The Power of Perception
When a Pickpocket Meets a Saint ...
“You are the sky. Everything else – it’s just the weather.” — Pema Chödrön
Dear Friends,
I have recently been thinking more about perception. I have always appreciated the phrase:
“When a pickpocket meets a saint, all he sees are the saint’s pockets.”
And it is true!
We see what we are conditioned to see.
So, what do we each see? And maybe more importantly, “what do we not see?”
Do we only see what is wrong? (missing what is right)
Or do we only see what is pleasant? (missing any difficulties)
And maybe the most important inquiry:
What does it mean to see clearly?
One way to look at meditation, or any awareness practice, is a practice of seeing clearly — not changing or fixing or even figuring anything out— just being with what is.
So simple … and so freaking hard.
Today
Eckhart Tolle likes to say, “Remember that your perception of the world is a reflection of your state of consciousness.”
Today can we be aware of how our state of consciousness impacts what we see?
The cashier at the restaurant, our child, a situation at work, our partner ... how we view everything is impacted by our state of mind.
As we see this, we can begin to meet life “as it is” instead of how we want it to be.
And if we meet a saint today, hopefully we will not just see her pockets :-)
Or when we meet our friends or family, hopefully we will actually see them … and not just our phones!
There may be no better invitation: Can we see the world as it is?
Blessings,
SOREN
Wisdom 2.0 Offerings
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The Methaphone.
Eric Antonow from our community creates a phone (that is not really a phone) to help us with our relationship to our real phone.
Thank you
This is wonderful!