Would it possible for one to leave reality and enter a 'Matrix'?

[BenSinner]

I had an extreme anxiety attack last night. It was so bad that I was feeling intense sensations of derealization and depersonalization, along with obsessive irrational thinking.

What I ‘experienced’ what due to this anxiety attack, I have exited reality and now entered into a Matrix/Solispsim universe. I still retained memories from my time in reality, but in the present moment I was the only one who exists and the world I live in is just an illusion of the one I was living in before. The bedroom I was in was an illusion of the same bedroom I was in 20 minutes ago back in reality. The people I were talking to on social media are now an illusion, but they were real 20 minutes ago back in reality.

Thankfully, this attack went away and I came back to my senses and realized I was in reality all along. (even though I never fully believed I was anywhere else)

But for future reference, just in case this were to happen again…is this even logically possible for one to just ‘leave’ reality and go into an illusion of it? I’m not talking about a hallucination. I’m talking about a real event where one starts in reality but is transformed into a ‘solipsism’ universe?

 

[Gorgias]

I still retained memories from my time in reality, but in the present moment I was the only one who exists and the world I live in is just an illusion of the one I was living in before.

Are you suggesting that everyone ceases to exist and only you truly exist? Or that everything continues to exist, but your perceptions are skewed such that you no longer perceive reality, but only the ‘matrix’ illusion?

If the former, then you’re suggesting ‘annihilationism’, which the Church teaches is false (since it means that God, having created all things, would subsequently take them out of existence; that would be unjust, which is against God’s nature).

If the latter, then it’s merely an illusion, and you have the power to reject that illusion.

 

[BenSinner]

Are you suggesting that everyone ceases to exist and only you truly exist? Or that everything continues to exist, but your perceptions are skewed such that you no longer perceive reality, but only the ‘matrix’ illusion?

Everyone still exists, but I am either unconscious in their world or vanished from their world, or possibly am inhabited by an imposter…but am in a different world now that they can’t reach.

Another element I forgot to add is that these people can exist in this “new world”, but they are an alternate version of themselves. They are not the same person as their counterpart in the real world. They have identical personality, identical thoughts, and identical memories…but they are not the same person.

If the latter, then it’s merely an illusion, and you have the power to reject that illusion.

By ‘illusion’ you mean the concept of the mentioned matrix being false…or do you mean I would literally be living in an illusion? I’m assuming you meant the former, but just making sure.

 

[JuanFlorencio]

I don’t know, but you need to be prepared taking some sandwiches and some water with you, because surely you will need them.

 

[Gorgias]

I would recommend you seek medical assistance. This sounds like something that might have physical origins…

 

[Nelka]

No.

Spoiler

(Nothing else to add).

 

[Cruciferi]

Please see a psychiatrist and get professional help.

 

[IWantGod]

I suffer from paranoid delusions sometimes. Sometimes i think things are happening that are not really happening. But thankfully i usually suspect that its just paranoia, so things don’t get too out of hand.

What i will say is that theoretically there are a potentially infinite number of parallel universes. Is it possible that you fell into one of those? I don’t know but I highly doubt it.

Ever heard of the Mandela effect? There are people who think Mandela died in the 80’s. Perhapos they are from a parallel earth.

https://www.theodysseyonline.com/29-examples-mandela-effect-guaranteed-give-chills

 

[adgloriam]

Would it possible for one to leave reality and enter a ‘Matrix’?

CAF is the matrix !

 

[Spyridon]

This could be some sort of early onset dementia, or schizophrenia or a whole host of mental health issues.

You should see a mental health professional ASAP.

On a lighter note: (Please Note: This uploaded content is no longer available.)

That steak just looks so juicy… mmm. Can’t wait to make my t-bone I got tonight!

 

[Gorgias]

How could God taking all the things that He has created out of existence possibly be unjust?

Medieval philosophers would have answered this by saying that it’s clearly better to exist than not to exist, but I think it can be argued just as well by pointing to the notion of God’s love.

What He has brought into existence is “good”, according to the creation account in Genesis 1. Therefore, to completely annihilate it would be an evil.

This would suggest that what constitutes “just” and “unjust” supersedes God’s will. Because you’re advocating that God can’t do such things precisely because they’re unjust. You’re suggesting that God is constrained in His actions by a metric outside of His control.

No; what I’m suggesting is that God does not act contrary to His nature. It’s not that some actions supercede His will; it’s that His will does not desire evil and unjust actions. This isn’t a slam on His will, such that it makes Him not-omnipotent; it’s just an expression that He is also omnibenevolent.

The only logical alternative to the resulting preeminence of “just” and “unjust” is that God is by definition “just”, therefore whatever God chooses to do is also by definition “just”.

No. You’re on the right track, though: if the measure of good and evil were merely “God’s actions”, then everything He did would be, by definition, ‘good’. Therefore, there would be no such thing as objective morality – there would just be observation of a tyrant’s actions. That’s not what we believe.

He can choose to take things out of existence if He so desires, or He can choose not to, without regard to whether or not they’re “just”, Because the very fact that He chooses to do them makes them “just” by default.

Incidentally, this is what Islam professes.

But hey, Catholics have never been all that concerned about what’s logical. So God can be whatever you want Him to be. Catholicism doesn’t have to make sense. Which explains why it doesn’t.

Prejudge much?

p.s., it’s your argument that doesn’t make sense – you can see that, right? You’ve created an illogical straw man… and you like him so much that you conclude that this is what Catholicism must believe! Puh-leeze…!

 

[0Scarlett_nidiyilii]

The mind can play tricks on you, especially in the middle of the night.
If this distress is recurring and persistent, please consult a doctor

 

[Gorgias]

Gorgias:

Prejudge much?

Gorgias, you’ll have to forgive me, but I don’t have time at the moment to address all of your points.

No problems. If you do, please start a thread and tag me, and we can have that discussion!

Even if one is supposedly all-knowing…aka…God, all judgment is to some degree prejudgment.

I disagree. “Judging an argument” is a different thing than “creating a strawman and prejudicially dismissing a notion based on the strawman,” which is what I’m claiming you did, above.

People are assuming that the solipsistic view of reality is wrong, but that, in and of itself, is an assumption, and will always be an assumption…even for God.

Assertion =/= Assumption. Proven assertion definitely =/= assumption.

Judgment =/= prejudice.

Do you recognise and accept that your belief in God may be wrong?

You state that as if it were a fact.

If it’s a fact that “Catholics’ belief in God may be wrong”, then you can prove it (or at least demonstrate that it’s true). If you cannot… then there’s no need for a person to assent to your claim, right? So…

If you’re like most Catholics that I 've known then you’ll never openly admit that there may be no God.

That’s because their reasoned conclusion is that there is a God.

Of course you can easily prove me wrong…just admit that there may be no God.

That would only prove that I’m willing to deny what I understand to be true. Who in the world would want to do that?!?

I wonder though…how many here are willing to do that?

Only those who are relativists, I’m guessing…

 

[IWantGod]

So I’ll ask again, are you willing to admit that it’s possible that you’re wrong, and that God doesn’t actually exist?

If something can come from absolutely nothing without a cause, then yes, its possible there is no God.

And for the record, its quite possible that somebody on this forum has found arguments for God that are for them logically irrefutable, and thus for them there is no possibility of error.

 

[Gorgias]

So my assumption was indeed correct, you’re unwilling to admit that there may not be a God. The question wasn’t whether the nonexistence of God is reasonable, but rather, whether the nonexistence of God is possible.

Right: and, if I think that the nonexistence of God isn’t possible, then why would I assent to it? That’s not a measure of reasonableness (which is how it seems you perceive it) – rather, it’s a request to deny what one holds to be true!

That’s the real question…are your assumptions, even your well reasoned assumptions about God…fallible? Yes or no…

Psst… I understand the question.

Here’s the thing: based on God’s creation of the universe, and his self-revelation throughout history, and the presence of His son here on earth, the answer is… no. This is not an “assumption” that’s mine; it’s a recognition of the inescapable conclusion based on the available evidence. To say “no” wouldn’t be an admission that “I might make bad assumptions” – it would be a claim that “the evidence doesn’t say what it says.”

And that would be unreasonable.

(Note to self: wait for the response, which will be, “see! all you’re doing is making assumptions, and you’re not perfect, but you refuse to admit you might not be perfect!” )

 

[Gorgias]

(Note to self: never trust a person who believes that they can’t be wrong.)

(Note to self: never trust a person who tells you that you must be open to the answer “5” when you’ve asserted “2+2=4”… )

(p.s., perhaps you missed it, but here’s the gist: it’s not that I can’t be wrong… it’s that God can’t be wrong. And that’s what you’re asking me to concede. )

 

[CatholicSpirit]

Once you see the matrix you can never go back

 

[IWantGod]

What…you mean i can’t take the blue pill after the red pill? Dam! I knew i was trapped on this forum forever.

 

[CatholicSpirit]

Why is Catholic forums so addicting anyway, lol