We're not truly here

To be here truly or not to be .... Aristostelian logic won't help you to answer this question, you havbe to go on to Q.L.!

Don't think any kind of logic can prove it. It is something that have to be experienced. Literally we need an experience that is out of this world. :)

If I'm not truly here, why does my ass hurt like hell when I'm constipated and I
have to take a dump?

That is because we identify with the body fully. It is like playing a video game, you feel good when your character is winning, you feel down when it gets killed, even though that game character is not you. This video game called life is fully immersive without VR googles or haptic or shock gloves unfortunately.

The "Brain in a Vat" scenario: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brain_in_a_vat

Yes. And it is being done so well that we don't question its reality until someone from outside clues us in like what Morpheus did for Thomas Anderson (later known as Neo) in the original Matrix movie.

If you're into Sci-Fi, you should look up Frederic Pohl's old short story "The Tunnel Under the World". http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/TunnUnde884.shtml :-)

Great short story. Thanks for sharing! I see the similarities to what we're talking about here, but with one big difference. We've a way out of here. :)

Scary

We're in the next level but don't know it yet. It is like being caught a nightmare at night with everything looking real and you don't know that you're actually safe asleep at home.

:)