There’s a well-known moment near the end of the last Harry Potter book where Harry “meets” (hallucinates? imagines?) Dumbledore and they have a discussion together. Before it ends, Harry stops his late Headmaster and says, “Is this real? Or has this been happening inside my head?” Dumbledore tells him:

Of course it is all happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?

Personal feelings about this series aside, I have never forgotten that. It’s applicable in so many situations, and it makes so much sense to me on a really deep level.

You could certainly be forgiven for equating this idea with “placebos are just as real as the ‘real’ thing.” On a scientific or medical level, of course that’s not true! Let’s just nip that in the bud right away.

The idea of something being “in your head” often has a negative connotation. To me, your head is real, right? So if something is in your head, why is that necessarily a bad thing?*

I’d suggest that what is “real” and what is not is a much more complicated question than we sometimes make it out to be.

Just some thoughts for a sunny August afternoon.

*Another caveat that of course I’m not talking about psychosis or other serious disconnects from shared reality.