Perception and Reality

When a tree falls in the woods, does it make a sound? Of course, I’ve addressed this before, but it’s worth revisiting because it says something about how we exist, as well as our true purpose. A tree falling does not make a sound, but it causes vibrations in the air. A sound occurs when there is a receiver that translates the vibrations. We hear a sound because our ear-structure is affected by vibrations. Sound is a complete process; it does not occur prior to reaching our tympanum, but is the result interpreted afterward, instead. It is the same with all of our physical senses. Sight is not accomplished without eyes to interpret light reflections and refractions. The light is a vibration, and the eyes perceive the vibrations, turning them into sight. Our senses function as part of a process.
A television set kind of functions in the same manner. A television is a body that is designed to receive signals, then turn them into sights and sounds, which are then transmitted at vibrations to us, who then turn them into the sights and sounds appropriate to our design. We know that our biology is similar throughout our species, similar enough to speculate that we all see, hear, smell, feel, and taste things relatively consistently throughout. We also know that other creatures with different designs of the same organs, such as an insect’s eyes, interpret the same vibrations that we receive in a different manner. So we know that reality is perceived in a relative manner, but reality itself is consistent. In other words, that platitude: “We make our own reality,” is garbage. Reality cannot be made by us. Reality already exists and always has. We simply interpret reality in our own ways.
If I am blind, I am now unable to translate the signals or vibrations emitted by the world that is affected by light. I can no longer perceive the visual existence, so it is effectively non-existent for me. But that is my interpretation. Yet, since the absence of sight does not preclude the absence of light being reflected, and since reality exists whether I can interpret it or not, does that then mean that part of me does not exist, instead? What if I cannot hear? Vibrations will still be made in the air. If I cannot smell or taste, particles will still be dispersed from perfumes and cookies. If I cannot feel by touching, matter does not dissolve. So if there is no completed circuit, so to speak, between the transmitted world and my receiving capabilities, does that mean that I, effectively, do not exist? If I were in a room with another person, and that person could not see, hear, smell, feel, or taste, therefore, had no perception of me at all, does that mean that I do not exist for them, but that they do exist for me?
How does a being that does not see, hear, feel, taste, or smell perceive other beings? What does a tree do, well, before it falls in the woods? How does it perceive? How is it that we can affect particles of energy simply by observing them? If we had no senses at all from birth, would we have any way of grasping that there is a world?
Our bodies are vessels. Our bodies are designed with purpose. Just as a computer is designed for a purpose, while a radio is designed for a different purpose, and a television for yet another, etc, we are equipped with certain “hardware” that has function. We were designed with our physical senses for a reason of completing a circuit, receiving and interpreting signals. It is through these channels of perception that we create a bond with reality while inhabiting these vessels. When we leave the vessels, our essence continues to oscillate, but our restrictive perceptions are gone. This means that our physical purpose is tied to the physical world designed by the vibrations of the universe, or, the Creator.
Without our senses for perception, we are spirits locked inside of a container with no viable reception to outside stimuli, kind of like satellite television on a cloudy day. The energy exists, but there is nothing happening because the signal cannot be received and interpreted. We are meant to interact with the outside world, because it is through this range of interactions that our spirits have connection, sustenance, while inside the vessel. The richness of our sensory perception will directly affect our spirit.
What if your television received video, but the audio was static? What if the audio was clear, but the video kept freezing or blacking out, like when too many clouds interrupt the signal? What if the audio was extremely loud, but the video was fine? What if the television did not allow you to touch or smell the things you see and hear? That would mean that the experience is incomplete. If our spirits are part of the Great Spirit, part of the universal energy, and the universal energy is something like a gigantic satellite signal, and our bodies are the receivers for the signal so that our spirits can have a complete, fulfilling experience of reality, then does it make sense to inhibit those signals?
The Creator force, the universal energy, manifests in physical form in numerous ways. We see this in any natural entity, such as that tree, a bird, a crab, a flea, a banana, and anything that has not been manipulated by human hands. Reality already exists, remember; we cannot create it. We alter the physical forms of reality, but artificial things are not real, they are only tangible. Imagine, for example, that your body is altered synthetically to form a plastic bottle. Your purpose has been altered, and you are not a real human any longer. The bottle is not one that was found in nature, so even though the physical element is made of real matter, it is not fulfilling its natural role. Plastic bottles do not readily occur in Nature—although, they can be found in Nature, now, because humans put them there. A television is made of natural materials, but televisions do not readily occur in nature; they have no purpose in the natural world. So the Creator force is readily found in whatever form the Creator naturally assumes, which means it is designed with purpose in the greater, holistic scheme of Nature. Therefore, if the Creator designed Nature, and the Creator designed us to be bodies with perception that contain spirits, does it make sense that we have a purpose in the holistic scheme? Does it make sense that our spiritual connection to purpose and completeness, therefore satiation, would come from the manifestations of the Creator instead of from the artificial?
So, as part of reality, if my spiritual satiation comes from my perceptions of reality, then does it matter HOW I perceive reality, or only THAT I perceive reality?
First, knowing that my holistic existence is contingent upon my physical perceptions, which enrich my spirit because the senses (and breath, which is covered elsewhere), are the keys to connecting contained spirit to universal spirit, then THAT I perceive reality is a pretty crucial matter. Now if reality is that which exists prior to any human creation, then if I put walls up around me, does that not disconnect me from reality? If I put walls around me, and a roof over my head, and I close out sound, weather, and scent, essentially residing in a dark box, is that not similar to shutting off my senses? If I shut off my physical connection to reality, does that mean that reality effectively ceases to exist for me? Does this mean I effectively cease to exist, by cutting off the circuit of perception, to reality? It’s not really anything transcendental or deep. Basically, by being disconnected from the real world in my physical form, I cut connections to the Whole, essentially trapping my spirit in a box. From there, it can either move out of the box and connect to reality through the senses, or it can leave my physical form and re-integrate with the Whole. (Being disconnected from physical perception does not mean that my spirit does not exist in reality, it means that I cannot make a connection, I cannot satiate my spiritual place and purpose, similar to a battery being full of potential energy that has no form or function until it makes the right connection to fulfill its purpose.)
But the brain is an organ that needs occupation. It is active, always perceiving, reasoning, absorbing, thinking. What happens if I disconnect from reality, from the spirit manifest in Nature, and I reside in the dark box with no interaction, no mental or physical stimulation? I am living death. What would there be to occupy my ravenous mind if I had no perception of anything at all? What if, in my dark room, where my senses function, but have no signal to receive, there was suddenly light? What if there was a television? My mind would focus on the stimulus. There would be distraction. I could watch a television show. I could see a movie, and I could laugh. What if I could control the temperature of the room and even have food provided through a hole in the wall? I could keep my mind occupied, but does occupation imply spiritual satiation?
Artificial things are not found naturally occurring. If the Creator did not implement them into the cycles of natural progression, then they do not fit. Artificial things typically use natural resources in a parasitic way; pollute the natural world in their creation, their disposal, or both; and have no function other than to satisfy a human perception of need that is based upon fear or discomfort, which are perpetuated by living in an artificial world. Therefore, if I occupy myself with things that are artificial, do I find spiritual fulfillment and satiation, or do I simply occupy my busy mind in spite of spiritual fulfillment and satiation?
If I exist in an artificial world, which is not a human interpretation of reality, but a fabrication in spite of reality, then I am sacrificing my definition and purpose based upon reality, so that I develop my identity and occupation within artificial parameters. My body literally begins to assimilate to the artificial conditions, and evolution shows that my progeny will further transform or mutate to assimilate in direct correlation to these artificial conditions. This implies that as my progeny evolve relative to the fabricated world that shuts us off from reality, they will no longer be real. If our core design was meant to function within the larger design of Nature, and we literally close ourselves off from Nature and replace spiritual connection with mental preoccupations or distractions, it means that we are ignoring our inherent realness. It means we are spiting Creation. Our senses and physical structures will atrophy the more we replace reality with distractions and comforts. We don’t hunt and gather anymore, so our senses and natural, physiological tools are watered down through false evolution. We let televisions and iPods, alcohol and drugs, and myriad other distractions infiltrate our systems and saturate us with stimulation so that our inherent abilities become numb. We change our landscape for more easy negotiation so that we don’t even walk correctly anymore, if we walk at all. We fight death and aging, and we literally breed increasingly weakening traits into our species because we can offset them with technological crutches. This fabrication means that we live in an existence that is nothing more than a larger version of Disney World, and just as superficial, driven by the rules of Monopoly. This means that we effectively do not exist as real beings any longer, and that implies that our spirits are prisoners being brainwashed and intoxicated with distractions. If we reside in a world of fabrication, so that we ignore our senses, so that instead of developing them in reference to reality, we mutate them in reference to the artificial, then we neglect spirit. How can anyone be spiritual in an artificial world of so many different types of walls? How can we be truly happy if we don’t even realize our true place and purpose? How do we make a spiritual shift, if our spirits are drunk on preoccupation instead of real purpose?
Reconnecting to reality begins with experiencing it. It begins with being outside, in the presence of the manifestation of universal truth, or, the Creator. It means acknowledging what is natural. But it is not a form of absolution, like going to church on Sundays in order to dump out a trashcan of sins so that you can spend another week filling it up again. You cannot simply hang-out outside and have a smoke, just to return to the death of the artificial world and expect to make spiritual strides. Developing spirit means developing the senses through developing awareness. There are far too many layers to Nature, thus, to ourselves, to believe that spirit can be satiated, fulfilled, accurately tuned by only acknowledging the uppermost layers. The deeper we delve into reality, means the more intimately we connect. Our senses will strengthen, and our bodies will follow. Intention elicits action which elicits wisdom and growth. In order to exercise the awareness, we need to enhance the senses, which means we need to begin to push physical boundaries and explore our potential. We need to integrate reason, thought, emotions, and actions so that as we gain awareness, we gain insight, which then pushes us to gain physical skill in order to go deeper. This is the course of life. It is progressive, and it causes us to develop temperance in order to grow. Ultimately, as we strive to find the peak potential of our spiritual connection through finding the peak performance of our senses and skills in reality, we come closer to Satori, to allowing the universe to completely infiltrate us until we find that there is no barrier any longer. This is not something we can embrace simply through speculation and understanding, for that is only part of the triad that creates the synergy. You cannot reach Satori by living in, relating to, and valuing the artificial. It is time to wake up.