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We live in a bubble of perception | Living Now

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Weliveinabubbleofperception
byA.C.Ping
"Doubtisuncomfortablecertaintyisridiculous."[Voltaire]

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gratitude.Somepartofyoumayfeellikeexplainingtothemhowmuchtimeandeffortyouputintothegift.
So,hereistheparadoxoftruthanditsinherentlimitations.Youseethereisadifferencebetweenobjectiveand

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subjectivetruth.
ThegreatnagualDonJuansharesthesorcerer'sexplanationinCarlosCastaneda'sbook'TalesofPower':
"Weareinsideabubble.Itisabubbleintowhichweareplacedatthemomentofourbirth.Atfirstthebubbleis
open,butthenitbeginstocloseuntilithassealedusin.Thebubbleisourperception.Weliveinsidethatbubble

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allourlives.Andwhatwewitnessonitsroundwallsisourreflection.Thethingreflectedisourviewoftheworld.
Thatviewisfirstadescriptionwhichisgiventousfromthemomentofourbirthuntilallourattentioniscaughtby
itandthedescriptionbecomesaview."
Ingivingothersourgiftoftruthweareinessencejustgivingaview,onethat,nevertheless,wehavespentour
wholelifecreatingandthenreinforcing,onethatissimplybasedonperception.
Toletgoofourfixedviewoftheworldandembracethemysteryoflifeisoneofthegreatestchallengeswecan
facebutparadoxicallyoneofthemostrewarding.
"It'sthebestpossibletimetobealive,whenalmosteverythingyouthoughtyouknewiswrong."['Arcadia',Tom
Stoppard]
Ashumanbeingswearegrowthseeking.Westrivetoexpandonalllevelswhenwedon'twegetstuckinthe
mireofthepastandobsessaboutwhoisrightandwhoiswrong.Wegotowarwithothersbecausetheyhave
differentbeliefsfromus.Wehangourhatonthehookofjudgementandworkhardesttoprotectwhatwehave
forfearofloss.
Toascendtoagreaterwayofbeingrequiresustoopenupourbubble.
Thinkaboutitfromthepast/present/futureperspective.Allofyourstoriesabouthowtheworldworks,whoyou
areandyourplaceinitarebasedonthepast.Whenconfrontedbyaconflictingviewoftheworldyouwill
instinctivelypointtoallofthe'evidence'thathasarisenfrompastevents.Youwillnaturallythencometothe
conclusionthatyouarerightand'they'arewrong.Endofstory.Endofexpansion.
Acommitmenttospeaktruthcanbemadefromtheperspectiveof,"I'mgoingtotellyoumytruthfully
expectingthatyouwillthenrealisehowcompletelyWRONGyouareandadoptmypointofviewinstead."
Oritcanbemadefromtheperspectiveof,"I'vesurrenderedtothemysteryoftheUniverse.Iembracetheideal
ofspeakingmytruth.HoweverIacceptthatmyviewpointisjustoneofmanyandIamcommittedtoexpansive
growth."
Seethedifference?
Values,ideals,visionsanddreamsliveinthefuture.Weaspiretolivethemand,MOSTimportantly,wecan'tget
tothembystrivingtoliveincertainty.
Ofcourse,here'sanotherparadox.Youseewearehardwiredtoseekcertainty.Ourbrainsareselforganising,

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patterningsystemsthatperpetuallytrytomakeourliveseasierbyidentifyingpatternsandthenreenacting
storedbehaviours.
Facedwithanewpieceofinformation(maybeevenrightnow)yoursupercomputerofabrainswitchesintogear
andstartsmadlysearchingitsmemorybankstofindanythingthatithasseen,heard,readorexperiencedbefore

http://www.livingnow.com.au/articles/living-and-learning/we-live-in-a-bubble-of-perception

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7/26/2015

We live in a bubble of perception | Living Now

thatwillhelpittomakesenseofwhatitisexperiencingnowandplaceitinthecorrectbox.
NaturallythislimitsustoafixedviewoftheworldbasedonpastexperiencewhichisEXACTLYwhatwedon't

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wantwhentryingtobeexpansive.
Canweevenseenewpossibilitiesthen?
Scientistshaveexperimentedwithkittenstoseehowtheirperceptionchangeswheninputsarelimitedearlyin
life.Theyplacedkittensinanenvironmentwheretheywerenohorizontallines.Monthslaterthekittenswerestill
unabletoperceivehorizontallinesintheirenvironmentevenwhenexposedtothem.
Itisalsowelltestedthatthehumanbrainfillsin'blindspots'byspeculatingandthenprojectingwhatitthinks
shouldbeperceivedinthoseareas.NotethatIsay'it'becauseitisnotaconsciousaction.
(Notheimageisnotmoving...YourbrainjustthinksitisseeAkiyoshi'sKitaoka'sotherwork
http://www.ritsumei.ac.jp/~akitaoka/indexe.html)
So,backtotheweirdandwonderfullimitationsoftruth.
Yestruthisthegreatestgiftyoucangivetoanother.However,youmusthaveacommitmenttoemotionaland
spiritualexpansionandanacceptancethatyourtruthmaynotbethesameasmytruth.
Youmightalsoliketoembracethenotionthattheworldisamysteryonethatweshouldneverstoptryingto
understand,butataskthatweshouldneverexpecttoaccomplish.
Anopenheart.Anopenmind.Awillingnesstolisten.Anabsenceofjudgement.Aspiritofadventureand
exploration.
Andthebestbitisyoucan'tworkitoutfromwhereyouarerightnow!
"Realityisjustanillusion,albeitaverypersistentone."[AlbertEinstein]
Whatsortofamazingworldcanyouimagine?
Inpeaceandlovealways.

A.C.Pingisaninternationallyacclaimedauthorandselfmasteryteacher.Hehas
workedwithpeopleinAustralia,theUK,AfricaandAmericaforalmost20years.
Histrilogyofpersonaldevelopmentbookshasbeentranslatedinto11languages,
andhehasalsowrittentwobusinessbooksandnumerousmagazineand
newspaperarticles.Hiswritingsandpresentationsexplorethejunctionpoint
betweenancientwisdom,philosophy,quantumphysicsandneuroscience.
www.acping.net

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