For the majority of us, vision is our primary contact with the world. In the future we may find that there are other "senses" that far surpass vision as an effective interactive path to reality, but for now, we use what we can. However, most of us, in fact, use very little of our natural abilities to gather and interpret external information. In school, we are taught to watch and listen, and otherwise do little else. This is terribly unfortunate, but understandable when you consider the normal 'teacher-to-student' ratio. There simply isn't the time in the day to become personalized with 25-30 kids and get done everything that need be done.

Luckily, through new medias, such as blog posts like this one, individuals, young and old, rich or poor, in fact practically anyone with a computer and an internet access can find the education they need and enrich their lives.

Changing the way you look at things is an easy way of training yourself to think “outside the box”, so to speak, about everyday problems and situations. We are so used to using our limited perceptions that we tend to forget there are other ways of interacting with the world around us, and those different perceptions could lead to different solutions. At the very least, it makes life more interesting!

Here are a few ways to begin to change your perspective of everyday life. Please be intelligent about safety when practicing any of them:

1. Cover one eye and carefully explore the spaces around you: Just losing your normal 3-dimensional way of seeing is enough to make some people dizzy. That might suggest a very limited 'view' of the visual world up to this point. Break the habit of believing the viewable world is always the same. What is real to you often depends on how you see it. Unless you are conscious of your own ability to interpret your senses, you will be trapped in the one that gets to you first.

2. Take something that bothers you a lot, and defend it, adamantly(my personal example is how fascinating I discovered spiders really are!) This is NOT giving in to someone else's opinion. This is to practice your ability to decide for yourself what your opinions are. This exercise doesn't say you have to OPENLY defend that which you normally would find un-defendable (although, this would make it all the more effective, to be sure!)but rather, just to tell yourself the opposite of what you would normally say in reference to this subject. Granted, this is not an easy exercise, but it will open you up completely to being tolerant of the opinions of others. By doing so, you will be able to see that differences in opinion can lead to twice the opportunities to learn. Not to mention the flexibility this exercise will give your mind.

3. Imagine looking at the world through the eyes of your baby or your pet. This is like covering one eye. Most people are visual enough to make this a pretty easy exercise. The trick is to stay in the 'baby view' as long as you can. A few seconds is interesting, but a few minutes could give you a completely new idea of the attitudes behind your surrogate pair of eyes. If you've ever wondered why your baby and/or pet resort to certain behaviours, this exercise may give you a clear-cut answer. Often our view of the world dictates, more than anything else, how we react to it.

4. When looking at something really big, examine a very small part of it; look for any re-occurring patterns (ever noticed how the veins in a leaf look like the trees branches?) A wise man once said, 'regardless of scale, nature repeats itself.' This axiom can be found in so many instances throughout life, it's quite astounding. And once you see the connection between the very big and the very small, you can begin to see that there might very well be the same kinds of connections throughout nature, and therefore all life, including human behavioural patterns.

5. Blindfold yourself in a public place. (Please, assistance required!): This one is obvious: you want to try depending on your other senses to do what you would normally take for granted. Not enough? Throw on a pair of earphones to simulate difficulty or inability to hear and experience your attempts to receive a perception of your surroundings. If you’re worried about looking foolish in public, just put on some sunglasses over the patches, and some music via earphones to silence the outside world. Or, start off in a friend's apartment, where the surroundings aren't so familiar. Learn to rely on senses that aren't your normal channels of perception. Believe me; you'll be amazed how everything 'looks' once you take off that blindfold. Obviously, the longer you go without your sight, the more of an impact it'll have once you get it back.

6. Imagine yourself as an alien from another planet, here to study human behavioral patterns. If you try to disassociate yourself from the human race, stop trying to take everyday typical patterns for granted, and instead ask why they do that, you might begin to notice a lot of interesting things about us! Obviously, I'm not suggesting that you become effectively anti-social. Remember, this is only an exercise in changing your perspective. So, don't forget to come back to Earth! ;)

Again, please exercise good judgment while attempting these exercises. I don’t want you bumping into light poles, or wandering out into traffic! But, remember two things:
1) The more you have fun at this, the more effective it will be. So, don't take it all too seriously.
2) If you don't 'feel' anything the first time, don't dismiss it. It just means your 'way' of doing things is more deeply ingrained than you thought. Try it again, tomorrow, and see how it goes. Consider keeping a journal of your experiences. That will make them more real, and your progress will be all that much more noticeable.


Good luck!

I wish you light, love, and the strength to be a little more than you were, yesterday.

Michael B.
"CashPro"
August 9, 2012

P.S: I ALWAYS welcome suggestions, comments, even complaints. He who cannot listen to criticism does not understand the value of it.