All people are like people. They do something, rejoice when they feel good, and suffer when they feel bad. Today was a good day! But yesterday, not so much. And with each new day we plunge into real life in order to live through all the fuss, realize ourselves and get from it what we want. And there are others - those who escape reality.
They don't care about and don't need real life. This phenomenon is called escapism - when a person replaces real life with an alternative one. Why the phenomenon? Because lately there are more and more people who are running away from reality. A person of any age, from young to old, can suffer from escapism.
These people for the most part lose touch with reality, preferring to be away from it, and yet they are burdened with obligations and are forced to return back. Those who are younger - because their parents are unhappy and pull them out of this state. And those who are older are forced to work to survive.
At the same time, the escape from reality can be different. This article will discuss two types of escapism:
1. People who are subject to illusions and dream of all the benefits of our life. The so-called escape from reality into a fantasy world - where a person has everything and everything is good for him. Everything works out for him. Life is good. But all this is only an illusion. In reality there is nothing. He does not desire and does not achieve - he draws himself a beautiful illusion and imagines. Meanwhile, life passes by. Fantasies are replaced by other fantasies - that’s all.
Such people are forced to leave their state in the real world in order to provide for themselves, but they do this, as a rule, at a minimal level. For them, illusions are primary, and when they enter the real world, they feel it is angry, joyless and cruel towards them.
2.People who are susceptible to escaping reality into the virtual world. They act as an antipode to those who live in illusions. They don’t need anything, they don’t dream of benefits. They need not to be touched or disturbed. They love silence, the night and the computer. Of course, nowadays many people are fond of games and very often spend all their free time on the computer. But here we are talking about replacing the real world with a virtual one.
When such a person is forcibly pulled out: they shout, beat, pull out the cord, turn to a psychologist - all this only causes aggression in him, and he begins to hate even more those who interfere with him.
I see this picture more and more often, and the question arises: how to get these people out of their world so that they begin to live an ordinary life and enjoy it. After all, everyone understands that this is not a person’s super skill - it is a problem that interferes with life.
And the problem is purely psychological, and all psychological problems have a cause.
The reason for leaving reality is accurately diagnosed at the training “System-vector psychology” by Yuri Burlan.
What is reality?
What lies behind this strange and at the same time seemingly understandable word? There is one meaning that is given in more than 60% of cases by respondents: the relative interpretation by consciousness of everything that surrounds.
And this is justified, the concept of realis translated from Latin means: “real/active”. In other words, everything that we see in the material is material in the world, i.e. surrounded - this is reality.
What about the counterbalance - subjective reality?
Ancient philosophers and sages, esotericists and people with superpowers claim: reality is divided into objective and subjective. Psychologists confirm this fact. Subjective reality is a product of consciousness, it is the inner world of a person. Everyone has their own, special one. After all, people perceive what is happening around them differently.
New awareness
Think about what is on different sides of this fence:
What is the cause and what is the effect?
Is there a connection between these phenomena? Is there a line between them? Who creates this edge, and who sits on the fence with their legs dangling on opposite sides? This is us, and this has always been us.
But with the death of dualism, connection or causation (or fence) also disappears. Everything is one. Everything is interdependent, as consciousness researchers have always said.
Goswami admits that it is very difficult to adapt to a new way of thinking that seems to contradict our everyday experience. He says:
This is the only radical thought you need to accept, but it is too radical.
It is so difficult because we tend to believe that the world already exists regardless of our experience. But that's not true.
Quantum physics leaves no doubt about this.
All this prompted Fred Alan Wolf to say in the 1970s:
I create my reality.
Followers of the then emerging New Age movement immediately picked up this phrase and included it in their paradigm.
But, as many physicists never tire of repeating, this is a complex idea and it is not so easy to fully embrace it.
We are forced to admit that even the world around us: these chairs, these tables, this carpet, these rooms - all these are nothing more than possible movements of consciousness.
— Amit Goswami, Ph.D.
My son Evan, a physicist, says that in practice the sum of different realities is realized: I have one reality, he has another...
For example, there is a baseball game tonight, and the reality of the Eagles team is different from the reality of the Patriots team, but only one of these realities will actually materialize.
— Candace Perth, Ph.D.
How to understand reality?
You can also understand and perceive reality in different ways. Therefore, they created a formula that makes it easier for a person to analyze what is happening. Both parts/concepts are interconnected. Philosophers identify three general concepts:
- true;
- fact;
- being.
As for the latter, this is the objective world. The first and second are subjective. From the three parts follow additions - types of reality:
- social or the concept of relationships between people. Result obtained through close contact;
- media real. The media and mass media take part. Thanks to films, newspaper stories and the fiction of authors. A person is able to create an image, image or form of communication;
- physical. A person lives by physical and physiological needs.
These are three main types, but with the improvement of technology, science, creativity and art, new realities may appear. For example, virtual.
The illusion of reality or the perception of the world in esotericism
Many esoteric teachings and spiritual traditions are built on the concept: the surrounding reality is only an illusion that a person needs to understand his internal reality, through the “mirror” of the external world, external reality, which is known through feelings and sensations, the perception of sounds, smells and other states consciousness. Thought is an image, and life is light and/or darkness. Moreover, the bright side is God and the angels. All the evil spirits are on the dark side. Esoteric reality is often presented as a struggle between Good and Evil, Light and Darkness, there are other views on this issue, you can find out more about the esoteric model of the universe here: go***
The Mystery of Consciousness in the Laboratory
Nobel Prize-winning Princeton physicist John Wheeler says:
No matter how convenient it is in everyday life to assert that the “external” world exists independently of us, now it is no longer possible to defend this view.
In the words of the same Wheeler,
We are not just spectators in front of a cosmic stage, but creators and inhabitants of an interactive Universe.
Physicist and writer Amit Goswami says:
We are accustomed to thinking that everything around us is initially material and exists regardless of our personal choice.
However, Goswami continues, in order not to conflict with the discoveries of quantum physics
We must abandon this kind of thinking.
Instead, we are forced to admit that even the material world around us: these chairs, these tables, this carpet, these rooms - all these are nothing more than possible movements of consciousness.
And every moment I choose which of these movements will be realized through my personal experience.
These physicists, and new physics in general, declare the death of dualism.
It is not mind that is primary, but matter that is secondary, but “mind = matter.” It is not consciousness that creates reality, but “consciousness = reality.” Consciousness as reality.
Consciousness creates reality. I talk more about this in my free master class>>>
What is double reality and how to remove it?
The concept of dual reality arose a long time ago. But it is often confused with mental disorders: schizophrenia or split personality. This phenomenon cannot be called a disease, since a person:
- able to perceive life adequately;
- cross the line between worlds;
- understand that one lives simultaneously in several dimensions;
- has different forms: physical and spiritual.
Is it worth getting rid of this ability? It should be noted that this frightens and worries many. Reason: erroneous or superficial perception of reality. Life “Here and Now” seems understandable, but the transition to another world where souls meet is more difficult for an unprepared person.
To sum up the search for an answer to what reality is, we can note: the real world and its perception are closely related to the development of man as a whole, with his level of awareness, flexibility of worldview and sensitivity to the world of the unknown based on scientific and esoteric approaches about the environment and Space. The subconscious level of the psyche also relates to issues of determining realities and illusions.
When working with the psyche, it is important to monitor the correctness of actions, both material and spiritual - based on the energy-information laws of the cosmos, so as not to cause harm to the body and soul: Find out more
Escapism
There are two ways to deal with problems: actually fight them and ignore them. Moreover, there are almost more methods of avoiding problems than methods of fighting them. One of the most common is escapism.
Attempt to escape
The concept of escapism comes from the very word “escape”, which refers to the top left key on the keyboard. A button suitable for evacuation from crisis but not fatal situations. This is the same function of escapism: it allows you to ignore a situation that you don’t like - without trying to understand it and change anything. What causes us a feeling of dissatisfaction can be called the generalized concept of “reality”.
There are physiological methods of escapism and psychological ones. We are somehow familiar with physiological ones: alcoholism and drug addiction. From the point of view of a person who is dissatisfied with himself, this is a fairly effective way to avoid problems. True, on the other side of the scale one’s own health is teetering uncertainly.
But with psychological escapism, a person risks much less. Psychological escapism is an escape into an imaginary world: into virtuality, into binge reading fiction, into games, into one’s own dreams.
Although “escape” is translated as “escape,” escapism does not imply escape from society at all. Of course, in childhood one dreams sweetly of Robinsonades on distant islands, of a small house on the shore of a lake, but real psychological escapism differs precisely in that it makes it possible to isolate oneself from reality with a minimum of effort . The mechanism is very simple: it is enough for an escapist to find an activity that will absorb him completely - and he will have neither the strength nor the time to take to heart what is happening in the outside world. Moreover, any escapist - be it a lover of alternative history, a fan of porn sites or a seasoned Tolkienist - will soon find a company of like-minded people. In other words, people who use the same method to isolate themselves from reality.
It would seem that an escapist is sitting at the computer, or lying on the couch with a book, or, at worst, squandering money saved on breakfast at slot machines - what’s bad? It doesn't bother anyone, but it doesn't help anyone either. In fact, not everything is so simple.
Where dreams take you
And yet, escapism causes double harm: both to the escapist himself and to those around him. Let's start with the escapist himself. A person who is glad that his house is surrounded by a reliable, strong fence is unlikely to voluntarily become curious and figure out what is behind this fence. In other words, escapists lose social adaptation skills : it becomes difficult for them to find an approach to a harmful woman from the housing office, they experience difficulties in situations where they need to compete with someone, for example, when applying for a job, it is more difficult for them to find topics for conversation with people not from “their crowd”. Due to their poor ability to adapt to society, escapists often look quite ridiculous even outwardly. The fence separating the escapist from despised reality becomes stronger and higher - the escapist gradually turns into an outcast.
There is another danger: some forms of escapism can have a destructive effect on the individual. For example, when a penchant for spending time at slot machines turns into a gaming addiction. Or when escapism takes extreme forms and develops into ideology. For example, the hippie movement, which was born as a protest against consumer society in general and against the Vietnam War in particular, very quickly became an ideology of escapism. And for some (those who took the cult of idleness, irresponsibility, refusal to earn money and expansion of consciousness too close to their hearts), this led to the disintegration of personality.
Riot of a social animal
We cannot ignore society, which is often accused of being an instrument of personal violence. It's hard to argue with this statement. Society cannot help but impose certain tasks on a person: what is the cost of compulsory school attendance, refusal to pick your nose in public, or getting a job! A person who practices escapism (physiological or psychological) is, first of all, not satisfied with some tasks that society imposes on him . Moreover, these tasks may seem to him either too complicated, or, conversely, very primitive and therefore depressing. Therefore, escapists prefer to avoid these tasks altogether rather than try them on themselves.
Depending on what emotions the demands of society cause in a person—anxiety or boredom—there are two types of escapism. The first is a defensive reaction, the desire to hide in one’s shell. The second is more positive: this is the ability to find your own business and do only it, without paying attention to whether it brings any income, how prestigious it is and whether it leads to any bright prospects such as public recognition. The second path is more acceptable because it presupposes some kind of creative activity; it gives rise to the type of a brilliant and slightly crazy scientist who, out of forgetfulness, shows up to work in slippers.
The only problem is that even “positive escapism” is not always a worthy way out of the situation. No matter how disgusting social norms and demands may be, escapism primarily harms the escapist himself. This does not mean that one must unquestioningly obey everything that his environment requires of a person. But the ability to combine one’s own interests and social ones is the ability to adapt socially, with which we started talking about escapism.
