Can We Really Believe Our Eyes?
Why Perception Is Everything
By Dorraine Fisher
Why Perception Is Everything
By Dorraine Fisher
Seeing is believing, right?
How many times in the
discussions about mysteries of the world have I heard someone say,
“I'd have to see that for myself to believe it.”
Knowing what I know now,
seeing something doesn't necessarily hold much water...at least not
in the way we want it to.
Click on this link and look
at our Facebook page cover photo, and tell me what you see.
I've asked a few people to
do this and the answers are different. Some people see a pair of
headlights shining in the dark. Others see a pair of female breasts.
So, now, while you're
rolling on the floor laughing, it DOES actually bring up a very valid
point that applies to the world of the paranormal and the
unexplained. Not to mention everything around us. Our team artist,
Greg Champy, was not intending for this kind of perception of these
two beacons that were meant to be headlights. He was just trying to
keep our Facebook page fresh. But different people see artwork in
slightly different ways.
Now, check out the photo
below that's been circulating for years
What do you see? Do you see
a rabbit...or a duck. What you see at first depends on how your mind
works. Psychiatrists have been using ink blot pictures in this way to
interpret the patients' state of mind for years. It's a great way to
spot a person's obsessions and perceptions. It tells immediately
what their mind is focused on.
Because that thing we focus
on is what we create. It becomes our reality. And that's how we'll
actually see it.
And you may have noticed
this in the past with a hundred other visuals and didn't give it much
thought. But this is really a big deal. It impacts how we view
reality, so it impacts everything.
Why? Because this means
there cannot possibly be an absolute reality. There is only our
personal perception of it. So everything we see is determined by our
minds interpretation. And we all have a slightly different
interpretation, because we've all lived a different life and
experienced things differently. So, in the rabbit/duck picture, what
are we really seeing? The answer it's a rabbit...and it's also a
duck, basically depending on what you, from past experiences, EXPECT
to see.
I.E. If your experience of
seeing a dog for the first time is seeing it lunging toward you,
growling and snapping, that has a certain impact on your brain. It
records in your mind that dogs are evil, growling, biting monsters
you should always avoid. And the next time you see a dog, you react
with fear because of that early experience. But if you grew up in a
house full of cuddly puppies, of course, you'll have a completely
different view. And the kicker is, you'll have a really hard time
understanding a person's fear of them. You won't have had that
experience, so you're reality is different.
Our brain is wired to try to
associate everything we see with something familiar. And what that
vision or event will mean to us is based on experiences we've had of
it before.. Whenever we see or experience something, our brain is
recording it for future reference. If it's something new that we've
never seen or experienced before, you can bet our brain is busy
taking notes, trying to process it all and save it for future
reference. But this is why we often become dumbfounded and time seems
to move slower when we see something we can't process. Our brain
actually has to slow it down in order to get a grasp on it.
The worlds of forensics and
criminal justice have become increasingly more wary of eye witness
accounts and will, in addition, search for other more tangible
evidence to back them up. Why? Because we're learning that what we
see is very much controlled by what we think and how we think about
it. So eye witness testimony is becoming less and less reliable.
Now, I've brought this
subject up before in paranormal circles, only to receive messages and
emails from people asking me why I don't believe they saw what they
saw. But it's not that I don't believe these stories. In fact, I
believe beyond a shadow of a doubt (cautiously, of course) that these
witnesses saw what they say they saw. But there's a lot more to
“seeing” than just your eyes.
First of all, we don't
really see things with our eyes. Our eyes are merely a lens, like a
camera lens. We actually see with the part of our brain known as the
visual cortex. And whenever we see anything, the visual cortex is
making its interpretation based on past experiences. So nothing is
quite as “real” as it may seem to us.
But this revelation about
reality should have thrown the world on it's ear. Yet, it hasn't so
far. Why not? Because we're not quite grasping the implications. It
could go as far as to mean the line between what's real and what
isn't, aren't as clearly defined. They're all open to the
interpretation of the viewer. We've all been taught to think one
person is right and one person is wrong. But if we're all seeing the
“reality” based on our personal view, then what is REALLY real?
Who's right and who's wrong?
Sure, you'll agree with the
person who sees it the same way you do. But knowing all this, does
that method of decision hold water?
How on earth do we decide
what is real??!!
Now, I'll say again that
this doesn't mean I don't believe in anything. Quite the contrary.
But we have to be very aware of how our brains process information
and we need to take that into account when we decide what we're
seeing in front of us. How many different ways could this be
interpreted? Think it through. Always strive to be logical.
So, in relating this to
bigfoot research, I would say this. When we're doing research, or
just trying to decide what's real. We need to be aware that we can't
really rely on our eyes to tell us some absolute truth. But that
being said, that doesn't mean our eyes are always lying either. It
may just mean the world isn't as concrete and solid as we'd like to
believe it is. There's a lot of mystery left there, and the more we
know, the more mysterious it becomes.
My personal advice is this:
If we're all creating reality by the way we perceive things, we have
the power to make the choice to create it in a positive way and
believe in possibilities rather than waste time focusing on the
negatives. Just my two cents.
But you don't have to take
my word for it. If you're curious to know more about perception and
reality, watch parts 1 and 2 of Don't Believe Your Lying Eyes. Tell
us what you think.
Here is a couple more popular images for you to study over.
Don't get excited ....it's just a lamp.
Face illusion - forward or side view?
*******DF
This Post By TCC Team Member Dorraine Fisher. Dorraine is a Professional Writer, a nature, wildlife and Bigfoot enthusiast who has written for many magazines. Dorraine conducts research, special interviews and more for The Crypto Crew. Get Dorraine's book The Book Of Blackthorne!
facebook.com/TheCryptoCrew
Now you can get our blog on your Kindle!
0 Comments:
Post a Comment