on the nature of perception:?

Question

does anybody have any insight into what causes perception?
im not especially interested in any bible verses, but anything philosophical/scientific/logical would be well appreciated.

i was thinking the other day on this subject, and came up with some odd ideas

for example:
if the cause of perception is physical changes in our body, what is to say that anything that undergoes a physical change does not in some way perceive?
could there maybe be some sort of 'networked beings,' who consist of multiple other 'beings' in the same way that we are the combination of data from numerous brain cells?
for example something that experiences everything that you and i do

what do you think?
or should i be comitted to a mental health institution?

Answer 1

Tuesday is the day to discuss the nature of perception.(the second perspective) I'll see you tomorrow...

Perception is dual in nature. The conscious mind can look within and without. When it is perceiving three-dimensional reality, the physical senses are literally translating information into the sights,sounds, smells, etc.
In other words, your eyes are creating the images which they then seem to see.
Modern physicists know that matter and space
do not exist as we perceive it, and many are finding out for themselves that physical reality, as it's perceived by the physical senses, is an illusion, but an important one.
When the mind turns its attention inward, it perceives with the inner senses. These are your 'true' senses. You use these when you are dreaming, during out-of-body journeys, and after death, although the inner senses can be used anytime. It's my belief that we should combine our inner and outer senses, and enjoy a much deeper, richer, more meaningful, more spacious perspective.
E-mail if you want more info on the inner senses.

Answer 2

Boy. You are tapped into whatever akashik record that I have been musing on for years.It is very possible that there is another kind of consciousness made up a group perception. Rigid individualism might go against the grain and cause the entity created by a group perspective to have kind of mental illness amongst it's own kind, just as if a neuron or small group of neuron's in your brain might develop its own "mini-consciousness" and try to usurp whatever it is in you that makes you "you". Then you might hear voices or be otherwise considered schizo. A selfless group of people would make a healthier, more balanced entity.
Another thought about perception that I have had time and time again is when someone tells me "what I am like" or they act aggressive towards me because they perceive me to be some sort of threat, I tell myself that i have the greater authority to believe that my perception of who I am is by far the more accurate. Unless my will is weaker than theirs, and I believe in their perception of me more than my own.
Be careful about not getting too obsessed with this kind of thing, one can get lost and lose all sense of identity. And even though I personally did not like the movie, "The Moth-man Prophecies" could be an example of a larger collective perception.

Answer 3

Scientifically and logically this it, a cell. A cell is a living thing. It has functions all it's own that it carries out for it's own survival. It is self preserving. A cell is like a bacteria carries out it's duties and is fully self-controlled. Other cells, like your muscle or brain tissue, could not survive if detached from your body, other cells like bacteria can. So in this aspect they are similar to every other living thing. They live, eat, make waste, have DNA, and have sensory perception, and they die. Some bacteria are attracted to certain chemicals or light, they also have appendages that help them move toward or away from the stimulus, and they have enzymes to break down food, and waste products to get rid of. All of these major similarities between self-sufficient microorganisms and ourselves exists for a reason. Just like them, we as humans must do all of these basic things like bacteria. The major difference is that a bacteria is only one cell and you are 400 trillion. Pretty complex to say the least. So you are a big organism with a highly complex nervous system. Though not as higly tuned as some animals, a humans' sensory perception is acute. The reason for philisophical dilemmas and deep quandary over absraction of thought is only due to the fact that your brain grew to be so big as did all other humans. This massive brain and nervous system is perceptive in more ways than just the five senses. Our brains have become so big that they have begun to play tricks on us, making us think that something is beyond the veil or on the other side. The large brains' power has fooled humans for ages into thinking that they possessed an invisible "soul" inside of themselves, this belief is also caused by fear of uncertainty of death. You believe in a soul or religion or spirit because our brains are so absract oriented and also because your brains' emotional center is so powerful. We like thinking about what secrets may be hidden. It is our nature to seek the unknown but we must develop our reality logically. Abstraction is a highly complex idea, that requires complex communication to confer it's meaning, no other organism can accomplish this. It is widely believed that lower organisms do not have a soul. The judgement or idea that a mouse wouldn't have a soul is caused by the egocentrism and abstract perception of a large complex brain. Your perception has shifted from a "hunting/gathering" mode and into a "figure out other complex issues" mode due to environmental changes like adequate food, less hunting, shelter, language, culture. So at a point the brain reached a level where it became so aware of itself and the environment that it contemplated it's origin. Our brain has become so advanced and complex that it attempts to see, feel, and know what simply is not there. This is why people developed religion and the supernatural because they're perception was changed due to their increasing brain size. Only this new perception is a biological phenomenon due to their large brain size. A great deal of the problems humans face everyday are caused by themselves and are created by their large brains and sensory/computing system. We have almost become too complex and may ultimately destroy ourselves. Scientific logic is the search for the ultimate truth even if it is boring (to some).

Answer 4

Tuesday already?
The Id is the perception. Each individual has a unique one, although two may agree that unicorns existed, in ones mind the horn is spiral in the others it is smoothe. That is the same object, different perspectives.
If my God wore a Toga with a horizontal stripe is it a different God.
The mind cannot conceive what the mind can perceive. And visa versa.
ITS SO FRIGGIN HUGE that it is tiny.

Answer 5

I wouldn't say that perceptions are only physical changes. Our brain and sensory organs are the physical parts of the perception which is also spiritual in nature. there would be an emotional as well as mental aspect.

Are you refering to the collective unconscious.
It would be perceptible to those who have the attainment to do so, on any plane of existence. Part of that equation is love. Where there is love, there can be no secrets.

Answer 6

Well it is Tuesday here! :-)

There is a thing humans call "gravity" and they don't know how it works but I will tell you it works just as well on your thoughts as it does on what you think your body is! And that makes the universe go round! I think you are on the right track...

Perception is caused by what "effects" you! Let nothing effect you... now consider what will be your perception?

Difficult it is but one must persist!

You can't stop the thoughts because of gravity but you can make your mind like a mirror.

Answer 7

It's actually late Tuesday afternoon here in Australia, according to my perception (and the miracle of the International Date Line)

No, you shouldn't be committed to a mental health institution. The mind body paradox has been occupying philosophers for centuries, and neuroscientists for as long as neuroscientists have been around. I don't think anyone's satisfactorily worked it out, yet.

Answer 8

You are on the right course. What is data from brain cells? It is thoughts. networked beings are your thoughts. i wonder where they came from, OH that's right, You are not interested in any bible verses. I therefore cannot show you what they are or where they come from.

Answer 9

I'm interested in what Sunman has to say on this subject as he is well versed in it.