reply to post by VelmaLu
That's why sometimes you look at something and can't tell what it is until someone points it out for you. Your brain can't match the pattern.
Note that the opposite is also true. Because the brain is always searching for patterns, it can project patterns that aren't there or misinterpret
patterns which are.
If you get a paper cut on your finger and you feel pain, it isn't actually your finger experiencing the sensation, it is your brain.
There's ways to training your mind to operate which intentionally obfuscates or misinterprets sensations. Some people can mentally "isolate" the
pain response and mitigate it, or change it to an entirely different sensation so that they still know they're in pain - but it becomes more an
acknowledgment than an agony. The art of meditation does have real and applicable effects on your perception, and by extent your body's response. I
don't think this means there's any real substance to claims such as astral projection, but I'm sure the person meditating honestly perceives that
it's real. I can certainly understand how those who developed meditation would have thought they were ascending realities, but it gets corny when
those of us who know better still resort to mysticism. Some Native American cultures practiced perception altering techniques, though usually by
putting the body through extreme stresses and ritual tortures until their mind evoked a vision. The Sun Dance or Sweat Lodges come to mind. However
the visions of Native Americans through ritual and the visions of Buddhist monks through meditation describe extremely different experiences which are
shaped culturally.
It can be useful tool, but requires a lot of practice and training.
Oh, and about reality being different than what we perceive. . . that is actually true.
You are correct. For example, light doesn't have color. The rainbow is merely your brains way of organizing and separating wavelength patterns. Many
animals are colorblind, so their entire world is in shades of gray. In our own human population, studies suggest that we may be seeing the emergence
of tetrachomacy in some people, allowing those who possess it to see a part of the normally invisible ultraviolet spectrum. On the other side of the
spectrum, we can all detect a part of the infrared spectrum, though not visually. We sense it by the heat it generates.
We no more have the "truth" about "reality" than does the average houseplant.
I would say the same in the context of absolute truths. However since we all seemingly share this same reality together, we can come to general
agreements and make certain true statements that apply across the board to all (or most) of humanity to explain what we observe the world.
reply to post by Diplomat
but what do you mean by "hear only a portion of sounds" and "have very limited sensations?"
Like our eyes detecting only a narrow range lightwave frequencies, our hearing only detects a narrow range in sound waves. Sound waves don't actually
emit anything for us to detect. We can only hear because of the vibration of air molecules. Turn the vibration of the molecules up or down too far -
and our brains don't acknowledge their existence.
When was the last time you heard someone blow a dog whistle.
You might be catching yourself here because you likely made the immediate correlation with the visual image of a person blowing the whistle - but in
reality, we can't hear the tone dog whistles produce because it's too high pitched.
It should be noted that our senses are all connected in a full body experience within perception. Altering one sense have effects on others. Taste and
smell are closely linked in your perception, which is why when you have a stuffed up nose things often taste more bland.