Rebecca Silverblade is another one of my inner characters. She embodies such traits as presence, precision, discernment, and the ability to handle situations without reacting to them. And one thing where precision can serve an important purpose is in discerning the truth from falsehood. This doesn’t just include facts, but also things like the truth of what’s important, the truth of how to act, and the truth of the basis for one’s own emotions and emotional responses. For example, on an inner level, I’ve found that she’s been able to give invaluable perspective at times of confusion or self-doubt.
Like was explained in Creativity’s Guide to Problem-Solving, the below guide was written by way of me trying to let the perspective, embodied by Silverblade, speak on the subject of how to discern the truth. This topic was the prompt, basically, and what follows is my sense of how “she” handled, or would handle, speaking on it.
So you want to discern the truth, do you?
I suppose you expect me to give you some hint, or proffer some guidance, is that it? This is called a “guide”, after all – I would hardly expect you to expect any less.
And here it is – the question of the truth. An inquiring mind, looking for it. And what truth are you looking for, pray tell?
The truth of the world? How very grand. The truth of how to get what you want?…
And why would you want what you want, anyway? Are you too preoccupied with looking for something, that you forget why you were looking for it in the first place?
But perhaps you find this line of questioning uncouth. Unwelcome, even. After all, you came seeking answers, not necessarily someone who might turn you back to look at your own motivations.
Yet the truth is the truth, even if you fail to recognize it. And it operates silently, without care for your knowledge of it. Even as we speak of it – it operates, and abides by its own rules, that may change faster than our mind can comprehend it. And while some things may seem fixed in place, immutable, and as though they are unchanging, or necessarily true, that does not mean that within the grand scope of possibilities, it could not change. Nor does it mean that your grasp of something, however definite it may seem, is much more loose than you realize, having witnessed and accounted for perhaps only a small subset of possible examples.
Now, seek you the truth again?
And what for? Again, these questions shall continue. For the grounds upon which one asks questions are themselves based on reasoning, which may or may not be false. So, careful with your words-
-and your conclusions. For you may conclude something in haste, that, though flawed, you stand by with such steadfast dedication, that you carry on with it as your banner, forward past all manner of conflicting viewpoints, even going so far as to deny that in you which may raise doubts and questions in your mind…
And that is not to say that all doubts and questions are valid, at least upon even a cursory examination. Some things may have far more evidence than others, and a single piece of unexplained evidence will not necessarily upturn a body of impressions about how reality is composed. That said, the unexplained phenomena of this world do sometimes have the possibility to overturn a great deal of the which has already been concluded as true.
This is, one might say, science on a personal level. To know that at any moment, the truth one swears by, or bases one’s actions upon, may indeed contain falsehoods. Of course, if all sense of what’s true can be faulty – shall one stand on nothing? We can indeed have best guesses of what reality is, based upon our experiences. One might call these, “theoretical frameworks”, and indeed they can serve the purpose of containing one’s best current sense of reality – but, insist too strongly that they are correct, and perhaps these structures shall grow old and dusty, and outlive their usefulness, as doubts go unrecognized, denied, and explained away by longstanding beliefs. If ever doubt becomes inconvenient for you, even to consider and weigh, then perhaps your frameworks have fallen even somewhat slightly out of date.
So, truth? A matter of experience, one might say. For the truth of this world, or physical reality, matters only insofarasmuchas we experience it on some level. This world is that which seems to be, and in striving to understand this realm of experience, it, perhaps, only makes sense that we would pursue the truth of its workings-
-to understand why something is, and why something else is not.
So there you go. That is my “guide”. Take it as you will. And I will on my own way.
Fare thee well – I’m sure I will likely deign it appropriate to answer comments directed towards me, at my own discretion.
Well? What are you waiting for? Carry on then.
That’s all for now! I hope you enjoyed her guide, or it gave you something to consider with respect to what is true or false, or new areas to look for the truth in. That said, take care, and as always I welcome any comments or questions you might have.
All the best,
-Oliver
