The Healthy Management of Reality - Stanford University

But, given that we are finite and limited in time, we can each see only asmall aspect of reality. Even if we put all of the perspectives on reality togetherfrom all the humans who have ever lived, we still would not have a completepicture of reality.If we agree that human beings have only an incomplete picture of reality, itis important to note that even that incomplete picture is inaccurate. We know thatmuch of what we now consider truth, even scientific truth, will someday in thefuture be found to be incorrect. During the last few decades we have radicallycorrected images of the world and the universe which were once believedincontrovertible by the then most learned minds in the world.Internal and external realityFrom a human point of view, there are two large aspects to reality:Subjective or internal reality, and objective or external reality.Subjective or internal reality refers to our mental image of reality. It isreality from our viewpoint, from our perspective. (In this sense, there are as manyrealities as there are thinking beings.) Therefore, this reality is both incompleteand biased. Nevertheless, it is with us at all times, and, in many ways, influencesour lives more than external reality. Internal reality involves our memories,beliefs, and expectations. It includes facts such as where we were born, who ourparents are, our religious and political training, our identities as parents, friends,workers, and so on. It also includes judgments about these facts and the feelingsthat accompany both the facts and the judgments that are stored in our mind. Forexample, we might be proud or embarrassed by the fact that we are tall. We live inthis reality continually, and it affects our well being in a massive way. Therefore,it will be an important focus of our discussions. What enters our internal realityHMOR.July2005.Muñoz.doc 17