Layers of Reality

The Layers of Your Experience

We're getting a bit post-modern here. I'm sure what I'm about to present has already been described by some well regarded continental philosopher 40 years ago, using fancy German or French terms that gives their concepts more gravitas to us lowly English speakers, making us feel extra smart when dropping them at parties. But in true Anglophone spirit, what is being presented here is more down to earth and practical, even if you have to bend your mind a bit to grasp it.

What is reality? "Oh shit not this kind of talk." Yes this kind of talk! Much of the cultural conversation and government policies over the past decade are rooted in ideologies and ideas that take a skeptical and even taken an outright reality denying view of the commonly accepted notions of reality. "Race is a social construct." "Gender is a social construct." I'm sure you've heard it all before. When social constructionist ideas are taken to their logical extreme, all of reality itself becomes a projection of collective human will, in which everything is truly subjective.

We're not going that far. There is a "real reality", or at least "real" enough material science is possible. No amount of dogma or cultural biases is going to make electricity behave differently. No amount of deconstructing "specisism" is going to get bears to stop eating campers. Some things truly aren't subjective.

When I talk of "reality" I'm largely talking about perception. Perception may not be the real in and of itself, but our perceptions both on an individual and collective basis ultimately shape our experience of reality so much that perception is practically our reality. What the social constructionist get right is our experience of reality is shaped by preconceived notions and biases, many of which are rooted in things outside ourselves such as culture, religion, and institutions (as Foucault will tell you for books on end). These then shape and reinforce our own cultural and immediate environment enough that it may as well be reality itself.

This is true even of other creatures, for the mere presence of urine to so many creatures changes their experience of reality, reshaping it for them in their little critter minds, even if it's just chemicals in the air. Our territorial pissing is more complex, abstract, but not that different from your dog taking a leak on a fire hydrant. We've substituted smells for signs, pheromones for gestures, loud barking noises for yells of slogans.

I'm not alone in this odd view. The CIA tells all their new agents "there is no truth, only objectives" since if you are in the deception game as the CIA is, truth itself becomes a burden. This is ironic when the main stated goal of the "Central Intelligence Agency" is to gather information, yet they make it the personal modus operandi of agents to disregard the very notion of truth itself.

To make this model work, we also have to get a bit wooish, a bit New Agey here. Objective "real reality" is a sort of experience of itself. It may not "perceive" and be cognizant, but matter "experiences" things and acts accordingly to its nature, obeying the various laws of nature which dictates the material, and possibly other, state of things.

With that, let's look at the designated layers.

Individualized

This is your own localized "bio computer simulation." This includes your immediate senses, any current thoughts or wherever your attention is brought to, and all the junk and garbage in your subconscious, both just beneath the surface and deep within. With the exception of "real reality", the other two social layers are dependent penetrating this layer so you act in the other layer’s accords, or be coerced and crushed by the other two to comply with them.

Collectivized

This is when you are out with the boys, having a girl's night out, or at a group event. When you're "vibing" with someone, that is a small scale collectivized reality. Even just trying to keep to decorum at a boring office job is a kind of collectivized reality. Probably the best example of a collectivized reality would be a music festival, as the music, drugs, and general festival atmosphere override your usual nominal individualized reality, giving you licences to dance freely and wave glow sticks around, when normally you're embarrassed to sing along to songs alone in your car. If you want to see the clashing of individualized reality against collectivized reality, just take a gander at wallflowers at a party.

Consensus

This is the shared culture, religion, and taboos human cultures and societies share. This is where social constructionist put their attention and focus to. Often informing both collective and individual reality. Individual reality and coordinated collectivized reality can override consensus reality, but generally only for a period. Extended overrides or rebellion against consensus reality usually gets you thrown into either a jail house or a loony bin. Often you have overlaps of consensus realities much like a venn diagram, or as the the intellectual left is fond of calling it "intersectionality."

Real

This is the real reality, in other words the reality that exists past our immediate perceptions and biases. This is the material world, and the unknown, poorly understood, yet much speculated metaphysical. Real reality is sort of "the end of the road" and ultimate decider of our fate. However by removing ourselves so much from nature, the raw effects of real reality is less apparent, hence why collectivized and consensus reality dominate our lives. I will add real reality is more open ended than we give it credit for, as is evidenced by plethora of creatures that exist, and all the various human societies and cultures that have existed and continue to exist.

All of these layers often clash with each other. This is usually resolved inwardly by cognitive dissonance, and with corrosion and manipulation externally. Of course real reality just punishes you with impunity. But even real reality is ultimately reshaped by all the three layers, at least on this planet. Sacred mountains, tress in national forest, and gardens are examples of real reality being shaped by the other layers of reality. When I'm out in the national forests, I sometimes think "This tree has no idea that its continued existence is due to the US government designating this forest as a no logging zone."

There is often an interplay between all of these. Two clashing consensus realities, such as a protest that has an adjacent counter protest, brings about some of the most potent collectivized realities. I won't forget being at a "Free Speech Rally" in Seattle almost a decade ago now. Of course there were counter protesters there, which turned into a face off. People began to chant "USA! USA! USA!" at the counter protesters, and I didn't want to be that guy, another tard in the crowd mindlessly chanting slogans. But it just sort of overtook me, and soon enough I was just chanting "YOO ESS AYE!" like the tard ape we all are deep down.

You maybe wondering how all this mumbo jumbo is practical in any way. Well first of all, ask any CIA or intelligence officer as mentioned before. Being aware how your own localized reality is shaped by the other layers can help you cope and even thrive in our contradictory society, while seeking to align yourself with real reality. The success of material science is due to subverting all the three previous layers, learning about actual real reality, limiting the egoistic interjections of the three other layers.

The collectivized and consensus realities are always trying to get you to comply, even if they run against your own interest, or even are against the ultimate big boss of real reality. Much of the following articles here will be about managing your own localized reality, so you may slide though our social matrix like a slinky fox, and possibly the ultimate "Matrix" itself.