Continued...
If
this is confusing and fluid for the senses we know and are used to, what
happens when we become aware of our other senses, whatever they may be? An
example of one such physical sense all of us have but do not count, evidenced
by “five senses” being the operative term not “six senses”, is the sense of
direction. The word sense is even in the description, it’s “sense” not
perception, or opinion, or inference of direction, it is the sense of direction.
Iron in the blood collects in the nose and sinuses, and the interaction with
the magnetic fields of the planet produces an effect akin to a compass, think
about the phrase “follow your nose”. Just like any other sense, the sense of
direction is more pronounced and sensitive in some people, while others get
lost with a GPS. This sense though is no more helpful in finding ourselves,
being that it is a guide for us to find our direction, than any of the other
senses and it shares the other sense’s opinion bias. We have the opinion of how
we are supposed to go and what route we are supposed to take in order to get to
our destination. We see the various landmarks, which act as mirrors, and are
distorted by time, weather, and lighting, which we use to help guide our way.
Finally the “reflections” once again pass through the opinion filter of
recognition, and if the distortion is not large enough and the destination was
specific enough, we gleefully exclaim “we’re here”. This additional sense helps
us discover more of ourselves by allowing us yet another interaction with our
environment, which provides more “reflection”, but even this additional sense,
which while beneficial and useful in our arsenal, is still no more capable than
the other sense of fully perceiving ourselves.
Our
senses are unable to perceive ourselves in totality, only portions of ourselves
which may change with training and the expansion of our perceptions, but not
the whole total. Additionally as we get used to and find balance with our
surroundings we become oblivious, or rather we cease to register the sensory
input we receive. Sounds, smells, feelings, even objects around us, all blend
in or blend out of our awareness, until finally we are left with just our
thoughts, in a meditative state. It would seem that the only things that keep
our attention are un-preferred stimulants. If we like a sensory input we keep
it, grow accustomed to it, find a balance with it, and finally become oblivious
to it. We remain in this “habitual” balanced state until another sensory input
is perceived and based on its being pleasant or unpleasant we decide to either
integrate it or discard it. Perhaps we are unable to perceive ourselves fully
because we are not able to step outside of ourselves to observe ourselves. So
we are left with piecing together all of the reflected images to achieve a full
representation of ourselves. The representation produced by reflecting off of
our surroundings is never complete because our surroundings are never static,
always providing stimuli to adjust to, and as we adjust we need a reflection to
again show us who we have become. The adjustment passes through the opinion
layer of the current state, reflects back, passes through the opinion layer
again and we again adjust to achieve a balanced state. It is a perpetual cycle
of self-exploration as our surroundings adjust and we adjust with them,
discovering more of ourselves, creating more reflections, never being able to
step outside of ourselves to see ourselves. We are chameleons, always blending in
and adjusting to the environment to best maintain the most pleasant of sensory
inputs. What dish tastes best?
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