What you See is What You Get........Really!!!

Last evening we were sitting in the cockpit of our sail boat watching the full moon rise over the distant tree tops. Because I was tired I did not stay as long as I wanted for I am intrigued by the beauty and magic of the evening sky. It always stirs in me so many questions about the physical world we inhabit.

What do we see when we stare at the moon moving slowly through the darkening sky? There is so much more than a simple moon rise. We are easily deceived, not only by others, but by how our five senses construct the mental representations that stimulate us.

A few years ago I was skiing near Lake Tahoe. The day was overcast. As I descended down the mountain I encountered a fog bank that almost instantly eliminated my visibility. I came to a quick stop before I skied off the edge of the cliff, or ploughed into a stand of trees. As I caught my breath I glanced down at the ground and was bewildered! I had stopped to get my bearings. In my mind I was standing still. But as I stared at my skis I believed for a few seconds that the ground, not me, was moving beneath me. I was standing still was I not? Something was wrong and I quickly sat down for I realized that the ground was not moving, I was still sliding dangerously down the hill.

On another occasion we were anchored in the Thousand Islands area in the St. Lawrence River. My brother, his wife and two children, were visiting us for the day. At one point a power boat, towing a water skier, passed our anchorage. My young niece looked at me and asked, "Why is that man chasing the boat?" What we see is what we get?

Some say that perception is a process through which we build mental representations of what we take in through our senses. Just watch a baby sitting on the floor with a collection of toys. He or she will touch it, look at it, taste it, smell it and even shake it. The baby is searching for clues and building connections in its brain. One might say they are sculpting the brain. At one time we believed that the way each of us learn is unique, but more modern research would indicate that we do not have a unique learning style but rather we learn through multiple modalities. At the same time the information we ingest does have an effect on our emotional and motivational state. In that sense we do see things in different ways. I suppose that's where the expression comes from: What you see is what you get.

Was it not J. P. Sarte who at one point in his life began to doubt reality itself. He was becoming convinced it was all an illusion. Some times we do use camouflage in different ways to create an illusion. During the wars there is always an attempt to make equipment and men as invisible as possible. Or one species of butterfly who has wings that bear eyes to scare away the birds. Sarte was able to ground himself through the realization that he was not an illusion because he was the one doing the wondering. If he could think, he must therefore exist. Cogito ergo sum.

It is good to feel important, to take charge of your own life, to be proud of your achievements, to be happy and enjoy the companionship of others. To take a little time and watch the rising moon on a still night or breathe in the beauty of a setting sun. But it is also necessary, from time to time, to insert ourselves into the physical world, and even the universe itself. To stand on the top of a tall building in a busy city and to stare down on the thousands of people moving on the sidewalks below. They are but dots like grains of sand in the desert. And so might I appear if someone is looking down on the street I am travelling along. It is good to ground ourselves from time to time, humility properly exercised, helps clear up the illusions and augments our experience of being in the world.

I am not saying that life is an illusion, but I must admit there are illusionary aspects to living in this world. No doubt there are some who would be happy if I were only an illusion!  Who know - perhaps I am!

And that's Dicks View of the World this Week.