Perception

As I have stated before, certifying in Rapid Eye Technology, I have access to the Skills for Life Manual that is used in changing and creating new methods of dealing with what life brings to us with opportunities for growth.  There are 7 Principles, with the first one being "Thought" which I wrote about a few weeks ago.  The second is the Principle of Perception.  (disclaimor:  I have gotten permission from Ranae Johnson, the founder of Rapid Eye, to use her Skills for Life on my blog and you can download some things from www.rapideyetechnology.com)

A few "blogs" ago was, "what color are your lenses"?  In truth, the "color" we see through is our perception of life.  "Perception is our beliefs based on our experience.  The way we perceive our present-day world is based on how our world has been perceived in the past, and the meanings we put on those experiences are based on that perception..... Perception can make whatever picture the mind desires.  This is especially important to remember in the way you perceive others.  Whenever we judge anyone, we are really judging those aspects in ourselves.  It is impossible to see something in someone else unless we perceive it first in ourselves on some level of experience" ---Ranae Johnson    My experiences have probably been different than yours so my perceptions are most likely different from yours.   And I have noticed, many times, that I have gotten irritated or angry with my husband or even my children and then had "aha" moments in which I could see the same things in myself that i was irritated with them!  We see in others what we see in ourselves and therefore, "mirror" each other.  The challenge is to change what we see in ourselves!  "There is no right or wrong in perception,.  Perception simply 'is'! 

Here are a few "awareness" checks:

                                                  FIND THE "F"'s         

                                         

                                       FIGHTING FIRE FIGHTERS

                                          ARE THE PRODUCT OF 

                                          YEARS OF CAREFUL 

                                          TRAINING COMBINED

                                          WITH YEARS OF

                                          ON-THE-JOB EXPERIENCE.

So look and count the "f"s carefully.  How many did you discover in your perception check?  Some will find 3, others 5, and a rare few will find 9!  How many did you discover?  Those who find 4 are only looking at the body of the sentence and are ignoring the title which contains 2 more.  Thos who find  9 see 2 in the title and 7 in the sentence itself.  If you are still struggling, count the word "of".  Three more "f"'s now jump out of the page.  Missing the letter "f" in the word "of" is common.  

   

 Let's try one more:              WHAT DO YOU READ?

                                                        

                                                         WHAT

                                                        IS THE

                                                     THE POINT?

(I'm hoping this one will work since it really has a triangle around the message, but let's give it a "shot")

"What is the point"?  This seems pretty simple, but it is not what it says.  Reread the question, do you see anything differently?  It really reads, "what is the "the" point"?  "THE" appears twice yet most people do not see the duplication.  Examine times when you and an important person in your life viewed something differently.  Convinced of your own perspective, each of you missed the opportunity for more meaningful connection.

I have had many conversations with my husband in which we were almost speaking "past" each other because each of us had a differen  perception of the subject.  And I have also had experiences in which I have felt a little "crazy" trying to convey an idea or thought to a friend in which they didn't "get it"!  Their perception was obviously different than mine.  "Experience results from our perceptions, which are filtered through such factors as our history, culture, values, desire, education, and awareness.  Given our perceptions and filtering system, we begin to have a clearer understanding of why people struggle with understanding reality."---Ranae Johnson

"We are influenced more by what we think is so than what actually is so.  Our perceptions of reality do more to govern our behavior than reality itself.  When we learn to pay attention, we create the opportunity to switch from reacting to acting... We can discover a whole new world when we are open to the learning.  When we are willing to move off our position, and be receptive to viewing things from a different perspective, our perception of our world will be different.  Consider the possibility that if we accept the level of love offered from others and from ourselves we would have a different view."---Ranae Johnson

 So this week I am going to be working on the Principle of Perception in my life; I invite you to do the same.  I know all of this starts to feel a little "daunting" (especially when adding in the Four Agreements and in just working on our everyday projects), but let's not forget that it all begins with "thought".   

               "When we change the way we look at things, the things we look at change."