Perception
March 27, 2011
I am a cluster of consciousness on a passage of growth. Existing in a Universe of multiple realities, there is a constant metamorphosis and fusion with epic possibilities.
Perception is the direct reflection of an individual’s knowledge, experience, and faith. Perception is ever changing and the reality that we hold today will or will not reflect in harmony with the perceived reality of the future. Our perceptional reality is limited and much like peering through a kaleidoscope. We only perceive the world as we believe it to be and according to our acceptance of this. Our beliefs are held together by our faith. Hence comes a perceptional reality that is individual for each of us. Our perception is relative to our reality and our interpretation and our acceptance of it. With each shake of the kaleidoscope the image of reality we are perceiving changes. In the same way, the experiences that we have in our lives may have a dramatic effect on our own perception of reality. The growth that we are challenged with will either carry us forward into new expanded perceptions or we will remain fixed in perceptual stagnation.
The sensory shower that we constantly bathe in from infancy to adulthood, allows the emotional connections to filter and blend with our perception. Experiences and thoughts are given emotional charges through sensations that reinforce them with emotional radiance. This strengthens the expression of the total experience not just with the perceptional point of view but also with a new combination of perceptual and emotional intertwining at a heightened level. Reminiscing over experience reactivates the emotional charges which increasingly serve to strengthen the perception.
This can be good or bad. The knowledge that we accumulate will reinforce our action in the direction of our perception. Our faith will contain it all together and give us the strength to stand and argue our perception.
As a martial artist, it is vital to have focused clarity coupled with open-mindedness that is married with possibilities of the unperceived. Such things as skills, seen and unseen, concepts, known and unknown, methods that are clear or unclear, must be calculated and regurgitated in a clear and concise manner in order for the martial artist to achieve his desired results.
This entry was posted in Mental Elevation, Sifu's Blog, Uncategorized and tagged clarity of vision, elevated mind, meditation, mental focus, Oneness, perception, precision, self-awareness, spirit, unified mind. Bookmark the permalink. ← and The Seedling Grows Expanding Perception →8 Responses to Perception
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The Dragon says:
The question I have comes from the statement; “As a martial artist, it is vital to have focused clarity coupled with open-mindedness that is married with possibilities of the unperceived.”
How does one “marry” the possibilities of the unperceived? If they are unperceived by the martial artist how can he realize them in order to calculate and regurgitate them >? -
Augustus Q says:
“The growth that we are challenged with will either carry us forward into new expanded perceptions or we will remain fixed in perceptual stagnation.”
From my philosophical paradigm, this quote makes a lot of sense (and I really wish we could disseminate it to the universe). I think man makes progress – grows, develops – because he is “self-corrective.” It is possible to almost continuously reflect and review and reshape our perceptions. That effort goes a long way toward one’s growth, I think.
Okay, so I attempt a particular technique or method – it works or doesn’t. Then I reflect on the results and grow and progress. But how easy it is to fall into the habit of entrenching further. I guess, one either decides to reflect and modify or to stubbornly refuse to allow for a changed perception.
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Dark Panther says:
Sifu,
I can really appreciate the statement ” Perception is a direct reflection of an individuals knowledge, experiance and faith”The fact that these 3 things are ever changing, and how fast depends on many factors, the individuals perception must change also. “when I was a child I spake as a child… but when I became a man I put down childish things” This eliminates the thought of “finally arriving” because when you do arrive you are still moving forward into another perceptual reality. Now do we accept our present perceptions or look beyond them to the next phase of our perceptual conciousness?
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Like Panther, I too got tangled in this sentence: “Perception is the direct reflection of an individual’s knowledge, experience, and faith.”
Its like a formula with variables. Change the quantity/quality of any of the variables and you change the outcome (i.e. Perception). However, theoretically, one could create a calculus by which we predict and measure a person’s perception if we knew the degree of any of those variables for that person. Kind of deterministic here, I guess.
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Swooping Crane (James Brazelle) says:
There is so much here in this article but one thing that is so powerful to me is that what we are percieving is very much related to our internal state. This seems to be the proverbial “..forest for the trees” played out. Yet I think many people get hung up on what “they” did or the state of things or intentions of others outside of them. When really our reactions and upsets or peace etc. are really more telling of our own perception/innerstate.
I think this is another example of where martial and personal growth overlay. Sifu, what are some good things to watch out for in our own reactions to know when we can improve our perception? -
Q,
I have some questions about this deterministic model here. These variables (faith, experience, knowledge) appear to always be growing and changing in an individual ( ex: a lack of faith or self-confidence in an individual one day vs. an increase on another day). The experiences and knowledge an individual acquires also seems to always be changing, If these variables are not consistent and fluctuate day to day due to the experiences and choices of an individual, can a formula that measures perception be created? Perhaps I misinterpreted your comment. I just don’t like the idea of my perception being under the power of a deterministic model. (haha). -
Correction/Clarification
*”The experiences and knowledge an individual acquires also seems to always be changing”
-Knowledge grows as we learn and go through new experiences, keeping the individuals “knowledge” in a state of growth and change.
-The experience of an individual is always growing and changing due to the different interactions one has with life.
Sifu,
This is a very thought provoking article. I think there are many philosophical topics presented in this article that I have often pondered myself. I am still organizing my thoughts on exactly what I want to comment on in this article.
Back to the lab for now..