Musing on Perception

Big old subject matter encompassing this musing. There will be a common theme emerging, that of perceiving ‘in the round’ or ‘holistically’, rather than in isolation, followed by some pertinent points on perception.

The system of learning I experienced through my school years might be described as conventional, yet I, like many others that pass through it, would describe myself as unconventional. When I went back to study after being emersed for some years in the world of work, my perceptions were about to go an evolving process of change. My route back into education was via the trade union movement, within this context the path split in two early on, you could go health and safety, or go environmental to refine the journey into further education. I had previously learned some skills with BTCV (British Trust for Conservation Volunteers) and had fun doing so with others, the green path it would be for me.

After reading through my latest submission, the tutor that was guiding our class through a CPD (Certificate in Professional Development) looked up and caught my eye ( I was sitting at the desk immediately in front and facing the tutor’s desk), “You really are a Deep Ecologist” was his vehement declaration. I had no idea what was meant by the term, it was said in a way that could not be construed as a compliment, merely by his tone. I returned his utterance with an oblivious polite smile and mentally noted to do a little research on the term before the next class.

The first book I went out and actually purchased in the genre was called “The Web of Life” authored by Fritjof Capra (there were no ebooks in those days). It became one of those rare books you start to read and just don’t put down. It was published in 1996, cutting edge material at this time, yet still holds up well (in my opinion) in the world of 2024. Deep Ecology is introduced as a new paradigm involving the scientific study of life at all levels of living systems; organisms, social and ecosystems. There are implications that come with the new paradigm for science, philosophy, health care, business, politics, education and everyday life. The switch is from Newton and Descartes to a holistic ecological view of the world. It was referencing concepts such as ‘sustainability’ and ‘biodiversity’ within an interconnected web, even having the foresight to flag up ‘resilience’ before we really started to experience the increasing advent of extreme weather across the globe. The author was a physicist who regarded ‘shallow ecology’ as anthropocentric (human centred), ‘deep ecology’ as not separating humans (or anything else) from the natural environment. The philosophy has its roots in the school promulgated by the Norwegian Arne Naess during the early 1970’s.

What initially had my focus was the dimension of spiritual awareness, for me akin to a feeling of ‘coming home’ in an apparently perplexing disconnected environment. Following from this I was developing an understanding on how social engineering defined our relationship to power, researching family history has further developed this understanding for me. Corrupt systems that model abuses of power are nothing new, humanity keeps coming up with tweaked versions that keep those on top at or near the pinnacle. Learning about my ancestral family has progressively allowed me to move out of a judgemental mode. After all, some my ancestors lived lives that promulgated and enforced the system on others, just as a way of making a living. That feeling of connection comes with spiritual awareness, as well as finding your ancestral roots. I would say from my experience volunteering as a mental health counsellor, a lack of connection is a core issue to many people feeling depressed, even suicidal in modern society. Technology is not going to solve this issue, it is more a matter of perception.

Metaphorically, it can be useful to describe our Ego as the camera or video recorder of our mind; a tool used to navigate the outside world as well as a filter that discerns the ‘important stuff’ from the mass of sensory information we continually receive. A balanced Ego can be an excellent tool of perception, an unbalanced Ego is a different kettle of fish. A lot of folk today live with this outward perception, without utilising the inward perception that is connected via Ego and mind. There are a ton of distractions that direct our focus this way. The likes of Rudolf Steiner were warning about a spiritual disconnect at the back end of the Victorian era, with the Industrial Revolution exacerbating the process, spiritual as distinct from religious dogma. This is the same disconnect that was widened by way back constructing buildings as places of worship, rather than the natural environment, then putting priests in them to be the middle men, empowered as experts in all things spiritual.

Eckhart Tolle, a modern day spiritual trailblazer, gives us pointers on how we as individuals can utilise our power in the present moment. The ‘magic’ happens in the doing, rather than reading about it and trying to understand the concepts. This ‘being in the now’ approach has the potential to paradigm shift through the application of focus and perception, energising conscious thought. Our current scientific approach can neither measure or recognise this energy as the source is from within, rather than outwardly manifested. In a world where we now have ‘influencers’, ‘digital nomads’ and ‘content creators’, it is well to realise that each of us as individuals have been ‘content creators’, since before the dawn of time. Individually we each have the power to transform ourselves, by examining our beliefs, harnessing our imagination and emotion. “Be the change you wish to see” has much truth in it. It is our starting point. En masse we have the power, not just to move a mountain, but to re-engineer the planet away from its current path. As Michael Micklewhite (Michael Caine) MBE might be quoted to say, “Not a lot of people know that!” But increasingly there are those that do, its all about shifting perception!