[Perception] “The process of using the senses to acquire information about the surrounding environment or situation”

Indeed! While every one of us is endowed with this particular capability, it seems that each and every one of us is totally convinced that his/her perception of any situation is not only the correct one, but perhaps the only one.

While it seems that it would be virtually impossible for the above statement to be true… Ask yourself... Have I talked to someone lately about something about which we do not agree? If the other person’s idea or perception of that given situation differs from your own, most likely you will assume that person to be wrong; funny thing, so will he/she think about your perception or idea.

Perception...
In the eye of the "perceiver"

 Why is this? I am not really sure; to answer this would assume an understanding of the human race and that, friends, is far beyond my scope. And this goes only for the male half, to which I belong. If we were to include the “other half”, I would have to echo Mr. Steve Hawkins’s (he of Black Holes and others fame) thoughts on the matter. When asked if there was a mystery he had not been able to unravel yet, he simply answered: “yes, women”.  So there you have it… an impossible quest for a mere human like me.

Back to perceptions…

Are our senses truly able to perceive reality? There is a school of scientific thought that tells us this: Our eyes see only the reflection of light on surfaces, creating an image of what is received. Our tactile sensors can only transmit a perceived feeling of solidity and texture when they touch a foreign body. Our hearing only receives air waves which it processes and translates into sound… ditto for our nasal and gustatory perceptions. In effect, we hear from these studious minds that these perceptions are but mere reflections of that which might be real. On signals receipt and processing, our minds then give substance to these perceptions, creating the substitute reality which reflects that which is about us.

Bet if you were "up there"
 the perception would not be as funny

 The preceding is on the physical plane. What happens within the mind? Within that area which defines us as who we are?

We seem to know even less about this. Perceptions allow two individuals who have, in essence, sprouted from the same womb and were reared by the same parents, to be totally different. Where one perceives white or black, the other may perceive different shades of gray. All coming from the same stimuli.

This morning, we had an interesting mini discussion in class. Nothing to do with English, mind you… just with out of ordinary issues. We touched upon the subject of the “paranormal” with a couple of us, including yours truly, relating a couple of the experiences had over the years; to a degree, I have shared with you on these posts some of the ones I have lived. The absolute perception of one person on one side of the discussion was that this “just did not exist” because “spirits are not allowed to be around us mortals”. Is her “perception” of these issues right? I don’t know, they were based on her religion; I, as did the other person sharing her stories with us, could only express what I had experienced along the way and, most definitely, my own perceptions are very much colored by those moments lived.

Depending on who you are...
you may or not want to play again...

 Which perceptions are valid and which are not? I believe they all are. The fact they may be different, will not disqualify any; it only reflects those years lived and experienced by each one; the ones we enjoyed and the ones we survived. I have been told at times that my memory fails me when I see others suffer. Apparently, while feeling bad for them, I seem to forget the bad moments I lived. I perceive life as beautiful, no matter what the circumstances may be or what they may have been. If they are currently not the best, I firmly believe they will improve, and work to that end; if the difficult moments are in the past, then they are gone and finished.

Perceptions… they are dangerously unique as is right, for we are each different and unique individuals. Yet, perceptions, in their uniqueness and in our unfortunate inability to accept and respect those which are in disagreement with our own, may take us at times do and/or say hurting things.

Be Well … Be Back!!!

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