Readers often ask me, “Steve, how do you know if the whole subjective reality belief system you describe is accurate? Do you really believe in this stuff? It just seems so… you know… out there.”
Behind such questions is usually an assumption that reality is in fact objective and that accuracy is an objective standard. But in order to appreciate the merits of subjective reality, it’s important to use a subjective standard for accuracy rather than trying to force it through an objective lens.
First, recognize that the subjective and objective belief systems are merely perspectives — they’re different ways of looking at the same data you perceive through your inner and outer senses. Consequently, they’re not in conflict with each other anymore than your eyesight and hearing are in conflict. To say, “I am a subjectivist,” or “I am an objectivist,” is in my opinion like saying, “I am a seer,” or “I am a listener,” but not both. There’s absolutely no reason you can’t consider your experiences through both lenses in parallel. It’s totally unnecessary to fix and equate your identity with a single perspective… not to mention extremely limiting.
When people ask me whether I truly believe in subjective reality, their question usually assumes that I must equate my identity with it in order to believe in it, which I don’t. To me the subjective perspective is no more or less valid than the objective one. I enable myself to perceive reality through both perspectives at once. And I do not “believe” in one at the cost of disbelieving the other. One is eyesight; the other is hearing. I take advantage of both. They’re both individually interesting, but the sum of both is greater than the parts.
What is accuracy?
The concept of accuracy depends on the lens through which it is viewed. In a general sense, accuracy means correctness, truth, and exactitude. However, this means different things depending on whether you view it through an objective or a subjective lens.
Objective accuracy
The objective version of accuracy is rooted in prediction. This lens assumes there’s an objective physical world out there, and consciousness is something that arises within it. Our objective accuracy is determined by the extent to which we can successfully predict what’s going to happen. This is essentially our standard for correct logic and good science – and more generally, for overall human intelligence. The more objectively accurate you are, the better you are at successfully predicting the future within one or more domains of knowledge.  This probably sounds like common sense to you because it’s the belief system under which most people are raised today.
Subjective accuracy
The subjective version of accuracy is rooted in creation. This lens assumes that consciousness is the container in which objective reality occurs. This is not the limited consciousness of your own ego (that would be solipsism), but the larger God-consciousness or Source-level consciousness in which all of reality occurs. You naturally experience this level of consciousness when having a lucid dream — you know that you’re the dreamer and everything in the dream is taking place within your consciousness. Subjective reality recognizes that there’s no such thing as strictly objective perception without creation. To observe reality is to create it. Consequently, the more accurate your subjective beliefs are, the more empowered you become as a creator. Simply put, this means you get better at creating what you intend to create.
Subjective vs. objective accuracy
When I view reality through the objective lens, my standard of accuracy is how well I can predict what’s going to happen.
When I view reality through the subjective lens, my standard of accuracy is how well I can create what’s going to happen.
When I view reality through both lenses simultaneously, my standard of accuracy is an ongoing dance of prediction and creation. This is the place where logic meets intuition and where science meets art.
In any meaningful human endeavor, such as building a business, governing a country, or writing a song, prediction and creation are inseparable. To achieve peak accuracy and effectiveness requires that both channels are in sync. Intelligent prediction fuels creative decisions because you rely on accurate observations to decide what to create next. And creative output enhances predictive ability, since you’re intentionally setting new causes in motion, thereby actively contributing to the resulting effects.
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