March 29, 2006
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Socrates Cafe Topic Entry
Perception is reality. Agree or disagree?: A Socrates Cafe Discussion
As usual I'm "late" with my Socrates Cafe discussion entry, which has been ongoing since Mar. 20. I am attempting to post an entry for each topic. I chose only one topic for this week, however. The following article ties very well to my Universal Blog, as do most of my entries in these discussions. For more information about my Spiritual Journey, please read the Books of the Realizations and the articles in the Universal Blog. Socrates Cafe topic posts are generated by the Socrates Cafe Blogring. More Socrates Cafe discussions can be found on the latest topic post. This topic is hosted by tychecat.Perception is reality. Agree or disagree?
The Universal Mind cannot be touched, heard, seen, tasted, or smelled. Neither can the Universal Mind engage in sensual empathy with the world in and of itself. These "senses" are purely physical manifestations of the corporeal world. The corporeal world is that which we "experience" from day to day. We touch physical objects. We hear the world around us. We taste and smell. We look around and we "perceive" what we "think" to be the "real world". If two of us are standing beside one another, we believe we are experiencing the same world, we believe we can converse intelligently about these perceptions, and since the consensus is that we think we are "sensing" the same space, this perception "is" reality.
This isn't necessarily so, however. The "mind plays tricks" with our perception in slight but subtle ways, and whenever a group of people are asked to remember something, chances are they will remember different events and different scenery.
The "reality" for us is our perception of it, but the reality doesn't in fact exist. It is a construct of the Universal Mind, "made real" by our corporeal senses. In actuality, the neutrinos and quarks that ultimately make up universal space cannot be sensed. Scientists "know" they exist because of their paths and trails. With more powerful microscopes and telescopes, mankind has found that even the most "solid" of surfaces is in fact "nothing" and the stars which shine in the night sky actually burned bright millions of years ago. Scientists attempt to explain these seeming breaks and anomalities in "reality" to us, and sometimes we feign understanding, but most of the time, we tend to dismiss anything other than our own senses, and our ultimate perception is our ultimate reality.
The Universal contains our corporeality, and exceeds it. We are not meant to grasp the "total picture" or the "true nature" of univiversality until we pass from the corporeal to the Universal. Then, all the questions are answered in an instant. In the Universal, the "mind", this same mind which cannot be "sensed", is the total picture. The mind contains the Universe, and the Universe contains the mind. Everything attians understanding, and the shades and slivers of individual perception are noticed and acknowledged by the total as such. There are many shades to any individual color. I and you can both see "red" and both see different colors, but our corporeal perception is that we both see red. We can "color" our perception to match others, but this isn't a true "snapshot" of our reality. The more enlightened we become, the more we can relate to the simple fact that all is not what we perceive, and our corporeal minds do not use the totality of power with which they have been given. That totality "shows" us (a Universal perception, if you will) the many truths which actually make up the Universe.
In conclusion, perception is what our corporeal mind "thinks" is the truth of reality. Universal perception becomes reality, and the truth of reality is much more than we "think" it is while we are locked in our bodies on the planet Earth, or wherever we live in the many galaxies inhabiting the Universe.
So I guess I would say that I agree that what I perceive on Earth is reality to me, even though I know that I do not sense the "big picture." My Universal perception will "become" reality, so upon my assension to the Universal, I would disagree that my corporeal perception was reality at all, but merely a snapshot of a small section of it.
Comments (51)
Miya Michael! :wave:
Don't know if I've stated this lately, but thank YOU for contributing to the discussion. Of course the discussion I refer to is THE discussion - the ongoing conversation between all of creation. It's things like this entry of yours today, which inspire my brain to engage, so that I, too, at some point will make some contribution to the discussion myself. But then, this is no more than my perception of reality, and if perception is not reality, then I suppose there would actually be no discussion. :fun:
BE blessed!
StEvE :spinning:
And that should have said "Hiya Micheal!" And p'raps I should have just typed... FIRST!
:sunny:
Hi bmike,
do you really really think Universal "mind" (I think heartness or universal every-thing-ness) can not be sensed or experienced. not me, i believe it can be sensed/experienced/expressed. that is our purpose i think. reality- such a strange trying framework trying to be a concrete concept.-g
You have written a lot about the Universal mind. It is great to get a bit of more insight into what you mean with the term. Do you think it is possible to get a better sense of the bigger picture that you wrote about?
If not by perception or experience, how does one discover illusions are illusions or that a Great Mind exists? What enters the understanding but is not qualified as experience?
Perception is reality? No way. Perception is your reality, and may be reality, but it's not always reality.
hmm. most interesting.
btw, I like the new profile pic.
-Jos-
:wave:
what a paradoxical topic...
your responce is wonderful Mike...
reality is not what we think it is
in just such a way
a word is not the object it points to
fun...
playing with words a second...
i love what you point to with the term/symbol
The Universal mind...
the term, mind, to me is attached to form
perhaps to go beyond it ...and say universal presence
would extend the boundaries a bit, and open the door to the realization.... one's presence is ...a part that contains the whole .... One Presence
I doubt many would find the distinction between mind and presence useful
:spinning:
Linking you now, Mike.
i like what you have to say about perception here. It is true that one's perception can differ so much from another; I think of 'What the Bleep?' when the Indians looked at the water, and did not see the ships coming in-it wasn't reality to them.
The way I am understanding your perspective (which is only a spectre, right?), you believe we are ultimately to become God. Did I make a leap there? I believe we will be WITH God, and will know what we cannot now know. I don't subscribe to the Universal Mind set of beliefs, so I will definitely have a different perception--which I believe to very real, and by design. Have a great day, Mike.
Hi Mike,
This Existential question has, of course been debated for more than two thousand years and the resolution is not yet in sight but I think you have well stated the "Theistic" side of the discussion.
Kierkegaard stressed this and was most focused on the "human impact" and "leap of faith" necessary to conceive the "Universal Mind". Nietzsche, on the other hand, stressed the need for each of us to focus on our own values and perception and rejected the idea of some higher order of Mind.
I personally, side with the modern Existentialists, who tend to claim that we are alone as individuals in a chaotic cosmos which we impose our own order on - negotiating shared agreed upon definitions of "Reality".
Mike as per usual this was insightful and well written. I enjoyed it very much.:sunny:
:rolleyes: Your ID picture looks like you are a spy...hmmmm! You are a handsome critter. Twenty years ago....Oh, well, I have memories!
Hi michael, I find your explanation very eloquent. Reminds me of turning point and the movie made on that topic "mind walk" regarding the relative empty space contained in the atoms that make up "solid" matter. Perhaps we are the atoms in the universal mind you speak of sharing our realities as we glide or smash into one another. What I don't understand is why you don't think we can have an empathetic understanding of each others reality. Afterall there is a certain level of common background amongst people.
By the way thanks for you comments on my post. I still hold that honesty is where family gains it's power from and if you can't get it from blood relations we often seek it out through friendship. And while the traditional family has not disappeared, it has moved over and now holds equal footing with the created families of friends.
I'll have to read when you comment on Maureen's site. I have nothing to add to this. It's well put and similar to my own views. I was singing old Fleetwood Mac, but now I'm with the Doors, "doing time in the Universal Mind." Blessings and a great weekend to you!
And by Maureen I meant LadyBlue. I don't know how I confused the two.
Perception is our personal reality. What we see and what we think creates our world. Judi
Many years ago I lived at Redondo Beach. It is fun to see pictures of it. I loved the warm water of the California coast but now people tell me no one goes to the beach is that true? I used to live at Venice and walk down to the end of the block and be on the beach it was so beautiful it makes me sad to think no one can enjoy that beauty and go in the water anymore. Judi
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