Tell me a story, then I'll go to bed.
Most people spend much of their lives inside "what I think is." They live inside interpretations, assumptions, narratives, identities, fears, hopes, memories, political beliefs, religious beliefs, self-images, and expectations. But every so often a person notices a gap between the world and the story about the world. For example, someone may think "I am a failure" while the observable facts are simply that a project failed. Someone may think "everyone is judging me" while the observable facts are that a few people looked in their direction. Someone may think "this person hates me" while the observable facts are that they have not replied to a message.
The story and the phenomenon become fused. Separate not reality from illusion but phenomenon from interpretation. That is a much more careful distinction. A pain in the stomach is a phenomenon. "My life is ruined" is an interpretation. A feeling of rejection is a phenomenon. "No one has ever loved me" is an interpretation. A group excluding someone is a phenomenon. "They are evil" is an interpretation. The interpretation may be correct or incorrect, but it is still a second step. This connects to the earlier criticism of the detached observer. You are not trying to stand outside experience. You are trying to distinguish between different layers within experience itself.
What is happening?
What am I concluding about what is happening?
Those are different questions.
