Is it real? Is it true?

When you think, feel, or perceive something, how do you know what it is? How do you know if it's true?

You don't just know. Ever. The nature of anything is never intrinsic or revealed without having to think, feel, or perceive it.

So how do you know whether you should believe something?

Start asking questions.

Both thinking and feeling involve a process of abstraction. We start from something small, maybe a direct perception. And from there we create an abstraction, which you can think of as a concept or a label. The next time we think about it, we don't have to start from perception, we can refer to the abstraction. When we think, we pile abstraction upon abstraction as we think and draw insights and conclusions.

Do this over decades and it becomes difficult to distinguish between an abstractions that correlates with the original perception and an abstraction that is based on conjecture or rationalization. This brings you to where you are today.

You might believe your abstractions. But how do you know whether you should.

Start by asking yourself if it is real, if it is true, and how you know it to be that way.

And keep asking questions. It is not a one and done kind of thing to peel away decades of abstraction.

Inquiry is reinforced by considering other perspectives. What is the application? How does a realization make you feel? Do you have bias? What would something else think? How does it look from different angles? Does it correspond with objective reality? And many, many more.

Take any thought, issue, problem, or idea you have, and start applying inquiry to it. Where does it take you? What questions did you ask?