Perspective

Perspective

How can two people be in the same place at the same time and come away with different memories of the events that took place?

“It is a feature of human memory that we do not store information exactly as it is presented to us.  Rather, people extract from information the gist, or underlying meaning. In other words, people store information in the way that makes the most sense to them.” [1]

“There are no facts, only interpretations.” 
― Friedrich Nietzsche

We bring so much baggage with us wherever we go. None of us is a blank slate, able to interpret the events that occur around us with complete objectivity. Some are predisposed to certain viewpoints without perceptions even passing through the scrutiny of critical thinking.

“Some people see the glass half full. Others see it half empty.
I see a glass that's twice as big as it needs to be.” 
― George Carlin

We generally give ourselves the benefit of the doubt. We normally ascribe the best of motives to our every action. How our actions are perceived by those on whom they have an affect is usually swept aside as nonsense. It is easy to rationalize why we do what we do and behave as we behave and expect everyone else to understand.

“The world is a tragedy to those who feel, but a comedy to those who think.” 
― Horace Walpole

What should we do if our words or actions are interpreted in a way that another feels is hurtful?

"Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye so to them." Matthew 7:12

“In all affairs it's a healthy thing now and then to hang a question mark on the things you have long taken for granted.” 
― Bertrand Russell

“We make sense of information by trying to fit it into schemas, which are a way of organizing information.  Schemas are mental 'units' of knowledge that correspond to frequently encountered people, objects or situations.  They allow us to make sense of what we encounter in order that we can predict what is going to happen and what we should do in any given situation.  These schemas may, in part, be determined by social values and therefore prejudice.” [2]

“Some people grumble that roses have thorns; I am grateful that thorns have roses.” 
― Alphonse Karr

Sometimes our schemas cause our eyes to be closed to the reality that is before us.

“It is a narrow mind which cannot look at a subject from various points of view.” 
― George Eliot, Middlemarch: A Study of Provincial Life

“No two persons ever read the same book.” 
― Edmund Wilson

I could take this a step further and state that if I read a book today that I had read 20 years ago, it would not be the same book to me because I will have brought to my reading a whole new depth of experiences to relate to the writing. 

“The question is not what you look at, but what you see.” 
― Henry David Thoreau

We make decisions easier on ourselves with hueristics, or 'rules of thumb,' which are cognitive strategies we have developed in the face of data overload.

Hueristic Definition:  A heuristic is a mental shortcut that allows people to solve problems and make judgments quickly and efficiently. These rule-of-thumb strategies shorten decision-making time and allow people to function without constantly stopping to think about the next course of action. While heuristics are helpful in many situations, they can also lead to biases. [3]



Be open to and SEEK the perspective of others

and your own reality will be enlarged.

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[1] http://www.simplypsychology.org/eyewitness-testimony.html

[2] http://www.simplypsychology.org/eyewitness-testimony.html

[3] http://psychology.about.com/od/hindex/g/heuristic.htm

The Learning Curve - Blending the Best from Everyone

"This is most people's reality. As soon as something is perceived, it is named, interpreted, compared with something else, liked, disliked, or called good or bad by the phantom self, the ego. They are imprisoned in thought forms, in object consciousness." ~Eckhart Tolle

How do you know if something is good or bad? How do you know if something is right or wrong? How do you know anything?

em·pir·i·cal  

/emˈpirikəl/

Adjective Based on, concerned with, or verifiable by observation or experience rather than theory or pure logic.

Synonyms empiric - experiential - experimental So, you're born. You start to experience life. You listen to your caregivers. Whether what they tell you is good/bad/right/wrong, you have no frame of reference to decide...so you just absorb/assimilate... Thus begins the endless cycle of circular reasoning: Definitions of Circular Reasoning (Begging the Question) "Circular Reasoning is an attempt to support a statement by simply repeating the statement in different or stronger terms.  In this fallacy, the reason given is nothing more than a restatement of the conclusion that poses asthe reason for the conclusion."  {Circular Reasoning by Stephen Hagin} "Circular Reasoning: This fallacy occurs when you state your claim and then, usually after rewording it, you state it again as your reason. (this fallacy is also commonly called ‘Begging the Question’)"  {Logical Fallacies and Causal Terms from The Allyn & Bacon Guide to Writing} Begging the Question occurs when you "take for granted or assume the truth of the very thing being questioned."  {Begging the Question from answers.com} Scientific Method is based on hypothetico-deductive logic in which we "assume the truth of the very thing being questioned" in order to construct if-then predictions (i.e., we say "IF this theory is true, THEN when we do ___ we will see ___") so we can use reality checks (by comparing the predictions of a theory with observations of reality) to test our theory, to help us determine whether "the way we think the world is" matches "the way the world really is."  {The Logic of Scientific Method}   Do you see the important difference — despite a superficial similarity — between scientific logic and circular logic? Elliott Sober gives a "broader definition of circularity" — "An argument is circular if it couldn't possibly convince someone that the conclusion is true if they didn't believe the conclusion already."  {from Core Questions in Philosophy, 1st Edition, p. 183} In circular reasoning, "The definition comes first and then the supposed proof is based on that definition.  This is proving something (at the end) by making logical deductions from premises that themselves contain the conclusion.  Looping from the end to the beginning that way is called circular reasoning.  Circular reasoning often sounds right, but it is invalid nonetheless. ... It is often hard to recognize reasoning as circular because the steps between the first and last may be many."  {Logic and Literary Argument by Eric Rabkin} I grew up fairly comfortable. I had family around, Sunday dinners, mostly love. There were things I didn't understand, like intolerance for people who were different from my family, so that drew me to "the others" even more.  I'm remembering all the way back to kindergarten in the 60s, when de-segregation was just beginning. I don't really know if it is in my DNA or not, but the first boy I ever liked in Kindergarten was Brian Sweeney, an African American lad, who I thought was the cutest boy in the whole school. We ended up remaining friends all the way through high school. Later, in the 6th grade, when I wrote a love note to Lonnie Melton, the only African American boy in my class, my parents were called in to stem the tide. It didn't work. I have always been drawn to those who can teach what I am lacking and make me better than I already am. Perhaps it has always been in my biology, to reach for those who can strengthen the gene pool...  Decades later, I can honestly say that I am thrilled to see the number of mixed-race people thriving in society. Not that the fight is over, but it is steadily moving forward.

Intolerance is ugly and counterproductive, and if you've ever studied horticulture, chemistry, strengthening the gene pool, or ART, oh, excuse me, there's someone at my door...

Perception...Is it REALITY?

P e r c e p t i o n

perception [pəˈsɛpʃən]  n

1. the act or the effect of perceiving

2. insight or intuition gained by perceiving

3. the ability or capacity to perceive

4. way of perceiving; awareness or consciousness; view

It's raining...it's gonna be a gloomy day.

It's raining...awesome! I don't have to water.

It's raining...people will be driving crazy today!

It's raining...________________ (fill in the blanks)

How do you interpret the events that occur in your life? Your perception is a very powerful tool in determining whether or not you have a good or bad experience, or whether or not a neutral incident totally floors you.

Your perception is your reality, therefore, to you...it IS reality.

Have you ever noticed how different people can experience the exact same event, yet interpret it in entirely different ways? WHERE does YOUR perception come from?

Those inner voices are not easy to distinguish. Sometimes we just accept them as reality, but are they? Is it possible they are someone ELSE'S reality? Someone who raised us or had a large influence over our lives in our formative years or vulnerable moments?

Next time you hear an inner voice trying to interpret an event for you, CHALLENGE IT!!! Is it true? How many ways can a rainy day be interpreted? As many ways as there are PERCEPTIONS of it. Think of the voices in your head. Are they truly yours, or did you just assimilate them? THINK. Be your own best friend/counselor/confidante. Delve into those common interpretations and figure out where they really come from, and then become the author of your new, healthier inner voices. 

Tell Me Lies

"Advice is what we ask for when we already know the answer but wish we didn't." - Erica Jong

How many times have you asked someone what you should do about something when you already knew in the depths of your soul what the correct course of action was? It's actually kind of silly because no matter what anyone says, the facts of the situation will not change. Your true friends will tell you what you know to be the right answers. The ones who don't care will tell you the beautiful lies that your heart craves. 

"Never tell your problems to anyone...20% don't care and the other 80% are glad you have them." - Lou Holtz

Some people revel in the misfortunes of others. Your troubles are fodder for their entertainment. If you are so insecure that you need accolades from the other failures surrounding you, you will get what you deserve. Don't let anyone make you feel less than the beautiful human being you are.

"Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." - Dr. Seuss

When you are authentic, you can be assured that those who stick around are the ones who really care about you.

Gypsy Soul

Failed Chameleon - Fucshia Lizard Sunning on a Gray Rock

The gypsy soul is always searching; never content with things as they appear. The way things appear is not reality at all. Does the way you appear always convey the way your mind is working at any given moment? If you have adapted to this world, you may have learned the art of blending in.

Blending in is the most self-protective stance we can take. It is the most fearful way of living possible. Revealing yourself and becoming vulnerable enables you to discover true fellowship. Becoming intimate with another human being is a scary thing, but being authentic is the only way to avoid "imposter syndrome."

 

If we believe something, yet act in a way that merely blends in with the status quo, we are not being authentic. We are being FAKE, PHONY, UNREAL; in effect, we are duplicitous deceivers.