So it is indeed that time. I have moved to a new webpage with more content and some truly beautiful photography courtesy of my brother James Abbott and close friend (essentially a brother) Max Mishkin!
Follow me now at amedicinalmind.com
You can continue to access all of my previous posts here and can be redirected to these posts from my new page.
I thank you for following for 2 wonderful years and hope to continue providing nourishment to your being!
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Sunday, March 19, 2017
Tuesday, March 7, 2017
Perception is Reality
Taken from my recent newsletter: A Week of Compassion, I thought this was worthy of a mini-post.Certainly some food for thought
Teaser: Much bigger news and posts to come!! stay tuned
Perception is Reality. While most of us have heard this expression before, few have really dug into its implied meaning. With the opportunity of this conscious life, we have been given the gift of awareness, of perception, of discernment. Despite our greatest efforts to identify a “truthful” reality, we are all limited by our subjective impression of the world around us- our perception. Unfortunately, while truth or right knowledge can find its way into our perception, so too can many other mental modifications (presented in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras) as verbal delusion, misrepresentation/misconception, sleep and memory. In elucidating this concept further, we can see that even the well-trained mind and regular contemplative is left with a perception that can and is constructed from one of the many “distorting” mental modifications. Taking this back to the practical level of our lives, we share the common example of an argument stemming from a miscommunication- “No, you said this!” Actually I said this, but that’s okay, you must have an issue hearing.” “Well this is what I heard.” Or how about that childhood memory where you were grounded or put in timeout- “but I didn’t do anything???” Rather than struggle to pursue an explanation of the “truthful reality” or try to convince someone else of your perception, we must rest with the knowledge that WE, JUST AS EVERYONE ELSE, ONLY HAVE OUR OWN PERCEPTION and THIS PERCEPTION BECOMES OUR REALITY.
If someone is hurt by you words, confused by your actions, or disturbed by the look on your face, it does not matter what your perception or intentions may have been, someone was left hurt, confused and disturbed. While we can certainly pursue a life solely seeking truth or search for ways to filter our perception down to a near truth, we encourage you to instead pursue a life where we can forgive and forget, perceive and relieve- relieving suffering when we perceive it, feel hurt when we feel it, authentically and genuinely care for those from a compassionate heart, even if we find ourselves walking miles and miles away from the “truth.”
Teaser: Much bigger news and posts to come!! stay tuned
Perception is Reality. While most of us have heard this expression before, few have really dug into its implied meaning. With the opportunity of this conscious life, we have been given the gift of awareness, of perception, of discernment. Despite our greatest efforts to identify a “truthful” reality, we are all limited by our subjective impression of the world around us- our perception. Unfortunately, while truth or right knowledge can find its way into our perception, so too can many other mental modifications (presented in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras) as verbal delusion, misrepresentation/misconception, sleep and memory. In elucidating this concept further, we can see that even the well-trained mind and regular contemplative is left with a perception that can and is constructed from one of the many “distorting” mental modifications. Taking this back to the practical level of our lives, we share the common example of an argument stemming from a miscommunication- “No, you said this!” Actually I said this, but that’s okay, you must have an issue hearing.” “Well this is what I heard.” Or how about that childhood memory where you were grounded or put in timeout- “but I didn’t do anything???” Rather than struggle to pursue an explanation of the “truthful reality” or try to convince someone else of your perception, we must rest with the knowledge that WE, JUST AS EVERYONE ELSE, ONLY HAVE OUR OWN PERCEPTION and THIS PERCEPTION BECOMES OUR REALITY.
If someone is hurt by you words, confused by your actions, or disturbed by the look on your face, it does not matter what your perception or intentions may have been, someone was left hurt, confused and disturbed. While we can certainly pursue a life solely seeking truth or search for ways to filter our perception down to a near truth, we encourage you to instead pursue a life where we can forgive and forget, perceive and relieve- relieving suffering when we perceive it, feel hurt when we feel it, authentically and genuinely care for those from a compassionate heart, even if we find ourselves walking miles and miles away from the “truth.”
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