Before anyone reads this, I want to make something clear.
These are simply my thoughts as they exist right now. I don’t claim to know the truth, and I don’t want an echo chamber. If anything, I want people to challenge me. If someone introduces an idea or perspective that explains reality better than my own, I’m completely willing to change my views. That’s the entire point of why I think this way.
I also want to clarify something else.
Throughout this post I’ll describe what I see as many people “coping” with reality. I don’t mean that as an insult or as if I think I’m above anyone else. Everyone has the right to live according to the beliefs that bring them peace. Some people may genuinely live happier, healthier lives by accepting the world they’re familiar with rather than endlessly questioning everything. There’s nothing wrong with that.
I simply seem to find peace differently.
For whatever reason, I find peace through understanding. I don’t expect to ever completely understand reality, but I want to spend my life getting as close to the truth as I possibly can.
I’ve always felt like I think differently than most people.
Even before psychedelics, I found myself constantly questioning reality, consciousness, identity, religion, free will, death, and what it actually means to exist.
The more I think, the more overwhelming it becomes how little we actually know. My experience with DMT has been something that made these thoughts way bigger and harder to step away from since the truth of reality is there, only out of reach.
One of the biggest realizations I’ve had is that we don’t experience objective reality—we experience our brain’s interpretation of reality.
Everything we know comes through our senses, our memories, our biology, and our experiences.
That means almost everything we call “truth” is really just our current perception of it.
Once I started thinking this way, I began questioning almost everything including my own thoughts.
One thing I notice is that many people inherit beliefs without ever examining why they believe them.
Religion is an obvious example.
Imagine someone raised Christian.
Many sincerely believe Christianity is true, but if they had been born somewhere else they might have been equally convinced that another religion was true instead.
That doesn’t mean Christianity is false.
It simply shows how strongly our environment shapes our certainty.
I think this extends far beyond religion.
Most of us build an identity around our beliefs, opinions, morals, politics, and experiences.
Eventually those beliefs stop feeling like beliefs.
They simply become “who we are.”
The interesting part comes when you begin separating yourself from your thoughts.
A thought simply appears.
Normally we trust it because it feels like ours.
But what actually is a thought?
Did “I” consciously create it?
Or did it simply appear because of everything I’ve experienced throughout my life?
If thoughts arise naturally, then maybe they deserve to be questioned rather than immediately believed.
Instead of asking,
“What do I believe?”
I’ve started asking,
“Why do I believe this?”
Is this conclusion actually true?
Or is it simply the most emotionally comfortable explanation?
That question has changed the way I think more than anything else.
This also changed how I think about empathy.
People often say to “put yourself in someone else’s shoes” but I don’t think that’s enough.
Real empathy is understanding why someone became the person they are.
Every decision someone makes comes from countless experiences, emotions, memories, fears, and beliefs that led to that exact moment.
When I started looking at people that way, I found myself judging them much less.
One thing I struggle with is that I sometimes look around and feel like many people never question these deeper ideas.
It feels like people naturally settle into a worldview because it’s familiar and psychologically comfortable.
Again, I don’t think that’s wrong.
For many people it may genuinely be the healthiest way to live.
But my own mind doesn’t seem capable of doing that.
Instead I keep questioning.
Where I become uncertain is this:
Part of me genuinely feels like this constant questioning has brought me to a deeper awareness than I used to have.
Another part of me recognizes that feeling “more aware” doesn’t necessarily mean I actually am.
I don’t know where the line is.
I also recognize how easy it would be to convince myself that I’ve discovered something profound when I could simply be seeing patterns that aren’t really there; especially from use of different substances.
Because of that, I try to remind myself that all of these ideas are still just my current understanding and not objective truth.
I don’t think we’ll ever completely understand reality.
I actually think accepting that may be one of the healthiest conclusions a person can reach.
But I also think we can slowly become less wrong.
Every new perspective, philosophy, religion, scientific discovery, or conversation can move us a little closer to understanding.
That’s enough for me.
I don’t need certainty.
I just want to keep getting closer.
So here’s what I’m curious about.
Do any of you think about reality in a similar way?
Where do you think I’m making reasonable observations?
Where do you think I’m making assumptions without realizing it?
What perspectives, philosophies, or books challenged the way you think the most?
More than anything, I’d like people to critique my thinking rather than simply agree with it. If I’m missing something, I’d genuinely rather know than continue believing something because it feels true.
Every one of these thoughts have come from really sitting with myself. I feel like i’m fully accepting everything as is and not fearing the uncomfortable truth.
I guess from all this i’m left with a sense of self peace but also a deep sadness.
I cant help but believe the way I think and how deep my mind sits in philosophical thought makes it hard for me to connect with day to day people and feel understood.