I am always confounded by those folk who are lost, though I must admit that most of us at one time or another have been lost. So, I post this to help folks who can't find reality or are confused by it's nature. This is not a definitive post, merely a teaser.

It has become popular to declare reality as subjective. This derives from a misunderstanding of eastern philosophy, which seems to teach that there is no reality. The teaching appears to suggest that what you see is what you get, and you may see something other folk do not see. So, you get what you see, they get what they see. This is not what the teaching actually is. The teaching hopes to lead you to the realization that what you perceive dictates your reaction to what you accept as the reality of it. You do not define reality. You define how you relate to it.

If reality were truly subjective, and one were to accept the concept of acceptance as verification, then the notion of reality as what one accepts or perceives would become an absolute, not relative to the one experiencing the reality. So, within the realm of relative reality would exist an absolute of relativism, which is contradictory. This is an interesting mental exercise, much as imaginary numbers (the square roots of negative numbers) provide intriguing thought and interesting Algebra 2 problems, but do not express the reality within which we live.

"I think, therefore I am" does not confirm reality with a statement, as many conclude. It obviates no-reality in the very fact that it can be read and considered. If there was no existence, no one could ever have considered the obvious truth of the statement. Any statement, whether valid or not, verifies existence. The nature of that existence is, however, highly elusive. This is why so many folk struggle with their existence, why so many search for truth, personal value and meaning in their own lives. They don't care about absolutes or the agreement of geniuses, they simply want to know what's real and how they fit in.

So, I begin my journey with a simple statement: We must communicate before we can consider.

In order to communicate, we must agree on terms. I write in American, a form of English. The two languages began to diverge over two centuries ago, but are still so similar, other than dialectical differences in pronunciation, as to be identical in practical usage. If you do not read General American, you will have difficulty reading this.

Additionally, consider that all communication is subject to "noise", that is,. distracting influences. You experience this most in an acoustically distracting situation, like a noisy bar or a train station. The noise makes comprehension difficult. Noise arrives in other forms, like a ringing cell phone in mid paragraph, or an emotionally flavored memory, or any other event that results in distraction or possible misinterpretation of dialog. Be aware of noise while reading this. Avoid it or be prepared to compensate for it.

I will not speak in riddles. "What is the sound of one hand clapping" is a riddle, and simultaneously an insult. One hand cannot clap, so the question is meaningless, and any expectation of answer assumes stupidity. The word "clap" in this context means to bring two hands together to produce a sharp sound, so to clap with only one hand is not possible. If the person asking the question wants you to conclude that the question is not valid by this train of reasoning, then they are toying with your mind. I will not do that.

The greatest question of all time is this: What is real? Is real real? Is there a reality, or is everything illusion? Is there even a reality, or is this just some huge bad joke? All or these questions, and so many others which are phrased differently, are the same. The question of reality is parallel to the second, perhaps more important question: What is truth?

We must accept reality before we can even consider truth. Truth would be an accurate description of reality. If there is no reality, there can be no truth. If we accept reality from the above "I think, therefore I am", then we must discern it's nature before we can find truth.

So, here comes the bad news: Reality is Real, period. BUT, we are able to discern only a portion of reality. We can't see, smell, taste, feel, or even conclude all of reality. It is too complex. Read "A Brief History of Time" by Steven Hawking to get an up-to-date synopsis of what scientists have concluded about realities, both perceived and possibly concluded, and you will see how big the question is. But, you don't need to know how small the smallest subatomic particle is, or how distant the farthest galaxy lies from us, you only need to know how much reality surrounds you and impinges on you and affects your personal existence. That is the point of this posting.

In the next posting I will begin at the beginning, the foundation of math, that being that a thing is equal to itself, the principle of Identity. This tiny, though obvious realization, is the very foundation of truth, and the very first step in finding reality.