"You respond to what you perceive,
and as you perceive
so shall you behave." (T. 10)
Commentary (continued):
The intention of this post is to take the verse a step further. The previous post explains this verse in relation to behavior as an effect of perception of a situation. However, this verse also implies very powerfully, that it is not only the perception of a situation, that will determine your behavior.
Your perception of yourself is also a critical component of which behavior is simply an effect. How I view others, is actually a projection of how I view myself. If I see that I have tendencies that I consider bad, I will assume that those tendencies are in others as well. My behavior to them would then reflect that perception of myself. Not only does it reflect it, but my behavior may allow me to perceive in others what is actually only in myself. This can reinforce my erroneous belief that what I am perceiving is TRUTH and I am unable to see that it is coming only from me.
What I believe about myself and others automatically affects my action and behavior. I will not attempt to do things which I can't perceive as a part of me. In doing this, I limit my true potential and abilities through this false perception of limitation.
This also works vice versa, in the sense that what I believe about someone else, I will believe about myself.
Therefore, in the process of mind training (the workbook lessons of the Course), we are trained to perceive not only the world, but ourselves differently (as we truly ARE).
Reference for Verses
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Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Saturday, August 20, 2011
"You Respond to What You Perceive..."
"You respond to what you perceive,
and as you perceive
so shall you behave." (T. 10)
Commentary:
To understand this statement in its entirety, it is essential to understand what the Course means when it speaks of perception.
According to ACIM (A Course in Miracles), perception is actually a projection of what is going on in your mind in the form of thoughts and beliefs.
Therefore, what you are actually perceiving is influenced by your thoughts. Your perception is simply "what's happening" filtered through your thoughts, beliefs, and expectations (all of which are 'add-ons' and not how things truly are).
When someone is "being mean to me", that is my perception. But my perception is not the TRUTH. My perception is simply a reflection of the thoughts and beliefs floating through my mind. When someone is "being mean to me" all it simply means is that I am seeing that person as being mean to me because my beliefs of how they should act when they are not mean to me tell me differently.
After perceiving, through thought, that they are mean to me, my response is to lash back at them and attack them back. After I attack them, I feel bad and try to change my response for the future. I try to change my behavior, but it doesn't work. The next time they are "mean to me" I lash back again.
It is only when I see that the problem is not that they ARE "mean to me" but rather that I am SEEING what they are doing as BEING "mean to me", that I can re-examine the thoughts that make me perceive in that way. Once I change my thoughts about it, my behavior naturally follows.
Changing someone's behavior in order to have them change is not the way to change. Behavior is an effect of how they are perceiving the situation. When the perception (controlled by their fixed and habitual way of thinking) is changed, the behavior naturally changes since behavior is just a reaction to perception.
and as you perceive
so shall you behave." (T. 10)
Commentary:
To understand this statement in its entirety, it is essential to understand what the Course means when it speaks of perception.
According to ACIM (A Course in Miracles), perception is actually a projection of what is going on in your mind in the form of thoughts and beliefs.
Therefore, what you are actually perceiving is influenced by your thoughts. Your perception is simply "what's happening" filtered through your thoughts, beliefs, and expectations (all of which are 'add-ons' and not how things truly are).
When someone is "being mean to me", that is my perception. But my perception is not the TRUTH. My perception is simply a reflection of the thoughts and beliefs floating through my mind. When someone is "being mean to me" all it simply means is that I am seeing that person as being mean to me because my beliefs of how they should act when they are not mean to me tell me differently.
After perceiving, through thought, that they are mean to me, my response is to lash back at them and attack them back. After I attack them, I feel bad and try to change my response for the future. I try to change my behavior, but it doesn't work. The next time they are "mean to me" I lash back again.
It is only when I see that the problem is not that they ARE "mean to me" but rather that I am SEEING what they are doing as BEING "mean to me", that I can re-examine the thoughts that make me perceive in that way. Once I change my thoughts about it, my behavior naturally follows.
Changing someone's behavior in order to have them change is not the way to change. Behavior is an effect of how they are perceiving the situation. When the perception (controlled by their fixed and habitual way of thinking) is changed, the behavior naturally changes since behavior is just a reaction to perception.
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