Each is welcome to their opinion of the truth, but you cannot choose the facts.
The further from one's own personal illusion a person goes, the closer to a spiritual death they'll find themselves. There's a reason why the term "disillusioned" is what it is.
The more you try to find what is "true", the more muddy everything else becomes. The more you accept your own perspective as "true", the more rigid everything else becomes.
There is no way to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt what is and isn't true, it's all simply a matter of one's own personal faith. To say you know anything is to buy your own illusion that much more.
The closest to any truth one will find is simply learning what someone believes is the case. To that end, the journey remains an interesting one.
Agree, I guess. You make it all sound so soul crushing, tho. Shaking off my flawed perceptions was always a joyful and liberating act for me. Maybe I just put too much into my Scooby Doo debunking narratives from childhood. I was (and still am) frequently surrounded by a lot of idiots who always thought they knew what was best for me.
"Reality is that which continues to exist after we stop perceiving it"
Can't remember who said that. Russel maybe? Must google and return with a source :P
At any rate, a third person consensus of 10 or more reputable (with M.A./M.Sc or more postsecondary education) and well rounded observers works for me. If that fails to convince me of the reality that exists outside of my own perception, I'll take survey results with a broad cross section of participants.
Spiritual death? Probably. I'm not very spiritual, except when some impossibly beautiful thing happens near me. Even then, I'm quick to dismiss its 'miraculousness' as the result of some random hormone surge messing with said perceptions.
Is being stripped of your illusions a bad thing for you?
Edit: The quote I half remembered was this: "Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn’t go away.†--Philip K Dick
It would seem that you and he have had some thoughts in common.
"There is no way to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt what is and isn't true, it's all simply a matter of one's own personal faith."
Do you believe there is a singular, uncorrupted and universal truth that all other 'truths' stem from (but we might never be able to accurately experience)? Or do you believe reality, at its core, is 'muddy' and inexact?
"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction."
I don't know all of what you've been through, but it's believed you've been through, and done some serious shit in your life. That being said, there's some extra merit when you say things like that, especially because it comes from experience. The wiser you are though, the more you'll find yourself sitting back and watching some learn the hard way, despite any warnings you may provide.
The more you try to find what is "true", the more muddy everything else becomes. The more you accept your own perspective as "true", the more rigid everything else becomes.
Turn, don't you think a view like yours that truth is so relative, makes it hard to stand by your beliefs? People with strong convictions, driven and motivated, are the ones who reach far and change the world. Strong convictions are what makes people walk that extra mile, in my opinion. Your philosophy can lead to uncertainty and indecisiveness, wasted opportunities, apathy, that kind of stuff.