meta-reality

The idea of a narrative, book or otherwise, being written as though it's non-fiction when it is actually fiction

"How would you describe this show?"
"Why, it's meta-reality of course!"

by VultureMan1 February 26, 2017

Meta-Reality

The concept that what we perceive as base reality might itself be a construct, simulation, or narrative layer within a larger, truer reality. It’s the philosophical and sometimes psychedelic suspicion that we’re not at the bottom level of existence. This includes simulation theory, the idea that gods are themselves created, or that our universe is a thought in a meta-mind. It’s reality questioning its own reality, leading to a dizzying sense that everything, including the rules of physics, might be local software.

Example: "After his DMT trip, he couldn't stop talking about meta-reality. 'Our world is just the dream of a sleeping giant,' he'd say, 'and its alarm clock is the heat death of the universe. Also, the giant is allergic to peanuts, which is why they're deadly.' It made existential dread feel weirdly specific."

by Dumu The Void January 30, 2026