Our Words Tell a Lot About Us (#1)

Summary

The article discusses the subjective nature of perception, emphasizing that our individual worldviews are unique reflections of our experiences, values, and consciousness.

Abstract

The author delves into the profound implications of a seemingly simple sentence, asserting that the world we perceive is a direct reflection of our own self—our beliefs, assumptions, and emotions. It is highlighted that objectivity is a myth, as each person's life experiences and genetic makeup contribute to a distinct worldview. The article further explores the concept that our conscious perception is selective, focusing only on what our brain deems important at any given moment, which can be influenced by our thoughts and desires. This selective perception can be actively changed, granting us the power to shape our reality. The author concludes by acknowledging the reader's engagement and promises a continuation of the discussion in a subsequent part.

Opinions

The author believes there is no absolute objectivity in perception; each person's view of the world is unique.
It is suggested that our senses receive more information than our conscious mind can process, and our brain filters this information based on personal relevance.
The article posits that we can consciously adjust our perception by 'programming' our brain to focus on what we consider important.
The author implies that our individual experiences and genetic makeup are responsible for our unique perceptions of the world.
There is an opinion that we have the ability to change our perception and, consequently, our experience of reality.
The author hints at the power of the unconscious mind in processing information that is not deemed immediately important.
The concept of a 'self-fulfilling prophecy' is used to illustrate how our focus can influence what we consciously perceive.

There Is No Objectivity

To understand we must first acknowledge that there is no objectivity — ever. That means in essence that there are as many world-views as there are humans on this planet. Sure, some may differ only in very subtle ways, but they do differ. Not a single person on this world was raised exactly like you, has lived through exactly the same situations or has had exactly the same emotions you have experienced (let alone has the same genes).

This proves that we are all completely unique. Even if we would create a perfect clone of ourselves at this very moment, she/he would develop their own view of the world over time as we cannot be in exactly the same physical space (having the same view point) and feel exactly the same emotions in situations that we experience together.

What We Perceive Consciously Is Only a Small Fraction

by courtesy of Shawngela Pierce

Our body, our senses can receive many more signals than our conscious brain is capable of processing. For this reason, our brain has evolved to focus and to reduce the signals we receive and process, so that we only consciously perceive what is important to us at this very moment.

We all have had situations which we can remember, where we intend to buy something or dream of something or simply meet a new person. From that day on, whatever it is we focused on, we suddenly notice it much more often — but it has always been there. Kind of like a self fulfilling prophecy.

In short, we “program” our brain, our unconscious to treat this thing we think of as important. Important enough to bring it into your consciousness. We do it all the time, whether we know about it or not, whether we want it or not.

We Focus on What Is Important (to Us)

Our brain brings things that we deem important into our consciousness and things that seem unimportant are processed by our unconscious, because our unconscious can handle much more signals. There are certain things though that evolution has taught us to be of utter importance, which we cannot ignore. Fire for example. This is the reason why the following trick works: When something stinks like crazy and then you light a match (or burn something else)… we suddenly no longer smell what stinks, we smell the fire. Evolution has taught us that fire is dangerous and it’s sort-of hardwired in our brain.

So, to sum up part one: “The World (as we perceive it)…”

We all have our unique “pattern” through which we consciously perceive the world around us. And we can change this pattern, actively. We all have the power within ourselves to see the world how we want it to be — for good and bad. We all have the ability to adjust and change what we want to perceive consciously.

Our Words Tell a Lot About Us (#1)

Our Words Tell a Lot About Us (#2)

A Reflection of Our Own Self.