#1275 - the world is a mirror
They say we don't see the world as it is but as we are. It means that the reality that we see and perceive is defined and bound by our beliefs and conditioning.
Everything that we perceive is a construction of the brain. — Anil Seth
If that's true, the best way to know who we are is by paying attention to what we see.
We have all the wisdom of the universe within us. It is already there.
However, sourcing from that wisdom is not easy. It is covered by layers and layers of beliefs and conditioning stopping us from accessing our core essence, where the wisdom of the universe lies.
Many of those layers were made when we were kids. Psychologists believe that by age seven, most of our beliefs, habits and behaviour patterns are formed. Some we inherited from our parents, our ancestors, and our culture. And we keep creating new ones while we go through life experiences.
That's why practising subtraction is fundamental.
Subtraction is the stripping back of our learnt biases, the unlearning of our stories and assumptions, and the peeling back of the layers of beliefs to reveal the infinite wisdom that we hold within.
We can do that by looking inward through self-reflection and introspection. However, it's not as easy as it sounds because even when we turn it inward, our conditioning limits our gaze.
So, we can look inside by paying attention to what we see outside. The world that we see and perceive, it's a mirror of our inner world. We can recognise our beliefs and conditioning by paying attention to all our interactions with others and the world.
And subtract them.
That's why I love facilitating the passage.
To pay attention / this is our endless and proper work. — Mary Oliver