What is perception?
Perception is how and what you see, before any thoughts or judgments creep in. The problem is, our evaluative minds jump in so quickly that we’re not consciously aware of what we saw in the first place. Here’s a simple example of a colour perception. I was walking down the street in my town when I noticed the strong lines, shapes, and shadows on the side of this house. blue, textured outside wall of a store. It was so vivid and bold.
Perceptions often feel like this – startling or surprising. Being visually aware like this makes everyday life seem special.
In her poem, When Death Comes, Mary Oliver writes,
“When it’s over, I want to say: all my life
I was a bride married to amazement.
I was the bridegroom, taking the world into my arms. …
I don’t want to end up simply having visited this world.”
How do you create a habit of noticing perceptions?
Practice! Practice! Practice! You can strengthen your awareness of perceptions by bringing attention to sensations, images, thoughts, and feelings as you go about your day. You’ll practice staying with them a little bit longer, to rest in a moment just as it is and give your evaluative mind a rest. I hope you’ll be surprised and delighted at what you discover; what has been hidden in plain sight.
Being mindful or present is the first step, but you can be present and yet still filtering your experience. The email reflections will help you be more present and aware. You’ll also practice noticing how your conditioned mind limits what and how you see.
Perceptions are everywhere, so it doesn’t matter where you are or what you’re doing. You don’t need any fancy camera equipment. The simple act of being present to your perceptions, whether you photograph them or not, will make a difference. Just notice a few of the endless perceptions throughout your day and you’ll have created a new habit of awareness, one that will bring added depth and richness to your life.
Read this post – What is Perception? – which shows more examples.
30 Days of Perception offered daily emails sent for 30 days. They were designed not as prompts but to help you understand what a perception is and to notice your own throughout the day. For me, noticing perceptions is like a visual meditation. By opening up to sensations and feelings, and noticing how your mind works, the visual world cracks open and you see the richness underneath. The emails were a daily reminder to notice your inner experience and what amazes you every day. It was offered in November 2018, November 2019, and April 2020 but has transitioned to the Seeing Clearly Project for 2021, a weekly email through Substack. Sign up for the email or review the archive here.
Testimonials
“I have enjoyed learning from all of your classes but this could be my favorite. Perhaps your other classes have laid the perfect groundwork for my participation in this class. It’s now time to practice.”
“As with any of the courses I have taken with you, Kim, I think the essential lessons for me are in Being and Seeing. These always precede the shutter release. I have a tendency to get excited when I see a picture in a flash of perception and tend to release the shutter too many times. I find this course, as with others, forced me to slow down and do more Being and Seeing. ”
“It’s a shift from seeing a world made up of things to seeing a world that’s open and primarily made up of relationships, where whatever is manifest, whatever we see, touch, feel, taste and hear, whatever seems most real to us, is actually not substantial. A deeper level of reality exists beyond anything we can articulate.” ~ Peter Senge via Sight and Sensibility
How Will the Class Work?
Beginning April 1st, you’ll receive a daily reflection by email, first thing in the morning. This will continue for the 30 days of April. You can share your responses, if you wish, with others on Instagram by adding the hashtag #30daysofperception to your description. The reflections will touch on three themes:
1. Body (opening the senses)
2. Mind (what and how you see)
3. Heart (seeing the whole)
The cost is $15 USD or $18 CAD
What will you get from these 30 Days?
- Daily, structured practice
- An understanding of perception and why it’s important
- Learn to see with your whole body and stay with perceptions longer
- See what’s often overlooked
- Bring back the richness, nuances, and subtle surprises of the moment
- Learn from the Instagram community
- See in terms of relationships rather than things
- See how your mind conditions how and what you see
- Appreciate more. Evaluate less.