Seeing comes before words.
The child looks and recognises before it can speak.
It's a really wonderful quote by John Berger from his book Ways of Seeing.
And it really shows how our function of perception was set in place even before language.
Before we can speak,
We are recognising through our senses,
Sight,
Feeling,
Sound.
We recognise objects and faces and we categorise them to help us to make sense of the world.
And the brain sits in this interaction between what's inside the body and the mind,
And the body and mind in the world.
And this is where our perception lies.
Past experiences,
Thoughts and feelings can affect our perception.
When we use our perception in a conditioned way,
We can find our experience is limited.
Without paying attention to how we perceive,
We may see through a clouded lens,
Through a veil.
We may become limited by our misconceptions and our preconceptions.
We make decisions based on a quick analysis of what we think we perceive and we act on them.
Let's take a moment now,
If you can imagine you have no words,
And to imagine the impact that might have on seeing.
On making sense of what you see.
You may be out walking or there may be a garden nearby that you can gaze at.
And if not,
Perhaps a plant within the home.
And I invite you just to simply look at a tree or a flower or a plant.
Imagine that you have no name for this object.
What impression does it offer you now?
Does the intensity of seeing increase?
Does seeing it in this way allow you to encompass more details of the tree or the flower?
Do you feel a fresh perspective on something so ordinary that you might not have noticed it in this way before?
Perception is worth some contemplation in terms of how we can move out of seeing life in an habitual way,
In learning to view situations with a clearer perspective.
Perception is recognition,
But it is paying attention and a deeper observation of experience that is mindfulness.
Mindfulness is like framing a picture.
We don't look at the frame,
But the frame helps us to focus on the picture more clearly.
Mindfulness is the direct and deeper experience of that image,
Sound,
Thought or feeling in a more clear and direct way.
The term vipassana,
Which is a style of meditation,
Is translated as clear insight.
And mindfulness helps us to gain this very clear insight into ourselves and our lives,
To see reality.
In this practice,
We can explore life with a beginner's mind,
A non-judgmental mind,
Simply being open,
Curious and explorative in our nature to allow seeing situations from a wider perspective.
We are using this function of perception to note our experience and we are doing it in mindfulness,
In conjunction with this deeper attention.
And using the practice of mindfulness in perception,
We might just pull back the curtains in the morning to notice the sky.
Unveil our eyes to the brightly coloured flowers on the way to work.
We may become aware of an idea or a belief of ourselves or someone else that we have been clinging tightly to.
We may have a greater capacity to reframe the more challenging situations in our lives and we may cultivate a psychological resilience through this more agile and flexible approach.
