* * I can totally dig this, Curtis. For me, that was what Awakening entailed: the sudden visceral realization that my perceptible reality depends entirely upon my (previously subconscious) beliefs, or programs, and the concomitant realization that by consciously changing my programs, my whole reality instantly shifts. As a result, I am not particularly impressed by most "experience(s)" since they are so patently self-generated reflections of our own predispositions. That does not mean they aren't also "true" however, and I am interested in where our various realities may meet, the common ground we may share, where our maps may agree.
--- In [email protected], "curtisdeltablues" <curtisdeltablues@...> wrote: > > I am reading a fascinating book called "Incognito, the Secret Lives of the > Brain" by David Engleman a neuroscientist. What has struck me so far in the > book is how much perception is shaped by our beliefs. And how poorly we are > able to distinguish between inner and outer vision. There is a phenomenon > among stroke victims where they become blind, but their mind constructs such > a detailed visual world,they don't realize it. It is only over time when the > inner vision and outer vision collide that they can be convinced that they > are not seeing the actual outer world. > > It strikes me that we all have developed a confidence that the perceptions we > are having depict an ontological reality outside our mind. It is so strong > that it even causes you to have a confidence about what happens after death. > I suspect that it is the compelling nature of the experiences that is the > basis for this confidence. > > I am taking myself in a completely opposite direction. I am trying to > uncover all the areas where my subjective influence interferes with my > perception, shapes it, nudges it in the direction that my mind desires to > support its beliefs. Not to have an objective ability for perception, that > is not possible, but to limit some of the areas of error that I can. I am > searching for areas where unwarranted confidence masks my > cognitive-perceptual flaws. > > It seems to me that this research in how our minds shape all perceptions,not > just so called subtle ones, should be of interest for people whose > perceptions are outside the broad consensus. (I am assuming that everyone > else didn't see the exact same thing at the service.) I believe it is > important to find out where our confidence should be placed concerning these > perceptions. Our mental perceptual mechanism is so fluid, so automatic, so > unconscious. We have so many blind spots which are compounded by our > enthusiastic confidence in our lack of blind spots! We are all smoking our > own brand. We are terrible witnesses to external events outside our minds, > and even worse when it comes to reporting what goes on inside. > > But the statement that there quite obviously is no death, is overreaching. > That is a leapfrogging over your own subjective confidence to a statement > about the world that we share. I accept the report of your perceptions as > accurate for you, and that it had compelled you to feel that they are > authentically representing the world outside yourself. But it is way > premature to go beyond saying this as a personal belief you have. A very > compelling one. And in the end it may even be true in the sense that we can > both watch the sun set and report it in somewhat similar terms despite our > different mindsets. But we are a long way from being there yet. > > I would love to hear someone input the information about the mind and senses > I am reading and integrate it with their experience of subtle perceptions. > This information really shakes up having confidence in our ability to make > these distinctions well. Distinctions that we often bet our lives on every > day. Every day we drive we are throwing the dice on our ability to pull it > all together internally while being bombarded with sensory input that is > chaos until our mind sorts it out with process beneath our conscious > awareness, but on whose judgements we rely for our very survival. > > I guess what I am concluding is that far from having confidence in > perceptions involving life after death; I'm thinking that I am an idiot to > ever drive while talking on my cell phone. > >
