PERCEPTION

It is a gorgeous Autumnal Morning. I can't imagine it being more beautiful. If I ever have any doubt about the joy of being alive, all that I need to remember, is how those 8 week old chickens greet the day. They roar out of their coop and don't stop running until they get some distance away. They don't run as much as dance, a very fast step, and they stop momentarily to have a mock fight with a neighbor. Then they scratch and peck. They are in heaven and it is pure joy.

I had two dreams last night, one more dominate than the other. I was writing, or at least discussing perception at great length. I might dream something else for a while, but I would come back to the topic. I don't accept that dreams are guidance, but on the other hand I haven't had perception as my main topic for some time.

Sixty years ago, while on guard duty [Air Force], I read the Mentor series on philosophy. They were called pocket books in those days, now they are referred to as paperbacks. They were very handy for reading on guard duty, as they could be stuck in your pocket in a second, if someone was approaching that didn't appreciate you reading. I don't think reading was necessarily a violation, but we were supposed to be alert.

I remember one, and I think there were more, ancient greek philosophers, that postulated, that all reality was energy. Solid form only existed because our [five?] senses shaped them into form for our experience. They talked about, what we would, now, interpret, as wave length and frequency, and I think, it may have been the first use of the word atom.

According to these folks, everything is perception. We take energy and bring it into solid state with our minds. We have both, group and individual ideas, about what constitutes reality. Modern quantum physics creates speculation in this area.

I don't know 'truth' but I am comfortable, with the idea, that the universe is energy and we create our own reality. At a much more mundane level, we can see how important perception is in our lives. I could have had five people with me, doing this Morning's chores, and they would all see different things. One person may be preoccupied, with a relationship going sour, and they may miss the beauty of the Morning. Another may miss, the vibrancy of the young chickens, and only see potential dinners. Another may be troubled that, their new shoes are getting all wet in the dewy grass, and just want the experience to be over. Another might be, so entranced by the squirrel playing in the leaves, that they didn't notice the chickens. Another might be so annoyed and crabby that they didn't see anything but irritation. The variation of what people see is endless.

Is it hard to believe, then, what people experience, depends on what they are thinking and feeling at the time? We have all had, potentially positive experiences, ruined by a preoccupation, with a painful memory, or something else going on between our ears. Or likewise, we have had an extraordinary good time because of a great mood.

We go through life, with a collection of thoughts and feelings, that influence everything we see and experience. We don't see reality, as much as we see, the out picturing of our thoughts and feelings. Think of the myriad little thoughts and feelings we have about race, religion, nationality, sex, gender, looks, fat, thin, physical capability etc, etc. We have been programmed to 'see' according to somebody else's script. The script usually is about control.

I don't know, if there is a reality, or what it may look like, but I know we can't see until we give up all our little beliefs and prejudices about what it may look like.

It works for me to give up everything that is not love. I am a long way from being there [ask my wife]. [On second thought- don't ask her]. I don't want to spoil any illusion you may have of me.

I have the intent, to entertain, only what is love in my mind. I hope to live long enough to experience it.

Love and Peace, Gregg