Are you deluded ?

I just read we are all deluded ...

we could be deluded by everyone on here ...

until we met them in person ...
then that delusion would be gone ...

and will still go with ... it is the person who
can be deluded or not ... we are all different...
is what I mean ... deluded can be any ones definitions...

Deluded: impose a misleading belief upon (someone); deceive; fool.
People impose misleading beliefs on themselves all the time. Many times without even realizing they did so.

Delusion: the action of deluding someone or the state of being deluded

Reality: the world or the state of things as they actually exist, as opposed to an idealistic or notional idea of them.

I am not attacking anyone. I am merely asking that we all consider the delusions we accept as reality. A study in self-realization to define what we are taught to believe compared to what we actually encounter in reality. If we conduct ourselves and our understanding of the world around us based in delusion it creates a whole set of problems within ourselves that causes turmoil.
Identifying and reducing those delusional influences might help us to become more of who we want to be. That, in turn, allows us to understand others motives and actions in greater detail.

Clarity: the quality of coherence and intelligibility.

Assumption: a thing that is accepted as true or as certain to happen, without proof.

If we base our motivations on reality our actions are more effective to our goals.
Basing our understanding and motivations on delusions create assumptions that cloud our clarity. Our actions become unpredictable because they are based on assumptions, not reality. The results of those actions often cause failure to obtain our goals.

But isn't there some universal morality? I find your statement interesting, and yet confusing.

I am thinking - it's not moral to kill another human. That should be true of everyone, and is not a delusion ---- until you consider war.

When an assumption is treated as or thought of as a possibility, realistic thinking is maintained.

When an assumption is treated as or thought of as a truth, delusional thinking has been attained.

I once new a couple of sisters that did this on a regular basis
It was a strategy to shift responsibility
Telling their sock to stop being difficult and to get on their foot was a way of absolving themself of personal ineptitude

Possibility is related to the word "IF". It is possible IF....
IF is a supposition. When suppositions are considered to result in a predicted outcome most of the time those suppositions are based on understanding the realities involved that define the supposition.

When I throw the rock up in the air it will come back down...IF nothing intercepts it.
It is assumed it will come back down but until it does that, the assumption is not a reality. It is realistic but not a reality until those realistic assumptions are true.

Basing ones motives and actions on assumptions is dangerous. The reality of the outcome may be realistic but the outcome is not known. Until the outcome is a reality, it is merely supposition based on experience of past similar results.

When courting someone new, it can be dangerous to rely on assumptions. By learning to recognize reality those assumptions can be reduced resulting in a better match to what you seek. Delusion of your own criteria for a match can also result in finding the wrong person. Thus resulting in an unworkable, unhappy relationship.
Attempting to make a wrong match work often leads to additional delusional motives and actions. Many times it is not until the delusion is lifted that we see the mistake.

I'm not trying to make anyone feel bad or glad. I'm not attempting to ridicule or condemn anyone. The purpose of this topic is to impart an understanding of how we take things so we gain more control over our own lives. Many people never consider the validity of the delusional things in our lives. We do and say things as we thing we see them which often results in anxiety, depression or worse. Understanding our delusions help us gain control of ourselves which results in a more peaceful existence.

I once thought if I loved someone hard enough and full enough that they would return the love in the same way. When that didn't happen I felt that I had failed in some way. That failure made me miserable. It wasn't until I removed the delusional thinking that I realized I can't make someone else love me , no matter how hard I try. Each person feels their own degree of love based on who they are, individually.
My delusion affected my motives and actions resulting in misery. Removing the delusion, removed the misery.

Likewise once these sisters started taking their own responsibility in getting the sock onto the foot they reduced their frustration levels considerably. Neither of them were totally delusional in believing their socks where capable of getting themselves onto the foot but it was more a subtle shift of responsibility. While it felt better to blame the sock it still left them with a lot of frustration with an uncooperative sock.
Also letting go of the delusion or false expectation that they should be perfect in their capability of putting on a sock reduced their frustration further.

the truth is the truth

but the truth can be experienced through many perceptions

a delusion is thought to be a delusion because a contrary explanation is thought to have been proven


a previously assumed delusion may turn out to be a reality



The Matrix was so entertaining because it dug into the idea of how we know that what we know as 'real' truly is

Truth is assumed.
Reality is reality whether it is assumed to be true or not.
The perception of reality can't be deluded.
If the delusion is removed or not, reality is still reality.

While the Matrix was mildly entertaining it is fiction. I recall having a long discussion where too many inconsistencies revealed a flaw in the film. It is based on the science of biology and the chemo-electrical signals that allow us to process stimuli. Without my reference, (the original site is forgotten) I can't quote the arguments but it consisted of an explanation concerning chaos and the ability to perceive the unknown. Without the blueprint the AI could not generate the chem-electrical signals needed to perceive the unexpected or the unknown. Our senses would be in conflict with our logic. While that conflict does happen, it does not prove the computer simulation theory expressed in the film.

Is that statement just a misuse of words or is it a cognitive distortion that would allow many delusions to flow through?

Perception of reality is regularly distorted creating many an illusion

To hold the belief that The perception of reality can't be deluded is in fact a delusion

Other than that there is nothing I disagree with in the last post

Perhaps it was a misuse of words. The idea I was trying to convey is...how can I put it another way?...
Once you see reality as it is and understand it to be reality, no amount of delusion can change it from being reality. No matter which delusions are used to try to change it, reality remains.

If I spill my milk. I can work out all kinds of reasons the milk spilled. I can ignore the mess and forget about it or clean it up but the reality is that I spilled milk. No matter which delusion I adopt the reality does not change. No matter how I look at the incident the reality does not change. The perception of reality can't be deluded.

I always thought that as well.

Morality is unnatural, as in not the natural order of the Universe.
It is a concept based in the delusion of society. Human society.

If you look at nature you will not see morality at all. The whole idea of morality is species specific, specific to this planet.

What's more is that the particulars of morality morph over time and location. It has no baseline standard. Societies in one part of the world have differing moralities than societies in a different part of the world.

Conflicts in moral beliefs are becoming more frequent because our species is becoming united, on the world stage. Morals used to be segregated to regions of the world. World communication has broken that segregation and mixed all the morals together.

Morals are not bad but they are also not a universal reality. If you think about it, morals are a tool created and used by society to control the actions and intentions of the people that make up that society.

When a Nile crocodile eats a gazelle the crock is not conflicted by morality not to kill.
When a polar bear eats a baby seal he is hungry not morally destitute.
When a vine chokes other plants from nutrients there is no moral dilemma.
When you eat your bacon and eggs for breakfast you don't really think about what had to happen to make it so.

If you kill your spouse you may or may not have moral conflict but society will and that is what makes laws so important. Morals are the unwritten laws of our species. Tell a hungry tiger not to kill you because it is immoral to kill. See what happens.

Universal morality implies it is Universe wide in scope. There are peoples on this planet that do not hold the same values on morals as others. So not only not universal, not planet-wide, sometimes not even continent-wide.

Morals are a delusion of natural order. A beneficial delusion but a delusion all the same.

See, that is what this topic is trying to do.
Nobody has to 'feel' small when embracing reality.
Reality doesn't care how someone 'feels' it doesn't care at all.
Reality is just reality.

Insanity is a matter of perception. Sanity is merely a unified perception.
Imagine someone from the 1800s eavesdropping on your conversation with your friends. I doubt they would be convinced of your sanity.
Even in today's world, look at how women are treated in some societies. To me, it is insanity.
Is it me that is deluded or them? Well, if there are more people that agreed with them than me, I must be deluded and vice-versa. Since the perception of the delusion is mutable, neither may be reality. A rock is still a rock no matter how you see it.


We all are to some extent but that is not really a bad thing. We are all part of some kind of society and need some delusions to live in harmony. It is only when our delusions break that we are forced to look at reality. It is at that point when understanding reality and delusion become important to us.

That is not true.
We encounter reality all thru life.
We use our delusions to allow us to cope with those realities we encounter.
Reality is cold. Our delusions keep us warm.

the term is Realist.
A philosopher explores concepts as they pertain to acceptance. A realist understands that acceptance is not necessarily reality.

the term is Realist.
A philosopher explores concepts as they pertain to acceptance.
A realist understands that acceptance is not necessarily reality.
Reality is not a concept is is merely reality.
It doesn't matter if it is accepted or not. It just is...

Everyone is delusional in some way or another. Perception and reality are not the same thing. Truth is a perception. It is often based in reality but it doesn't have to be.

Truth: We are the dominate species in the Universe. (a perception)
Reality: We have not encountered all the species in the Universe (a reality)
Until we encounter every species in the Universe the truth is a reality until it is changed by encountering a more dominate species.

Love is real. It is a physical condition we feel. It changes our body functions in reality. We use delusion to attempt to obtain and keep those changes. Like I said, delusions are not all bad.

When people hear or read the word ignorant, defenses go up.
We are taught it is a bad word implying bad things but it only means lacking understanding.
The same holds true about delusion. The ignorance of delusion causes defenses to go up because we are taught that delusion is bad.
Like ignorance does not have to be permanent, delusion does not have to be complete.

Rationality is nothing more than attempting to justify a delusion. Reality requires no rationalization. It remains reality whether it is accepted or not.
Lucidity is clarity of expression. Delusion can be intelligently and clearly expressed while having no basis in reality at all. Fiction writers make good money doing this.

The chemical makeup of human brains is as individual as the person. Sometimes imbalances in that chemical makeup causes an inability to process reality.
Psychiatrists prescribe drugs trying to balance those chemicals so reality can be processed. Since everyone is different there is not a one drug fits all kind of treatment.
Delusional thinking is not always an intentional mindset. Sometimes it occurs as a result of real chemical imbalance.