“In the province of the mind, what one believes to be true either is true or becomes true.” -John Lilly
There’s nothing new under the sun. Even that very statement proves it. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how we see what we want to see. How everything we see and hear about people or situations is filtered through our preconceived notions about said people or situations. It’s like the labeling prophecy to an extent. We believe that someone is a certain way so no matter what they do, we seem to only notice those events and words they utter that prove us right. And we do it unintentionally and often unknowingly.
I stumbled upon this quote today and thought it was true and pertained to my thoughts. Just an eloquent expression thereof, and maybe a little more specific and structured. Aside from finding the concept of this filtering fascinating, I want to be more cognizant of it. I want to bring it to the forefront so that I can avoid pigeon-holing people and limiting them because of my ideas of them. Same for situations. It’s so vital to see what things are and who people are, not what or who we think they are. Of course, there is often a sizable overlap between the two. The key to me is realizing the difference between the two and being aware of our thought process and filters.
(This blog post is from October 2007. I just found it again.)
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