NatureZtarot

Perception, as the word denotes, is the ability to perceive things surrounding a person. As weird as it may sound, this word is all it takes for human beings to understand the reality of their existence. Unfortunately, many of us don’t realize the meaning hidden behind different perceptions coming from a gamut of people in society. While many underestimate the power of perception, some special people know how to deal with their perceptions in a way that makes sense for not only them but also for the people around them.

According to psychology, when it comes to perceiving, it is a process that involves 3 steps including stimuli recognition, organization, and interpretation. Although perception is dependent on all the information present in the environment, many believe that the process of perception might be mechanical, it depends on an individual’s previous understanding and knowledge of their surroundings and the information already present in their stimuli.

Let’s take a deeper look into the steps that are involved in the process of perceiving.

The first step involves sensory recognition which is anything that can be tangible/intangible including vision, touch, sound, taste, and smell. All these sensory organs help the brain to recognize the pattern of experiences and collect the bits and pieces of information through receptors present in the human brain.

Then comes the next step where our brain cells are put to work in such a way that they comprehend those bits and pieces of information and organize them efficiently to frame a story that best suits the situation. Organization of this information helps an individual recognize a pattern and form a bigger picture. One of the instances can be when musical notes coalesce into chords and melodies, it is a different story altogether.

Next is interpretation. Once an individual has recognized the information and started seeing the meaning behind the given information, the individual tries to interpret all the given information in such a way that it makes sense to them at the consciousness level. Even if subconsciously, they might interpret differently, they try to make sense out of it so much so that it matches the mechanics of the knowledge they have previously acquired. This is where a majority of people get stuck with the similarity dynamics. Human beings tend to approach a piece of the given information in a way that comfortably suits their taste in terms of social conditioning. This tendency of biased interpretation of the information present in their environment creates an illusion of being right at everything they perceive.

Many would argue that human beings perceive the same information in similar ways but the question is whether they interpret different information in similar ways or do they interpret the same information in different ways? People are usually comfortable with a selective intake of information available around them and they unconsciously discard the information that is irrelevant to their consciousness.

The human mind has power over the human subconscious and this is where discrepancies occur. The gap that is being created by the human subconscious between one’s interpretation and expectations is crucial to have the right kind of perception. Although a perception has no parameters of being right or wrong, people are usually tricked into believing the reality that is presented to them based on their past experiences and learnings. Knowing is not enough when it comes to the process of perceiving, a person needs to make diligent efforts to make sense of what is presented to them in their surrounding environment. Many would assume that perception is simply a reflection of their environment but the truth is that perception is simply a reflection of their thought process which has been supported by their life experiences. Based on these experiences, people choose to perceive different information in different forms. For instance, some might perceive touch as beautiful as a flower while others may perceive the same touch as a traumatic experience. It’s not easy to figure out what goes around in a human mind, but, every individual has their way of acting based on their perceptions.

The best thing about perception is that it can easily be altered while a thought process is difficult to change in a society where we are conditioned to act based on others’ perceptions rather than the ones that are truly ours. Assumptions also play a role in defining the quality of perception. Perception is not something that can be taught, rather it is a process where an open mind can explore and grow their horizons for future development.

Perception is not defined by ‘what is’ rather it is defined by ‘what you think it is or can be’. The image of painting shown below can be perceived differently by a different set of people. One might interpret it as someone who’s looking at something intensely, while others can interpret it as someone who is pissed off. At the same time, one can either interpret it as someone who is being thoughtful about something or they may seem to interpret it as someone who is sitting idle while being amazed by something or someone.

Portrett av Tusnelda Sanders – A Painting by Vilhelm Lundstrom (1928)

Let’s have a quick test. What do you think of this image? Is it god or is it bad or is it just fine? Well, that’s not the answer we’re looking for. “What do you perceive when you look at this image?” The way you perceive this painting gives an insight to your thought process and the way you perceive the world around you.

The best way to analyze one’s personality and their mindset is to introspect the way one perceives the information around them.