PERCEPTION AND REALITY OF YOUR LIFE:
"Our conscious perception of the world, though relatively stable, is not
static. We are incapable of being fully objective, even in our most mundane
observations and impressions. Our awareness of the objects around us is
informed and fine-tuned by any number of transient factors—our strength and
energy levels, our sense of confidence, our fears and desires. Being human
means seeing the world through your own, constantly shifting, lens.
All of us, even postmodern philosophers, are naive realists at heart. We assume that the external world maps perfectly onto our internal view of it—an expectation that is reinforced by daily experience. I see a coffee mug on the table, reach for a sip and, lo and behold, the vessel’s handle is soon in my grasp as I gingerly imbibe the hot liquid. Or I see a chartreuse-yellow tennis ball on the lawn, pick it up and throw it. Reassuringly, my dog appears to share my veridical view of reality: she chases the ball and triumphantly catches it between her jaws.
That there should be a match between perception and reality is not surprising, because evolution ruthlessly eliminates the unfit. If you routinely misperceive or even hallucinate and act on those misapprehensions, you won’t survive long in a world filled with dangers whose avoidance requires accurate distance and speed assessments and rapid reactions. Whether you are diving into rocky waters or driving on a narrow, two-lane road with cars whizzing by in the opposite direction, small mistakes can be lethal even to our life.
Take a minute to scan your surroundings. Are you in a familiar place or
somewhere new? Stop reading this, and just look around you. Pick out an object,
maybe something you hadn't noticed before, and focus your attention on it. If
you really focus, it’ll get brighter and more “real” than it was when it was
just an unnoticed piece of the background noise of your life. Now, try to view
your surroundings from the point of the object.
Some people can do this with no effort, and for others, it takes some concentration. Depending on how adept you are at focusing your concentration, you may notice a slight shift in your perception – a weird jump in realty, where you are suddenly viewing the world from a different perspective. Did it work? Whether you noticed anything or not, your perception did change, albeit for an instant. It’s important to be conscious of your perception, because if you’re not, someone else will create it for you.
Things aren't always what they seem. Marketers and magicians rely on this fact to make you see things – the way they want you too see them. Artists do too. You may have seen Julian Beever’s amazing pavement drawings. He utilizes the Trompe l’oeil technique, which means “trick the eye” in French. He uses his drawing stills to create a perception. Like an optical illusion, our mind attempts to fill in the details of something it either thinks it already knows, or doesn't quite understand. This works out fine, when that’s the intention – momentarily letting our world be shaped for fun. But wandering through life, letting others create your perceptions, can make YOUR LIFE UNFULFILLED.
Change Your Story, Change Your Perception, Change Your Life
We all get caught up in our stories. Most of us think we are our stories. It’s when those stories take on a life of their own, and that life isn't the one we want, that things start to suck.
Think about the story you’re living right now. Who wrote it? Did you consciously decide to create the reality you’re living now, or was it mainly shaped by your parents, friends, spouse, school, or the media? If you don’t like the story your living, then change the perception. Envision how you’d write the next chapter of your story. Better yet, actually sit down and write it. Focus your perception on creating a new reality, one where you are in charge of the story. Take back the job as screenwriter and director, and stop just being an actor.
Alternatively, perhaps our perception of physical reality is a function of our objective external assessments and our internal subjective state. Our response to external conditions must account for our transient internal capabilities to best ensure success. We are not likely to succeed in our current physical challenges if we approach them based on yesterday's fully rested and nourished condition rather than our current exhausted state. Indeed, the world we perceive is an illusion! It is, as the Indian yogis say: MAYA.
Everything begins with a decision – decide now to be in charge of your own perception of reality. Because if you don’t, there are plenty of folks whose sole purpose in life is to craft that perception for you. Do you trust them to have your best interest in mind…? If not, go ahead and change it to the much needed perception of your reality. "
“Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.” ~ Albert
Einstein
“Everything you see or hear or experience in any way at all is specific to you.
You create a universe by perceiving it, so everything in the universe you
perceive is specific to you.” ~ Douglas Adams
All of us, even postmodern philosophers, are naive realists at heart. We assume that the external world maps perfectly onto our internal view of it—an expectation that is reinforced by daily experience. I see a coffee mug on the table, reach for a sip and, lo and behold, the vessel’s handle is soon in my grasp as I gingerly imbibe the hot liquid. Or I see a chartreuse-yellow tennis ball on the lawn, pick it up and throw it. Reassuringly, my dog appears to share my veridical view of reality: she chases the ball and triumphantly catches it between her jaws.
That there should be a match between perception and reality is not surprising, because evolution ruthlessly eliminates the unfit. If you routinely misperceive or even hallucinate and act on those misapprehensions, you won’t survive long in a world filled with dangers whose avoidance requires accurate distance and speed assessments and rapid reactions. Whether you are diving into rocky waters or driving on a narrow, two-lane road with cars whizzing by in the opposite direction, small mistakes can be lethal even to our life.
Some people can do this with no effort, and for others, it takes some concentration. Depending on how adept you are at focusing your concentration, you may notice a slight shift in your perception – a weird jump in realty, where you are suddenly viewing the world from a different perspective. Did it work? Whether you noticed anything or not, your perception did change, albeit for an instant. It’s important to be conscious of your perception, because if you’re not, someone else will create it for you.
Things aren't always what they seem. Marketers and magicians rely on this fact to make you see things – the way they want you too see them. Artists do too. You may have seen Julian Beever’s amazing pavement drawings. He utilizes the Trompe l’oeil technique, which means “trick the eye” in French. He uses his drawing stills to create a perception. Like an optical illusion, our mind attempts to fill in the details of something it either thinks it already knows, or doesn't quite understand. This works out fine, when that’s the intention – momentarily letting our world be shaped for fun. But wandering through life, letting others create your perceptions, can make YOUR LIFE UNFULFILLED.
Change Your Story, Change Your Perception, Change Your Life
We all get caught up in our stories. Most of us think we are our stories. It’s when those stories take on a life of their own, and that life isn't the one we want, that things start to suck.
Think about the story you’re living right now. Who wrote it? Did you consciously decide to create the reality you’re living now, or was it mainly shaped by your parents, friends, spouse, school, or the media? If you don’t like the story your living, then change the perception. Envision how you’d write the next chapter of your story. Better yet, actually sit down and write it. Focus your perception on creating a new reality, one where you are in charge of the story. Take back the job as screenwriter and director, and stop just being an actor.
Alternatively, perhaps our perception of physical reality is a function of our objective external assessments and our internal subjective state. Our response to external conditions must account for our transient internal capabilities to best ensure success. We are not likely to succeed in our current physical challenges if we approach them based on yesterday's fully rested and nourished condition rather than our current exhausted state. Indeed, the world we perceive is an illusion! It is, as the Indian yogis say: MAYA.
Everything begins with a decision – decide now to be in charge of your own perception of reality. Because if you don’t, there are plenty of folks whose sole purpose in life is to craft that perception for you. Do you trust them to have your best interest in mind…? If not, go ahead and change it to the much needed perception of your reality. "
Sending love, lights, peace and warm hugs to you, my dear friends!
Anthony Sunny Kunneth.
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