Perception vs Reality
Damion Stone
Are Some Decisions Base on: Perception or Reality?
Have you ever thought you heard something, but there was nothing there? Have you ever thought you saw someone in the corner of your eye, and when you looked there was no person there? When we look down from a high building on people, do they appear small like ants? Aren't there thousands of occasions when we do misperceive? What is reality and perception? Mainstream science describes reality as "the state of things as they actually exist". So reality is simply: everything we observe. Perception is the process by which organisms interpret and organize sensation to produce a meaningful experience of the world (sapdesignguild.org np). I believe people should base some decisions on reality and fact rather than perception. Our perceptions differ greatly on so many things, so how can anyone decide what is real and what is not? Just because we see something a particular way it does not make it so. Sometimes we think our way of seeing something is more right than anyone else’s and we are very insistent about it.
When we are first separated from our mother’s womb, each of us becomes like a tape recorder, and our subconscious mind is like a blank tape, waiting to be programmed. As the analytical part of the mind is not fully developed until around age thirteen, the subconscious readily accepts and believes whatever it hears and sees as truth (Bauer, np). Here is a perfect example: young children have no concept of who they are. Their self image is formed by what they have been told by others and how they perceive things to be. It can even be formed by things they have overheard. “He is so bad!” “You look so pretty!” “You are so strong!” “You do not listen!” “She is not good at math.” Think about it, what self image are we forming for our children? Is it good, or is it filled with negatives? It is very important to note that children will live up not only to their own perceptions, but also to ours (Bauer, np).
Are Some Decisions Base on: Perception or Reality?
Have you ever thought you heard something, but there was nothing there? Have you ever thought you saw someone in the corner of your eye, and when you looked there was no person there? When we look down from a high building on people, do they appear small like ants? Aren't there thousands of occasions when we do misperceive? What is reality and perception? Mainstream science describes reality as "the state of things as they actually exist". So reality is simply: everything we observe. Perception is the process by which organisms interpret and organize sensation to produce a meaningful experience of the world (sapdesignguild.org np). I believe people should base some decisions on reality and fact rather than perception. Our perceptions differ greatly on so many things, so how can anyone decide what is real and what is not? Just because we see something a particular way it does not make it so. Sometimes we think our way of seeing something is more right than anyone else’s and we are very insistent about it.
When we are first separated from our mother’s womb, each of us becomes like a tape recorder, and our subconscious mind is like a blank tape, waiting to be programmed. As the analytical part of the mind is not fully developed until around age thirteen, the subconscious readily accepts and believes whatever it hears and sees as truth (Bauer, np). Here is a perfect example: young children have no concept of who they are. Their self image is formed by what they have been told by others and how they perceive things to be. It can even be formed by things they have overheard. “He is so bad!” “You look so pretty!” “You are so strong!” “You do not listen!” “She is not good at math.” Think about it, what self image are we forming for our children? Is it good, or is it filled with negatives? It is very important to note that children will live up not only to their own perceptions, but also to ours (Bauer, np).
References: Aitchison, S. (2010). Perception Of Life. Retrieved May 19, 2010, from www.stevenaitchison.co.uk: http://www.stevenaitchison.co.uk/blog/2010/02/14/perception-of-life-video/ Sodha, A. (2006). The Power of Choice. Retrieved May 19, 2010, from www.unlimitedchoice.org: http://www.unlimitedchoice.org/blog/meditations/perception-vs-reality/ Bauer, L. P. (n.d.). The Power Of Our Belief System. Retrieved May 30, 2010, from www.selfgrowth.com: http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/The_Power_of_our_belief_system.html Introduction to perception. (n.d.). Retrieved July 7, 2010, from sapdesignguide.org: http://www.sapdesignguild.org/resources/optical_illusions/intro_definition.html