Perception is Interpretation

Knowledge is not the remedy for false perception since, being another level, they can never meet. The one correction possible for false perception must be true perception. (C-4.3)

In God, you Know and what you know is God. In God your Knowledge is complete and you have nothing to learn. In the decision to be not-God, however, you gave up Knowledge and learning was made to fill this lack. Perception was made as the means to learn who you are and the world, which is the opposite of God in every way (material form, finite, time-bound, diverse) was made to teach you that you are not-God.

There has been much confusion about what perception means, because the word is used both for awareness and for the interpretation of awareness. Yet you cannot be aware without interpretation, for what you perceive is your interpretation. (T-11.VI.2)

But like any classroom, the world itself is neutral and perception, being interpretation, is a choice. What you learn in the world depends on the teacher you choose and you only have two choices: Ego or the Holy Spirit.

Yet it is surely the mind that judges what the eyes behold. It is the mind that interprets the eyes' messages and gives them "meaning." And this meaning does not exist in the world outside at all. (M-8.3)

You perceive, or interpret, the world according to what you want to learn – that you are separate from God or that you are One with God. Therefore:
  • The world is neutral.
  • You interpret others, things and situations in the world according to what you want to learn about yourself.
  • Your learning goal, not the world, determines your experience (how you feel).
The interpretation you lay on the world is no more real than the images the body’s eyes see, but they either point the way to Heaven or to hell. You can use the world to remind yourself that you are Part of God by emphasizing love, or you can use it to teach yourself that you are separate from God by emphasizing attack and loss.

When the thought of separation has been changed to one of true forgiveness, will the world be seen in quite another light; and one which leads to truth, where all the world must disappear and all its errors vanish. (W-pII.3.1)

Forgiveness is the means by which the truth is represented temporarily. It lets the Holy Spirit make exchange of pictures possible, until the time when aids are meaningless and learning done. (T-27.III.5)

Eventually, as you realize that the world is open to interpretation and that all of its meaning comes from you, you will not bother to interpret what the body sees because you recognize it is inherently meaningless. But until then, when something or someone in the world grabs your attention and tempts you to give up your peace, you can choose to interpret what you see in a way that will remind you of God’s love.

It cannot be emphasized too often that correcting perception is merely a temporary expedient. It is necessary only because misperception is a block to knowledge, while accurate perception is a steppingstone towards it. The whole value of right perception lies in the inevitable realization that all perception is unnecessary. (T-4.II.11)

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Comments

hannah said…
awesome! there goes another layer of guilt.

'Knowledge is not the remedy for false perception since, being another level, they can never meet. The one correction possible for false perception must be true perception.'

time and thus space is meaningless? joy! haha, i still want a tardis though.

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