Gain perspective, change your reality.

From how many angles do you perceive?

If there is one ingredient that is most essential for acquiring a more unbiased and all inclusive view of the world, it is perspective. Our perspective shapes what we believe to be true. When we actively try to perceive the world through a different lens, we learn true empathy and find Truth.

Perspective lives both outside and inside of us—we have to actively find it and allow it to find us. Finding it depends on our ability to put ourselves in the right situations. To truly benefit from these situations we must embrace them fully.

Embrace selflessness.

It’s no wonder why Copernicus received such intense backlash from postulating that the Earth was not at the center of the solar system. We are egocentric human beings! We see from the inside out. As thinker Adam Frank discusses here, it is meaningless wether or not we’re at the center of the universe because it’s all about perspective. Our central role in the cosmos is simply to identify that partial views are how we arrive at a greater “whole”.

To arrive at a greater “whole”, or understanding, we have to let go of our ego. Easier said than done. The way we regard situations, people and facts is always affected by our own clinging to certain notions, belief systems and our instinct to reject what we don’t yet understand. Being so attached to our own belief system means choosing blindness over seeing! As one of my favorite Buddhist authors, Pema Chodron, would say,”See what is.”

How do we see what is?

Meditate.

Observe your mind.

Acknowledge your own perspective.

Take a step back from that place.

Practice looking at it from the outside in.

Dive into the discomfort of detachment.

Embrace what feels foreign to you.

Finding it.

When we travel, we learn as much about ourselves as we do about our destination. Traveling is the ultimate way to gain perspective. It shakes things up, derails our assumptions and broadens our point of view. When we travel, we have no option but to open up to new people and new situations. One of my favorite quotes is this:

“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.”

All situations are opportunities to gain perspective and change our outlook. This is especially possible in environments that are humbling and open to diversity. Letting go of our ego is far easier when we’re inspired by the people around us. This is when we feel challenged to consider the nature of our thoughts and inferences.

Over the past few months, for example, I’ve been witness to and helped create an environment that is capable of embracing foreign entrepreneurs and nurturing their unique perspective. This place is called Blackbox,where foreign startup founders come from around the world to understand the magic of Silicon Valley and how to scale their businesses globally.

One of our main intentions at Blackbox is to create situations in which the interchange of knowledge, perspective and cultural understanding is possible. Pascal Finette, Director of the Office of the Chair at Mozilla and originally from Germany, said during an interview with the Blackbox staff:

“Blackbox is unique because all the entrepreneurs break bread under one roof.”

The mere action of breaking bread establishes trust, appreciation, and sense of community versus sense of self. The founders, who possess varying geographic, cultural and technological perspectives, respect each other’s feedback and inspire each other to think bigger. They offer what the other might not see from his or her point of view. This is why the community is so effective—because of the open exchange of perspective. This is the key ingredient for a more conscious and globally minded world.

So drop YOUR storyline!

How often are you holding on to YOUR idea, YOUR opinion and YOUR belief? Let’s face it — we see what we want to see. If we observe and release our attachment to our own point of view, we might realize that every experience of our lives matters less than how we see it.

When we openly acknowledge and embody the variety of perspectives that surround us, then we have the means to change our own reality AND others’ reality. I’ll end with this:

Be witness to the perspective from which you see right now in this moment and remember that we never see things as they are, we see them as we are.