How to tell if something is real. Reality is really not about being material, or material things. Read On to understand.

Do not be so quick to judge what is real. Reality has many forms. Love is real.

The idea that only solid objects are real has been around for thousands of years. But it has never been taken too seriously. Our human existence is much more complicated than that concept. Just think of the notion of things too small to see with the naked eye. And in 30 years we will see things we cannot today. So our ability to see it only confirms our thought, it cannot restrict it.

We see with our own eyes a great big cloud in the sky. The cloud is real. And in 10 seconds it is gone. We had a dream that woke us up in fear. The fear is real, the dream was real. One of my favorite expressions is “no it was not real it was a cartoon”, please to not say that to a cartoonist or small child. Of course cartoons are real, they are a billion dollar industry. Another favorite line of mine is the guy who tells the gal “these feeling I have for you are real”, please do not tell him they are not.

I come from a line of philosophy that of course includes all the Greek and Asian classics but is really this line of teaching: Descartes – cogito ergo sum – I think, therefore I am. Wittgenstien: all premise is built on the language we use to convey it(blue and brown books) And finally Bowsma who taught my teachers. And of course my own leanings come from Geronimo, Cesear Chavez and Einstein and the Bible.

A fellow just published this question and it is cool: http://matt-m.hubpages.com/question/197786/is-there-such-a-thing-as-true-reality#answer588132

I hit my fist hard against the brick wall and it hurts – that is completely true. Gravity is a law of nature that cannot be altered. That is not completely true. All living things need nutrients to survive or grow,, seems simple enough to me – But that is not completely true. There are laws of nature and physics that seem immutable today, but they are not. In many languages today the words to describe a rock that one releases five feet above the ground is “the earth came up to meet the rock”.

Nobody owns reality. The old law school trick is still valid. It is a course on evidence. 100 students taking notes and listening to the professor. A man bursts into the back of the class moves half way down and shoots the professor. Then runs away. (I know a professor who has done this for over 30 years – and never once did a student tackle the shooter – yes they did run to assist the professor) Then the assignment is given – describe the shooter, his clothes, his actions and the time of the occurrence. They always get close but not identical, so there are 100 versions of the event. And the professor was not really shot. But one salient fact is completely true – no one tried to stop or apprehend the shooter. That is an absolute truth. I hear tell some say they could tell the gun was firing blanks – because the end of the barrel was not open. Hihihihi, that would be a starters pistol not one firing blanks – think cap gun.

The exercise wonderfully teaches students who want to be able to get to the truth, that it ain’t gonna happen.

Nowadays the evidence work I do is more along the lines of marketing. Do not just assume that word is bad. Marketing is the combination of getting folks to believe and then act upon that belief.. Believe what? There is where morality rears it’s head. But because something can be bad does not prove that it is bad.

So if we are looking for truth. We need look no further than what we believe in.

Absolutes are only real insofar as the parameters of the meaning and usage. It is in fact proper to say "that may be true to you but not to me".