How To Shape The Reality You Want By Changing The Way You Perceive The World
Perception really is everything.
getty Life is full of metaphors.
A Google search defines "metaphor" as "a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable; a thing regarded as representative or symbolic of something else, especially something abstract."
"She's shining like a star."
"He’s as brave as a lion."
"The situation at work was weighing on me like a ton of bricks."
Metaphors, like symbols, hold keys to how we relate to objects and concepts, and how our thoughts and feelings intertwine to make up our experience and perception of life.
How do we perceive the world and how does this affect our reality?
All words are symbols and metaphors, which we use to express our experiences of objects, feelings, situations, etc. And each of our experiences is uniquely our own.
Two people standing side by side and witnessing a sunset will have two different experiences. This will include what they see, the emotions it triggers, and the energy which flows through their bodies.
One person might see how the colors bring out the expression of the clouds, while the other might be focused on the hues and intermingling of shapes.
Even though both may become more relaxed and calmer, one may be experiencing peace while the other feels joy.
The same is true for physical objects. Two people standing side by side looking at a door can have two very different experiences.
One may be noticing the details and character, which triggers intellectual curiousity about how it was crafted. The other may be noticing how shades of color and lines seem to form patterns which brings about a nostalgic feeling from that person's past.
So even though words have a basic commonality to our experience, enabling communication, the actual experience generated is uniquely our own.
Now, we know that Source, God, Creator, All That Is, or whatever you prefer to call that entity, is the originating point for all that we see and don’t see, for the physical, energetic, spiritual, quantum, and what lies beyond.
That being said, everything which we experience is our personal take on how we are connecting with the expression and energy which is being used to manifest from the Source into our lives.
So how we perceive a particular flow of energy is a metaphor being expressed as a chair, tree, situation, feeling, event, etc.
What practical application does this have in our lives?
Perception is everything!
How we perceive reality will change the metaphor of our experience.
If someone perceives something as dangerous, they will react in response. But, if they perceive it as a loving gesture, they will react another way.
The question comes down to what is perception and how do we change our perceived reality?
Perception is built on what we’ve learned and experienced throughout our lives. Family, society, schooling, commercials, and traumatic events are just a few of the things which go into shaping how we perceive things.
These begin prenatally, and by the time we’re young children, the majority are hardwired into our systems.
Being that this occurs when we’re so young, we have a very limited capacity for dealing with what's coming our way, intellectually, emotionally, and/or otherwise.
And these patterns are often carried forward into adulthood without being challenged. They become just what we like and don’t like, how we feel and react.
Have you ever seen an elephant in a circus with a chain around its leg, just walking in circles, and wondered why it doesn’t just go on its merry way?
Obviously, the chain and the stake in the ground are no match for the mighty strength of the elephant. But, when the elephant was just a baby, they put a heavy chain on its leg with a long stake in the ground.
Try as the elephant may, it couldn’t get free. Eventually, it learned that its efforts would not prevail and gave in to the situation. So, now, as a full-grown elephant, it's still resigned to the situation and doesn’t try to break free.
We are all like the elephant. But we need to know that it’s worth trying again.
Give the chain a tug!
Allow yourself to learn new things and have new experiences that challenge your perceptions and build new ones.
Through looking at the metaphors we use, we can gain insights as to how we are perceiving things. They can also be used as a tool to change and free ourselves from how we are experiencing aspects of our lives.
If it feels like you’re walking around with a heavy backpack from the past, try putting down the backpack and see how much lighter you feel.
There are many tools out there that can assist you in changing your metaphor of life to one which you’d prefer to experience.
Malka Ahern is a Quantum Health and Healing practitioner. For more information on how putting a Quantum spin on metaphors can affect your journey, visit her website.