Clarity of Vision
The primary objective of mindfulness meditation practice is to see things clearly - as they actually are. Many of us start practicing because we're stressed or otherwise unhappy, but gradually, we come to understand that the underlying problem is a distorted way of seeing and relating to ourselves, others & the rest of reality. As the fog of our conditioning lifts, we "wake up" to what is, right here, right now - a qualitatively different, healthier way to engage life.
That our "normal" vision is markedly distorted has long been observed by poets, writers etc. Today's neuroscientists agree.
“As a man is, so he sees.” William Blake (1757 – 1827)
“You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.” Mark Twain (1835 – 1910)
“We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are.” Anais Nin (1903 – 1977)
“Instead of perception depending largely on signals coming into the brain from the outside world, it depends as much, if not more, on perceptual predictions flowing in the opposite direction. We don't just passively perceive the world, we actively generate it. The world we experience comes as much, if not more, from the inside out as from the outside in.”
Anil Seth, 2017 TEDtalk “Your Brain Hallucinates Your Conscious Reality.”
