Perception breeds existence.
When an object exists, and is perceived, it's real. When an object does not exist, but is perceived, it's illusion. When an object exists, but is not perceived, we encounter a conundrum. .. You're floating in a vacuum in space. Somehow, you can breathe, and your body functions just fine. You're surrounded by a heavy blanket of nothingness, no light, not a celestial object in sight. You can't see the tip of your nose. You have no perceptual image of self. You've never met another living soul. Sound cannot travel in a vacuum; you lack auditory stimuli. You may even be unable to form coherent thoughts since language is but a method of human communication, which is of no use to you. Engulfed by darkness, you have no perception of self or of anything , really. Without the slightest amount of perception, you are nothing but a virtual being. One that does not exist beyond your mind, that is if your mind existed. You exist, and cease to exist, without a trace, never