"A man whose axe was missing suspected his neighbor's son. The boy walked like a thief, looked like a thief, and spoke like a thief. But the man found his axe while he was digging in the valley, and the next time he saw his neighbor's son, the boy walked, looked, and spoke like any other child." -- Traditional German story
You don't see the world as it is. You see the world as it appears to you.
Appearances can be deceptive. You see a rainbow. You see a stick "kinked" as it crosses the surface of the water. You see stars that disappeared millions of years ago. You see "rotating snakes" above.
To "see" better you need to add consciousness to your eyes. You need to break the spell of phenomena (from the Greek, "phainein," to show) and "look" with a disciplined mind.
That is the origin of the scientific method: the concern for finding the truth behind the appearances.
That is also the origin of the multi-perspectival method: the concern from finding wisdom and compassion behind the naïve illusions of the ego.
In this video, I discuss how our perceptions are useful but questionable. That's why de-identifying from the first-person point of view and experiencing it as a point of view rather than as the truth opens the door for a more conscious approach to work, and to life.
Should you have any trouble viewing the video please click here to view on Fred's slideshare page.
Readers: What "optical illusions" might be restricting your openness to multiple points of view?
Fred Kofman is Vice President at Linkedin. This post is part 10.2 of Linkedin's Conscious Business Program. To find the introduction and full structure of this program visit Conscious Business Academy. To stay connected and get updates please join our Conscious Business Friends group. Follow Fred Kofman on LinkedIn here.