Do You See What I See?

"The brain sees only what it recognizes. Which is why you look like a vagina smoking a joint to me."
For millennia various philosophers and religions have talked about how the world around us is merely an illusion. How we don't really see what's happening around us. The sages, mystics, and shamans have said our concept of reality has very little to do with what's really there. This is a concept The Chemical Buddha heavily bought into. In fact, he took it further and twisted reality into what he wanted it to be. Some called it living in his own fantasy world. He called it reality substitution. And who was to say his version of what was happening was any better or worse than what other people saw or believed?
Why do you believe what you believe?
How do you cope when things aren't as you want them to be?
Does your version of reality align with other peoples' versions?
If your version is different, how does that help and hurt you and your relationships.