Double click here to add text.
{THIS IS AN EXCERPT FROM}
copyrighted 2002
Remember, this came out
of me 20 years ago.
Double click here to add text.
Before I get into this, there are some terms whose definitions I need to clarify. Existence is an objective term that is the label for all that has been manifested in space and time. Existence is not the result of human conception or thought. Existence is a physical manifestation. It is the result of the systematic actions of the Universe. Existence is the label for what has and will occur whether or not there is a human being present. Reality is an objective term that is the label for one of our interpretations of our perception of existence. I have come to understand that personal feelings or beliefs should not be allowed to become an influential factor of this interpretation. Our interpretation of reality must be an objective one. Once the influence of personal feelings and beliefs has become a factor, we then have a subjective interpretation, and reality ceases to be reality.
Our interpretation of existence cannot be derived from what we would like it to be. It must be derived from what is actual and factual, because it must be able to be perceived and interpreted relatively the same way by others. Truth is an objective term that is the label for the collection of words we use to define, understand, and communicate reality. We do not write or speak reality. We write or speak the truth. Truth is a very fallible element of reality because it is the result of human understanding and manipulation. Reality is perceived and interpreted into truth by each of us individually, and this is from where our perspective is derived.
As hard as it may seem, we can no longer allow our personal feelings or beliefs to impact the truths of our daily lives. I am surprised by how many of us tend to manipulate the interpretations we have of our perceptions to make ourselves feel certain ways. However, what we are manipulating is the truth. We cannot manipulate our interpretations of reality so that they fit into our subjectively created fantasy worlds, and still have the facts of those moments conform to what is true. Because reality is objective, our interpretation of it must not be skewed by our personal feelings, beliefs, or desires. Our interpretations of our perceptions must be objective and without bias, so that they can be translated into the truth. We must open our minds so that we interpret existence beyond our own relevance to it. Each of us must be objective first before we are subjective. Five of our basic senses give each the ability to see, hear, smell, taste, and touch. These senses are stimulated by the elements of reality that we are exposed to during the course of our lives. We then interpret these experiences.
In the quest to experience, most of us allow the most pronounced, overwhelming aspect of our existence, the tangible world, to dominate our lives. We desire most the experience of sensation that produces the more satisfying response in us. The essence of pleasure is sensation and we are always seeking stimulation to create pleasure. Because of this, we often manipulate our perceptions of some circumstances so that they are more satisfying to interpret. In affect, for subjective reasons, we are pleasurably stimulating ourselves by manipulating the truth. I have examined this observation and recognized that there needs to be a more balanced meaning to the lives of beings with gifts such as we have. The lives of human beings are meant for much more than simple self-stimulation. Wild animals would respond to sensation just as we do in a given circumstance. As conscious animals having civilized behavior, we must transcend the stimulation of our basic physical senses to a level of existence where our personal satisfaction occurs on higher planes. This is mind over matter in its truest sense.
To truly be "United" States or more profoundly a united species, we must (collectively evolve to a level where we) allow the objectively interpreted (true) circumstances of existence to shape our perspective, not the interpretation of circumstances that results from our subjective manipulation. This manipulation occurs as either a conscious act or an unconscious one. It is sometimes done as the result of some bias or prejudice (pre-judgment). It is sometimes done because of a lack of understanding. It is sometimes done because individuals are concentrating their thoughts and actions within the confines of what I consider to be the first level of human perception, that of the physical self and the five senses. We must no longer view reality from our individually biased, selfish, self-indulgent perspectives, but must accept all that is reality with sincere objectivity. We must interpret everything we comprehend with regard to its objective implication first, and then its subjective implication, relevant to us on what is by nature a spiritual level.
One way of interpreting what is meant when one is "shallow" is that a person does not allow his or her examination of reality to occur on a level any deeper than that of the physical self. Each of us mentally lives in our own individualized world. What we must do is be deeper or exist within a higher plane of understanding. We must open our minds up so that we all look at reality and see the same thing. Will this mean expending more energy than we do? Yes, because we will think about things more than we presently do. When individuals open their mind up, that is what it is to come out of their subjectively created world. Whether it is a snobbish world, a racist world, or simply a biased world, we must live in reality as it is, each of us taking responsibility for making our life positive and/or right.
I subscribe to the notion that because all human beings are members of a single species, we should all have a common state of mind. Objectivity is the common state of mind, and it leads to a better understanding of the truth. In other words, to understand perceive reality rightly, one must be objective. True understanding is a process that develops over a period of time, so one’s objectivity must be constant. This need for constant objectivity is reinforced by the circumstance we label as a precedent. Precedent is defined as an act or instance capable of being used as a guide or standard in evaluating future actions. A precedent is a preceding instance or case that may serve as an example for or a justification in subsequent cases. It is an act or instance that may be used as an example in dealing with subsequent similar instances. A precedent is the recognition of something as a reality and the taking of the ramifications of this happening into consideration as your understanding is being established. A precedent is a moment of reality. It is a true occurrence. Once something is recognized as being real, it must become a factor in your process of understanding, if what you are seeking is the truth. Once something occurs or exists, the truth in that instance cannot be ignored. To close your mind to the truth held in a moment of experience is a subjective act that cuts you off from understanding the truth of a moment. Ignoring or not taking into account the truth within each moment of precedent is to perpetuate hypocrisy or falsehood. To start to put an end to hypocrisy, each of us must recognize the relevance and significance of each moment of reality before us, each precedent. With this in mind, let me explain my understanding of some crucial aspects of human perspective with the hope that I can inspire a greater understanding of our existence, as well as DEWsWay.
I have chosen to live my life this way. It has always felt right(eous) to me and it has worked well for me. From this I have concluded that to affect a positive change in the world around us, we must all collectively react in a positive manner to the events of our existence. Each of us must seek to move about in positive ways. We are truly a part of our Earth’s system and we must be a positive part of it so that the system functions properly, regardless of whether or not we personally benefit and/or profit. We must only seek to do the positive and/or right things. Say a giant the size of the world’s tallest building was to suddenly appear and go roaming around our Earth. Human beings would appear to the giant much the same way ants appear to us. They have social structure, places to live, roads, etc. They also work very hard. We work seemingly as hard, but probably accomplish a lot less and with much more disorganization. In any case, in this instance we could no longer think of ourselves as being the center of the Universe, even if we wanted to. The point is that one being is superior to another only within the scope of its knowledge of itself. To have an ego (which is a natural component of our consciousness) and always be humble would appear to be a contradiction at first glance. To place the ego in its proper context, think of it as a little box or a small room in the recesses of the conscious mind. It is a place given to each individual for the purpose of re-energizing and re-focusing ourselves. The ego is the only place an individual is supposed to go and indulge himself or herself in self-glorification. However, as the location of the room would indicate, this is a private matter. No other individual should have to deal with this ego, and an individual should not go into this place excessively themselves. The individual should enter it only in those times when they need to reflect on their accomplishments and redefine their direction.
Because of a number of reasons, one of which is a true lack of understanding, a lot of us have chosen to live in these “ego boxes.” This means these people are living from within a place with very confining borders, a place where each of these individuals is at the center of focus. More often than not, objective truth does not often penetrate the walls of these ego boxes. These truths can only be perceived when one emerges from this shut-off place. The ego box is no more relevant to who an individual really is than what they think of themselves. It is each of our actions that truly define us as individuals. A person can think they are president, but if they steal cars, that person is a car thief. A person can think they are a priest, but if they molest children, that person is a pedophile. A person can think they are mature, but if they act childish, that person is immature. When a person chooses to recognize only partial truth, whether it is subjective or otherwise, they are only deceiving themselves. If this needs to become biblical to have you embrace this way of thinking, the Holy Scriptures at James 1:23 it says, “…be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” The objective truth does not disappear because a person closed their eyes to it. Others can still see it and act upon it. Each of us must wakeup by coming out of the darkness and into the light. Denying reality is at its essence lying to yourself. Each of us must stop lying to ourselves.
Perspective is an individual circumstance relative to the state of one's ideas and mindset. It is the factor that determines how information will be processed and understood. There are two frames of mind that profoundly affect the nature of one's perspective. They are the state of objectivity and state of subjectivity. It can be very confusing to discern when an individual is to be either objective or subjective during the moments of their lives. The conscious mind is complex, so individuals must recognize that any description of one of the mind’s "states” must also be complex. Let me explain my understanding of these descriptive labels so that you can see why I declare they are significant and relevant. Objectivity could be viewed as a state of open-mindedness where one's reasoning process is free from personal feelings or prejudice and conclusions are based on fact. One could almost say that Subjectivity is a state of narrow-mindedness, but that would not be the complete truth. To be subjective is to base one's conclusions on what is perceived to be true while placing an excessive amount of emphasis on such factors as personal moods, attitudes, prejudices, and opinions. However, subjectivity is a necessary part of our psyche. Many of us understand subjectivity to be a negative element of our being because of the bias that is created within this mindset. Yet, there is a positive aspect of subjectivity; this is related to our subjective wants/desires. Like objectivity and many other words, there are different interpretations and applications of the meanings these words have. The significance and relevance of each is determined by the context of the circumstance to which each word is to be applied.
Three pairs of terms identify fields of thought that have a profound affect upon how our perspective is formed. These pairs of terms are the self and the soul, objective and subjective, along with objectivism and subjectivism. The terms objectivism and subjectivism are relevant to our understanding of human interpretation. However, within the context of this book, they cannot be strictly compared to the terms objective and subjective even though all four terms are obviously related because they share their respective roots. This is because objective and subjective are words with singularly defined uses, while objectivism and subjectivism are the labels for technical philosophic doctrines. Objectivism is the doctrine that implies that reality is external to the mind; the view that human knowledge is universally valid. For me, it is not human knowledge that is universally valid in so much as it is the circumstances of existence that are universally valid. The circumstances of existence would occur whether or not human beings were around to perceive it. As all human knowledge is derived from the circumstances of existence, it is this truth that makes knowledge universally valid.
Subjectivism is the doctrine that implies that the good and the right can be distinguished and judged only by individual feeling. For me, individual feeling is a physical manifestation of a person's spiritual nature. The vibrations of the body that our mind interprets (i.e. hunches, gut feelings, first impressions, impulses, intuitions, emotions, and extra sensory perceptions) are natural to us. They a part of us in a very physical sense. Each of these is an element of our (divine) guidance system which is within our bodies, and each is exhibited in individual ways within each person. Hence for me, it is not simply that judgment can only be made by individual feeling, rather, what is good and right can be determined based upon what is individually felt. Each person has the ability to feel what is good and right for them by utilizing their collective sensory abilities. The doctrines of Objectivism and Subjectivism are not separate. Together they are the collection of words that explain the levels of human awareness and interpretation. We have labeled these levels as the self and the soul. They are indeed levels, or stages of interpretation. Of the six terms, three are related to the first level, and three to the second. The three terms related to the first level of interpretation are Self, Objectivism, Objective. The three terms related to the second level of interpretation are the Soul, Subjectivism, and Subjective. Let me explain my understanding of these terms relative to their relationship to the stages of interpretation.
The first level of awareness and interpretation is an objective one. It is the most pronounced stage of awareness and interpretation because it occurs within the context of the self. It is specifically related to the "worldly reality." At the level of the self, we become aware of our terrestrial existence and interpret it into reality. The self is affected by the external forces of existence, i.e. matter. The first line of perception of these external forces is the human body. We experience these perceptions through the (five) senses of our body. Therefore, the first level of awareness and interpretation is the physical way human beings encounter experiences. It is the level where the manifestation of objective truth occurs. Objectivism is the doctrine that denotes reality is external to the mind. This doctrine is indicative of the truth that each of us is to interpret what we encounter in life objectively, or outside of ourselves and our subjectivity. Being objective is to have a reasoning process that is free from personal feelings or prejudice, allowing our understanding to be based on what is real. At the first level of interpretation, what we are processing is a series of objective circumstances. To be objective is to interpret these circumstances as such. What causes problems here is that within individuals, the self has become overwhelmed by sensation and/or the desire for it. This leads to a manifestation of selfishness and/or greed that result from the pursuit of personal satisfaction on the level of our existence that is supposed to be objective, rather than personal and subjective. At this point, individuals do not come into a second stage of interpretation, because both objectivity and subjectivity are occurring at once. This places the mind in a position of having to decipher truth and feeling simultaneously.
The second level of awareness and interpretation is a subjective one. It is the most misunderstood stage of awareness and interpretation because it occurs within the context of the soul. It is specifically related to "spiritual reality." This is because the ability to subjectively understand, infer, reason, and create is what brings each of us into a likeness with the divine. The area of our being that is considered the soul is where the consciousness attaches personal meaning to the impressions perceived by the senses. This is obviously a more profound interpretation because it is derived from an examination that goes beyond the stimulation of our bodily senses. It is the level where the manifestation of subjective truth occurs. Subjectivism describes how our feelings can tell us right from wrong (positive from negative). The aspect of our being that manifests this ability is the soul. By definition, to be subjective is to interpret reality with an excessive amount of emphasis on such factors as personal moods, attitudes, prejudices, opinions and the like. Subjectivity should only be considered excessive when in transcends the second level of interpretation, and occurs on the first level as well. At the second stage of interpretation, you are supposed to be seeking out your inner most thoughts, hunches, gut feelings, impressions, impulses, intuitions, emotions, and extra sensory perceptions. These elements lead us decipher what is right or wrong from within. Therefore, to place emphasis on these things is not wrong. What is wrong or negative, is to be subjective at the first level of awareness. What is also wrong or negative is to allow your subjective impressions to be overly influenced by our worldly reality. Each individual must realize that as physical beings, externally produced sensations that stimulate our basic sensory perceptions are very overwhelming when compared to the subtleties of spiritual stimulation. Subjectivity is a manifestation of our soul. Each individual must recognize that he or she must keep subjectivity separate from the first stage of interpretation, so that one of the influential factors indicating right or wrong is not overwhelmed by the sensation produced by one of our five senses. Because once this happens, a person is not truly responding from within (where God is), that person is responding from without (without God).
Truths are objective, and feelings are subjective. While all of existence is spiritual in nature, our first stage of recognition must deal with the objective truth relative to the immediate circumstances we face. We must respond to those truths with positive action. It is after this that we are to examine those circumstances more deeply to discern the spiritual relevance within them. By spiritual relevance, I mean how those circumstances relate to a given individual and their journey through the natural world. Our positive wants/desires are spiritual in nature because they are a part of our natural being. Our wants/desires are the motivational tool of our life force we are to utilize to guide us to fulfill our individual destinies. To reach this level of understanding, we must perceive our reality beyond a superficial interpretation. Our interpretation of our experiences must be deeper than the first stage of awareness. For example, if we only understand our personal wants/desires at the superficial, first stage of awareness, our interpretation becomes overwhelmingly influence by the sensations produced by the exterior world. We then interpret our wants/desires to be simply the thoughts and urges that push us toward what will satisfy us for a given series of moments. What drives us to move toward things is deeper than that. If we do not gain a better understanding of ourselves relative to the natural world around us and grow more toward reacting to the truth objectively, our reactions will get more and more subjective to satisfy those wants/desires within the context of worldly reality. This is what generates selfishness and greed.
My understanding of spirituality has led me to conclude that during our lives we are not to pursue our wants/desires first. We are to first act and react positively upon what is the truth, and then seek personal satisfaction. When we pursue personal satisfaction before truth, the second stage of interpretation never truly occurs. Rather, our recognition of reality becomes a singular process that includes both objectivity and subjectivity. When they both occur at the same stage of interpretation, our subjectivity is influence more by the self more than the soul; more by worldly reality than by spiritual reality. There is no recognition of the spiritual interpretation of reality. From this, we ultimately develop two perspectives of reality, because we never actually deal with the spiritual relevance of our experiences. Therefore, because we recognize that a spiritual relevance is possibly there, it remains in our conscious and subconscious mind as a separate perspective from how we “ordinarily” interpret things. It surfaces whenever spirituality or religion becomes an issue for us. Whether it occurs out of need, because of some general conversation we have with someone, or because we are attending Sunday morning mass.
If we allow both stages of interpretation to occur within their proper contexts, we are truly left with one perspective that has recognized both the spiritual reality and the worldly reality. Subjectivity should not occur until the second level of interpretation and within the context of the soul rather than the self. We must be objective when interpreting the external world and subjective when interpreting our relevance to it. For example, in terms of defining oneself at the first stage of interpretation, the question to answer would be “What am I?” Besides being an individual animal within the human species, the answer is determined by the result of that person’s actions. It is how that person objectively fits into reality. As we progress on to the next stage of interpretation, to define oneself at this level, the question to answer would be, “Who am I?” The answer is the result of an understanding of the truth about oneself and is subject to constant interpretation. This is accomplished through the “subjective” analysis of one’s own consciousness. It is how that person wants/desires to fit into reality.
What each of us must do is never lose sight of the common aspect of existence. An individual's interpretation of existence should be the same as everyone’s, which is what it means to be objective. One must limit their subjectivity to a secondary examination of reality. A person’s primary examination must occur within a context that applies to a "norm", an average, or standard understanding of the circumstances, rather than imposing their personal subjectivity upon the common reality. The depth of one's understanding of truth depends on that person's level of objectivity. This refers to the priority of the individual’s objectivity versus subjectivity, and the degree to which there is a balance between the two within his or her consciousness. To be self-centered is to be overly (excessively) subject to the perceptions of the five physical senses. To be overly (excessively) righteous, is to deny the inherent fallibility of human beings. The system of Nature requires balance in all aspects of creation. The human consciousness is no exception.
The truth in a person’s interpretations of the moments of life they experience is dependent on the degree of objectivity on the part of the perceiver. The interpretation of honor is based on a person’s objectivity because it is measured by the standards of the human community within which one interacts. The interpretation of truth is based on a person’s objectivity because truth is objective by nature. Individually experienced reality (i.e. the world a person lives in as perceived by that person) is based on a person’s objectivity because if it is based solely upon subjectivity, it becomes fantasy. For it to be truthful, our interpretations of reality must be built upon the foundation of objectivity. Each human being must recognize this in dealing with his or her respective life. This understanding must be applied during their thought process. Words are an expression of reality. To examine and understand life’s experiences objectively, each person must be prepared to recognize and embrace the truth conveyed by the words that result from the translation of individual perceptions.
Our personal interpretation of the moments we perceive results from a system comprised of three mental steps. The first step is the process of perceiving . A person’s perceptions are based on the information received from the use of our primary senses, those being touch, sight, hearing, smell, and taste. This is how we receive impressions from the external circumstances that we encounter during our lives. The second step is the process of interpreting what is perceived. The final step is the process of understanding what is perceived. Difficulties arise after we have perceived existence. We either choose to allow or disallow an objective interpretation of existence to shape our understanding. We often choose to allow our subjective self or ego to uses the knowledge we acquire to perpetuate our feelings of self-importance. During this circumstance, we lose our objectivity and our perspective becomes skewed by our manipulation of reality through our altered interpretation of it. We forget that "reality" is our interpretation of what is truly an objective existence. The perspective from which a person interprets the realities before them are shaped by and limited to the openness of a person’s mind and his or her level of understanding. Therefore, for us to interpret knowledge (which can also be expressed by the terms experience, reality, and truth) accurately, individuals would need to broaden their objectivity and the scope of their understanding of existence.
As individuals and as a society (the collective), our system of thinking does not include all its steps, and we are acting upon the thoughts that result from this incomplete process. Many of us are not thinking objectively first, and are quickly losing our ability to be objective at all. Our subjectivity is supposed to occur within the confines of our objectivity, not the other way around. Spiritual reality has domain over any other reality perceived and interpreted by us as individuals. Worldly reality occurs within the confines of spiritual reality. However, as physical beings, we must act upon worldly reality first for us to survive. Therefore, we are to interpret our existence objectively first, determining the positive, correct, or right(eous) way to response to it. Only then are we to look to the subjective interpretation to see how things relate to us as individuals. What does this mean in practical terms? Simply put, it means we are act and react in a positive/right way within the context of our moments first. Unfortunately, our thoughts are monopolized with subjectivity. When an action occurs that we must interpret and react to, more often than not, our first thoughts focus upon what we think is positive for ourselves, rather than what is positive within the context of that circumstance. In this way, we are acting upon our subjective interpretations of reality, seeking to satisfy ourselves within the context of the circumstances of the worldly reality. We satisfy our obligation to spiritual reality, to the system of Nature, to God, by doing what is correct, right(eous) or positive on all levels of occurrence in an objective sense. This must be done regardless of the personal ramifications.
What we have labeled divinity or spirituality exist within the context of Nature herself. It is real and it has supreme domain over any subjective reality that is manifested in our minds as we perceive and interpret existence. We must recognize that the actions of the Divine Energy of Life and/or the system of Nature, creates the circumstances of our lives. Because the results of our lives are derived from a system, there can be pre-determination. It can be said that the Divine Energy of Life scripts our existence. Yet, each of us must also understand that within this system, some of its parts move freely or independently, though still working within the confines of the system as a whole. Human beings freely choose how we will react to the “planned” circumstances we face. Responsibility is our reaction to the action that is the gift of life. We, the human population, as offspring derived from the Divine Energy of Life, must start seeing the nature of what time places before us as it truly is, and perceiving the meaning attached to it. That meaning we call truth. Right now, our individual interests are shaping our perspectives. This is leading us to distort the truth by fragmenting it into bits of truth, to create the circumstance whereby the individual human being can put itself before the divine by manipulating the reality created by the system that gives us life.
We must consider how the moments of our lives together with the actions we take as individuals, fits into the “big picture.” This “big picture” is what human beings have deemed divine or spiritual in nature. To fulfill our part in the “big picture”, which we can call Nature’s system, we must start thinking of ourselves as spiritual beings and recognize that as such we must do the best, most positive things we can in every waking moment of our lives. We must be positive beings within the context of magnetic and electrical polarity, by thinking positive and doing positive things. Each of us must seek to comprehend the significance and relevance of the realities we face, so that we can better determine the path our journey through life is to take. We must then take our two interpretations of those moments, and develop not two, but one perspective. We are not just a part of our Earth and reality, but also a part of the Universe and all of existence. We all must conclude that there is only one true reality, and we must all subscribe to it. As a collective, we must evolve in body, mind, and soul.
MY JOURNEY THROUGH OBJECTIVITY AND SUBJECTIVITY
Double click here to add text.
 | ||||
copyrighted 2023
