is an army of your peers standing by to force you back in line.
Religion is considered a form of indoctrination. It causes people to observe events and come away with a completely different reality than others.
Propaganda shapes our realities. It is used to shape people's opinions, convincing them to support a particular cause or encouraging them to behave and think in a certain way.
We have often heard that perception is reality. A good example is the tone of voice. The same words could be interpreted by one person as anger, another as a warning, and yet another as panic. Different brains hear different things.
Time also distorts reality. Relativity says that when two observers are in different frames of reference, each observer considers the other one's perception of time to be distorted, this happens every day.
Some people have the ability to connect the dots. In other words, they are pulling together three or four events to determine their reality while others only look at a singular event to determine their reality.
It really does not matter how you arrive at your reality. The truth is nothing that is observed is unaffected by the observer. That statement, from science, holds an enormous and powerful insight. It means that everyone sees a different truth because everyone is creating what they see.
All like-minded and opposing thoughts are welcomed.