The Three Circles of Perception-Living Life Authentically
Circle # 1 Something Happens
Something happens in our lives. Regardless of what this event is, it has no meaning. It is neutral, without any meaning what so ever. Consider this phrase, “Your life is empty and meaningless!” Most people are going to hear this phrase and become upset or defensive.
Circle # 2 You Give it Meaning
This is exactly my point. We are “meaning making machines”. This phrase has no meaning. It is up to you and your language to give it an interpretation and meaning.
At the earliest time of mankind, prehistoric man needed to be able to see an event and to interpret danger or safe, immediately! This was such a necessity for survival that our “primitive” brain, or primate brain, still has this mechanism of recognition today. We are meaning making machines. Something happens and our brain searches through all of the past networks that we have, looking to match patterns so we can make an instant decision of safe or dangerous. We default to seeing negativity. Our brain has five times as many neurons that are activated for the negative then for the positive. Google "Negativity Bias" and you'll see the research from neural psychologist Rich Hansen.
Our meaning is constantly a comparison of our past experiences projected to the future.
PAST NOW FUTURE Something happens and our brain immediately activates neural assemblies from the past as it searches for previous dangerous experiences, then projects to the future and predicts danger.
For example, a sales person in real estate learns how to make a presentation to someone who is going to sell his or her own home. They’ve got it down word for word! Next they pick up the phone and call a for sale by owner ad and the home owner is very rude, aggressive and yells at them that they are the fifth realtor to call them, they are selling their own home and hangs up!
This person now has a negative P to put into their past regarding prospecting to for sale by owners. The next time they want to pick up the phone and create a future for themselves through prospecting, they will not step into a blank future, they will step into the previous negative past experience! Put enough of these together and it will be very difficult to get this person to prospect.
The reality of it is that the rejection had no meaning until you gave it one. The fact was that the homeowner said NO! You made it mean something about you! You could have make it mean that you are bothering them, that you are imposing, that you are a bad sales person etc. You might have made it mean that this is tough, that it will never work, that you’ll never be successful in sales, that you are a failure and a disappointment!
Circle #3 You live your life as if your "story" was true.
You made up a story about what happened and now you are living the third circle, which is your interpretation of what it means. You live this as if it is the truth! All of your thoughts, feelings and actions are based on this lie that you made up. That is living in authentically!
This is an example of inauthentic living. You may be living believing that your story is the truth and reacting accordingly. Your story is an illusion. Your story is simply what you made up about what happened in your striving to give meaning to all things.
The challenge is to take the negative past out of the future. Your goal is to have your future be empty (of the negative past) and meaningless (no inherent meaning until you say so).
When you achieve this level of reaction to events, you will be what is called enlightened. You will now have the freedom to choose, fascination over frustration, good over evil, calm over upset. When you step into the freedom to interpret, you can then select to create whatever reality you want.
Think about this and try it on.
Homework:
Identify the “stories” you have been telling yourself. Do your interpretations serve you? Notice what you say about what is happened and exercise the freedom to choose a different interpretation.