The Mental Construction of Reality

September 27th, 2016.

Our brain creates sense of what we see. It often tends to 'transform' what we hear, smell, see, or touch based on emotions, expectations, experiences, or even reasons. One's perception will always be different. Perception is different from reality. Everyone has their own perception of life. Perception is the lens through which we view reality; ourselves, other and the world around us. However, the lens often gets confused with what is being viewed through it. Reality is the true state of things. In reality, it is how things actually are, whether we recognise them to be as such or not. We often don't realise how our perceptions confuse reality. They seem like one and the same. The main point about perception and reality is that they are different yet connect with each other. The way we view something can be influenced by reality but these two factors can also stay separate.

When do we know when it is our perception and/or our reality? 

Perhaps trust takes part in this question, as well as knowledge. When a close friend or family member of mine, tells me something, I will believe this to be reality. However, they might have misunderstood an idea based on their perception. I think this happens to me sometimes. I misunderstood things due to experiences, emotions, or reason.