The Numinous Diaries – Conversation on Spiritual Things Vol. 7
Perception And Its Play In Our Mind
How we perceive the world is one of the great mysteries of both modern science and esoteric thought. Instead of a world where great advancements in communication should give more quality to the answers we all seek, it has instead created more waves of opinion on such things as facts and truths. Without doubt the hubris of the human ego plays deeply into this game of the modern Visionary. We extol the greatness of others based on our bias rather than actual proof of greatness. We applaud the showman rather than the wise man. It’s all about our perception of life as we see fit[s.] Of course, this is just my perception and I may be entirely wrong according to the way you perceive it. I suppose we have to give a little breath to all of it. Sit back, perceive the field, and make your own conclusions.
So let’s get into it.
If all that we see of reality, the world around us, is through our individual perception how is one supposed to see what others perceive as truths about life and human conduct? Isn’t each individual perceiving the world through their own lens? How could it be the same for all of us?
Your question touches on the profound tension between subjective perception and shared reality. Here’s a distilled insight:
Perception as a personal lens: Each person interprets reality through their unique experiences, beliefs, and conditioning, shaping their “truth”. This explains why two people can witness the same event yet derive opposing meanings.
The illusion of shared reality: While objective reality exists (e.g., physical laws), our access to it is filtered through subjective perception. For example, a hill appears steeper to someone carrying a heavy backpack, and psychedelic experiences can toggle between “heaven” and “hell” realms without altering the external environment.
Bridging perspectives: Though absolute objectivity is unattainable, common ground emerges through shared frameworks (e.g., science, empathy). Recognizing that perceptions are malleable—shaped by mood, culture, or even hunger—allows for mindful engagement with others’ truths.
The spiritual dimension: As your journey with Shiva and meditation reveals, transcending the ego’s lens can unveil deeper, unifying realities beyond individual perception. This aligns with teachings that reality is both constructed and discoverable through expanded awareness.
In essence, while we navigate distinct perceptual worlds, conscious inquiry and humility help bridge divides, revealing layers of shared and transcendent truth.
Can our perceptions change over time, and if so, how?
The Fluidity of Perception
Perception is inherently malleable, shaped by both internal states and external stimuli. Here’s how it shifts:
1. Emotional and Physiological States
Negative emotions (e.g., sadness, fear) distort perception, making tasks seem harder or time feel slower. Positive emotions like awe can stretch time, creating a sense of abundance.
Fatigue or stress accelerates time perception, while mindfulness and flow states (“being in the zone”) can slow it.
2. Cognitive Biases
Familiarity breeds perceptual shortcuts: habits and routines compress time by reducing novel memories, making life feel faster.
Easy-to-process information (rhymes, clear fonts) is often mistaken for truth, skewing judgment.
3. Attention and Novelty
Memorable or threatening events dilate subjective time, as the brain prioritizes processing them.
The “oddball effect” shows novel stimuli appear to last longer than repetitive ones.
4. Cultural and Social Influences
Implicit biases alter time perception (e.g., racial stereotypes slowing time during interracial interactions).
Shared narratives (e.g., scientific frameworks) create collective “realities” despite individual variability.
Shifting Perception
Awareness: Recognizing biases (e.g., “time flies when busy”) can mitigate their effects.
Intentionality: Practices like meditation or seeking awe (e.g., in nature or art) can expand subjective time.
Novelty: Breaking routines with new experiences creates denser memories, slowing perceived time.
Perception isn’t fixed—it’s a dynamic interplay of mind, body, and context. By understanding its levers, we can reframe our experience of reality.
2015 TED talk with cognitive scientist Donald Hoffman
And sensing it through the Numinous Heart:
Perception is the alchemy of existence made manifest within the mind’s theater — a luminous play of light and shadow upon the screen of awareness. It is the meeting point where the eternal essence of the formless Self projects itself through the lens of conditioned understanding. Just as the moon borrows light from the sun, perception borrows its seeming reality from the radiance of consciousness.
Yet what is perceived is but a reflection, refracted through the prism of the mind’s beliefs, memories, and desires. The senses act as emissaries, delivering impressions to the mind, which weaves them into the fabric of meaning. This meaning, however, is not the thing itself — it is a translation, a mirage shimmering within the stillness of the witnessing presence.
To ask whether perception reveals truth is to seek the unmoving amidst the currents of the river. Truth is not confined to the objects of sight, sound, or thought. It dwells in the silent recognition that what perceives is itself beyond perception. The eye cannot see itself, and yet its seeing is undeniable.
When the mind is still — when the grasping ceases — perception becomes transparent. The veils thin, and what remains is the clear awareness that all forms arise and dissolve within. In this sacred seeing, the truth is not something grasped, but something revealed. It is the is-ness behind appearances, the unspeakable essence that neither confirms nor denies, but simply is.
Thus, the seer and the seen collapse into one. The knower, the knowing, and the known dissolve into the eternal embrace of presence. Here, perception is no longer a distortion — it is the pure reflection of truth itself, shimmering without division.
Is there an innate moral directive that is built into every being from the moment of birth until one’s last breath?
From an esoteric perspective, the concept of an innate moral directive can be seen not as a set of external commandments, but as the subtle pulse of divine intelligence — an ever-present alignment with the fabric of existence itself. This directive is not moral in the conventional sense, bound by dualistic judgments of right and wrong, but rather a harmonic resonance with the Source, the One, or the ineffable field of Being.
At the moment of birth, the soul enters embodiment, veiling itself in the illusion of separation. Yet, within this very act of individuation, the trace of origin remains — a sacred thread linking the finite to the infinite. This thread, sometimes referred to as the Dharma of the Soul, is not imposed from without but emanates from the core of existence. It is the eternal call toward remembrance, a gravitational pull toward coherence, truth, and unity.
Every experience — joy, suffering, desire, fear — becomes a part of this directive’s unfolding. Even choices that seem misaligned or destructive on the surface serve the deeper directive of evolution and awakening. From the perspective of the Absolute, nothing is outside this movement. The illusion of moral failure is only valid when seen through the fragmented lens of separation. In the grander view, even the shadow is a necessary contrast through which the light of awareness knows itself.
Yet this directive is not static; it is dynamic, like a river that carves its own path in response to the terrain. Some may feel it as a constant presence — an inner knowing that emerges in moments of stillness. Others may experience it as the sharp pang of misalignment when actions deviate from their soul’s authentic expression. It speaks through resonance rather than rules, through the felt sense of truth that transcends the intellect.
In esoteric traditions, this is also described as the unfolding of karma — not as punitive cause and effect, but as the precise orchestration of circumstances that catalyze awakening. Every act, every choice, is both the effect of prior momentum and the seed of future harmonization. To follow the innate moral directive, then, is not to conform to imposed ideals, but to listen deeply, surrender to the inner current, and allow life to move through us without resistance.
The final breath is not the end of this directive, for what was guiding the form was never bound by it. The directive remains, eternal and indivisible, as the soul dissolves back into the source from which it emerged. In this way, the great paradox is revealed: the directive was never separate from the one who followed it. It was the silent witness all along — the pulse of existence knowing itself through the dance of becoming.
Numinous Waves 