Perception

In your mind, are you a victim of perception or are you able to control how you perceive the world? Is your answer to my question ‘also’ perception?

And if you get to choose how to perceive the world, why would you ever feel sad, angry, upset, frustrated, or like the victim? Why would you ever feel jealous, taken advantage of, or mistreated?

Is it a fact that if someone comes up to me and punches me in the face I’m the victim? Or could it be I was about to get in my car, drive away and get in an accident, hurting 3 children and a single mom, had I not been delayed; and there was no other way?

Surely, had I known I had to take a hit in the face to save 4 people’s lives, I would have gladly raised my hand. On the other hand, if he simply walked up and punched me — and I did nothing — is it possible he was about to hit a woman had he not struck me? And, in this situation, might I again prefer to take the hit as compared to letting the woman?

This is an example where perception could drastically change my response from feeling insulted to giving thanks. Same act, same black eye or bloody nose, but a completely different experience and state of mind.

How else do you think perception might affect your life?

Perhaps:

• There is no such thing as suffering. Disease, limb loss, and even chronic pain and disease may be serving a purpose from a higher perspective, even when it makes no sense to us, in this moment.
• We don’t have to ‘give’ love or ‘receive’ it; we are love. All we have to do is get in touch with a ‘love particle’ inside of us to trigger a chain reaction and feel incredible amounts of love and support in our lives.
• We are never truly hungry. Some of us might be able to choose to take a ‘bite’ of air, and perceive it to be all we need. In fact, these people might be called ‘breatharians’.
• We are the aliens; who’s to say there’s only one version of us, or that we aren’t the threat to the rest of the Universe, based upon how we are treating one another and our planet?
• When you think, the whole world listens. When you feel, the entire multi-verse feels with you. Your thoughts are not private, and the concept of ‘big brother watching you’ already exists if people ‘tap into your space’ and ‘feel into you’. And if we are to be held accountable for our thoughts and feelings, how are you treating yourself and others in the quiet moments?

Yeesh. Perception changes fact-to-fiction and fiction-to-fact, it appears.

Today’s thought exercise: at what point in time did you choose to offer distinction between ‘reality’ and ‘imagination’? If you’re anything like me, imagination and reality were one and the same when you were a child; as you were designing your life.

Sent to you with love, honor, and in service,

Kareem

Originally published at drkareem.com on April 18, 2018.