Thank you for taking the time to comment, Jon.

Yes, I agree with you, we need some time for contemplation and assessment. Actually, I find that if I take a bit of time each day to write in my private journal, I work through my thoughts, enabling me to be more in the present moment the rest of the time.

Something is real if it can have a real affect on us or others. We are able to identify what is real by comparing what we see with what others see. If only one person is seeing something, it is likely a hallucination. If multiple people see something, it's probably real. And our thoughts are real to us because they are really happening to us and are likely to have a real affect on our behaviour.