For most of my life I believed that there was a Reality out there. This reality sometimes elated and and sometimes depressed me. It controlled me most of the time and occasionally I appeared to be in control of it.

All the information about this reality arrived through the five senses, plus further information in the way of input in the way of thoughts, beliefs, memories, and various other mind modes of information. All this information was fed into central HQ and compiled into a coherent map of this reality. The map influenced me, changed my mood, enhanced desire and aroused fear, depending on the map content and how it related to me.

This map was taken to be a faithful representation of this outside reality. The map was believed and the outside reality was the unquestioned reality to which I was subjected.

What was the evidence for this reality? The map was the evidence. Yet apart from the map there was no independent verification of this outside reality. Thus then raises the spectre, ‘Is there a reality of which the map is a faithful representation, or is there just the map.’

The map is there, but any other evidence of a reality beyond the map is unverifiable. So there is a map for sure. Apart from the map the only certainty that I have is that I am aware of the map. So I know that I exist.

Whenever the mindmap is there, I know that I exist. The mindmap is only there during waking periods. When I am in deep sleep, the map is not there, and in the absence of the map, I do not even know that I exist.

So the knowing of my own existence depends on the map. The information in the map is unreliable because it is unverifiable. I have at times believed the map only to discover that the belief was not true.

Even information about me is in the map, consequently I cannot verify anything about myself, except the certainty of my existence. All the map serves to do is verify that I exist.

I know I exist and I am aware of this mindmap.The map is proof of my existence, but the content of the map is inherently unreliable. I and the map exist. The content of the map is of no value in the way of revealing any truth. It has proved its unreliability on many occasions.

Where did the map come from? It must be my map, the result of my imaginings. So I know that I exist and I know that I have a vivid imagination and I have learned that I am gullible in believing the ramblings of this imagination.

The map confirms my existence, but is not true. I exist in an imagined world, which is the product of my own speculations. It even contains speculation about me. In the certainty of my existence and the uncertainty of all information, and the knowledge that I am the source of all this uncertainty, then I can relax knowing that I am only afraid of my own shadow.