I’ve been writing lately; going deep. My mind is full with thoughts and ideas, making my daily walks even more important. On this day, I was just beginning my walk and entering the park. I saw a flash or orange that made me stop. The photograph above shows what I saw – my initial perception. I then took a moment to figure out how to compose in order to show just what I saw – no more, no less. Visual design always makes my day.
The Zen of Seeing
While reviewing notes from one of my favourite books, The Zen of Seeing(paid link), by the artist Frederick Franck, I came across this excerpt describing the progression from perception to thought.
first Nen – first perception of something which is purely intuitive and cognitive; a flash of profound insight.
second Nen – flash of mental reflection, becoming aware of my intuitive insight; a profound “knowing.”
third Nen – this awareness becomes “my” awareness, integrated in my conscious; processed in that region of the mind where reasoning, labelling, introspection, ego-feeling take over.
First nen is perception, the space before the thought. Second nen is when we become conscious of the perception. And, third nen is the conceptual thought. We’ve put a label on it.
One of the most rewarding aspects of photography, for me, is realizing and trusting “first nen.”
These moments happen when we’re open to whatever arises. When I’m open, first nen perceptions come easily and often. Sometimes I can be startled into openness by a strong perception. This example above was one for me.
There are many ways that openness can be blocked. For me, the two main ones are my incessantly busy mind and judgments (the worthiness factor). To settle the mind, I do exercises to bring me into presence, like a pre-photo walk meditation or focusing on a couple of senses (like sounds and the feel of your feet touching the ground). The best way to work with judgments is to acknowledge them and then get curious. Is there another way of seeing the subject or the situation? In the case of this photograph, it did open me up for the rest of my walk.
More on Openness and Perception
I like the idea that time is composed of fragments known as NEN. I love the first Nen which is the space before the thought and before we label our perception.
The image you show above makes me think of woven material and different criss-cross patterns. So… I’ve already put a label!
Sandra, I’m glad you brought this up. We quickly move from first nen to second in a fraction of a second. Most of the time, we’re not even aware of first perception. In Miksang contemplative photography, they teach an exercise where you close your eyes, turn around and then open your eyes, noticing when conscious thought kicks in. It’s amazing how quickly it happens. However, we can train ourselves to be more aware of those first perceptions and to lengthen them. It’s immensely rewarding because it carries over into all areas of our life.
Hi Kim and Sandra.
I’m always awed and amazed when I learn that there are defined terms for what I naturally do or ways I naturally am. Moments like this make ‘truth’ feel palpable – like I’m being reminded of something even though the information is new to me. The awareness of these three nens will allow me to bring more consciousness to life around me, presence without thought or preconception.
Thank you for this Kim.
These are very old concepts, Sally, so no wonder they’re part of your DNA. You are an old soul, after all.