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Learning How to Sense
Nature - Shifting Perception
An easy way to expand your awareness of the many dimensions of reality
is to use the
beauty of nature to draw your attention deeper. Read the captions of the
following
photos, and try observing them in a different way than you might normally
observe.
Cliff Picture
Try following the lines where objects
meet; where the edge of the stone meets the sky.
Notice: the shape of the sky, created by the shape of the cliff.
Notice how
deep the blue of the sky is, and the texture of the leaves and how the leaves
are
blurred and feathery.
The Leaves
The human mind is conditioned
to automatically, almost imperceptibly label what it sees.
When you look at the photo of the leaves, you
see leaves. Consciously focus your attention
on the shapes. Follow the curves of the lines that separate
the leaves from the
space around them and
notice the depth that is created by the contrast of darkness and
light. Now, rather than focusing on the leaves, focus on the darkness.
A Single Leaf
Take
your attention and like a microscope or laser beam focus your sight right down
to
the individual lines that make up the veins of the leaf. Follow the line along
the stem.
Look
at the shades of light on the surface and how it varies. Shift your
attention to the
individual blades of grass, notice the various shades of color and how each
individual blade
criss-crosses others.
Sky Picture
This
time split your attention between what you are seeing and what kind of
response
you feel in your body. See if you can allow yourself to move your whole
consciousness
(which includes your body awareness) into the expanse of blueness. Imagine
what that
blueness and the feathery textures of the clouds feel like, if you could feel
them with
your whole body.
Inverted Trees
Did
your mind immediately try to figure out which was up and which was down? Did
it try
to figure out what you were looking at? Or did you notice you
were able to just perceive
the textures, the variations of light and dark?
If
you would like to see more nature photo's or practice these skills. Click:
Gallery II
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