Article of the month:

JUNE, 2006

TRUTH, THE WHOLE TRUTH & NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH

Much of what we call truth is derived from a personal interpretation of the world using the five senses and the mind, and, therefore, such truth can be called perceived truth. A human, a dog and a bird, using their senses and minds, will interpret the observation of an orange differently. The “actual” or “objective” orange is the same in any given moment, but the “perceived” orange in that same moment from the three perspectives will differ markedly. What each of our subjects perceives is limited by the capacity of their senses to utilize the information “out there” in the world—light waves, sound waves, fragrance particles, tactile phenomena and gustatory stimuli—and their respective nervous system and brain’s capacity to assimilate what information is utilized.

For instance, in observing the orange, the dog, being colorblind will see some shade of gray, the human a luminous, waxy orange hue, and the bird with its keener sense of sight will see a richer, more vibrant orange than the human can experience. Imagine the three of them being able to communicate lucidly with each other and seeing the orange for the first time. One can conjure a scene in which there might be some debate as to what an “orange” is. From the detached perspective of reading this article, we can acknowledge the futility of such a debate. In the melee of life, however, wood and forest commingle.

Each person’s experience of life as gathered by the senses and transmitted by the nervous system to the brain for assimilation and assignment of meaning is as different as each person’s DNA (identical twins notwithstanding). A corollary of this is that each of us experiences different emotions concerning people, places, events and things. My grief over the death of my father cannot be said to be the same as my siblings’ grief over the death of their father. My experience of “home” is expectantly different from each of theirs. My interpretation of childhood events is necessarily different from each of theirs. My relationship with Rex, our dog, had to differ from each of theirs. And yet, when we look back, each of us “knows” that s/he is right and, therefore, that the others must be wrong about people, places, events and things. It’s as futile as saying, “My DNA is right and yours is wrong.”

We each make “sense” of life differently. And in doing so, we each need to recognize that we live in a world that does not make sense; rather, sense makes our world. What we sense from our individual perspective of perceived truth is only ever an approximation of the real physical world, which in its genuine form, “unsensed” by us, is, one might say, rather bland—devoid of colors, odors, sounds, textures and tastes. There is an important understanding to be gleaned here: we are incapable of experiencing anything outside of our selves. Our minds receive data from our senses and create a representation—conscious awareness—of what is outside, and it is only the “representation” that we ever experience as real, as truth—perceived truth.

In my book, Prison Food Ain’t So Bad, I wrote that our world is one of illusion created in some bizarre interaction between the five senses and the mind, collectively known as the deceitful six. In New World New Mind, Robert Ornstein and Paul Ehrlich write:

The rich world we perceive is actually within us, even if it is only a shadow of the world that might fill our brains. But suppose your nervous system could generate sensations to correspond with all the possible stimuli “out there” in the world? If your nervous system could, your experience would be chaotic, unimaginable, completely overwhelming.

This reminds me of Krishna—God incarnate—revealing his true nature to the aspirant, Arjuna, in the Bhagavad-Gita. Krishna’s true nature, as the Source from which all things come—Lord of the Universe—was so overwhelming that Arjuna, once he recognized Krishna’s infinite munificence, splendor, creativity and destructive power requested that he be able to perceive Krishna as God incarnate once more.

From what has been revealed so far, we can deduce that reality and truth are in the mind (as conditioned by the senses) of the beholder. And thus, when we make decisions that affect others, from our lone perspective of perceived truth, it is no wonder that we may encounter resistance from those others.

There is an interesting and profound corollary from this phenomenon of perceived truth. We are incapable of experiencing even our own bodies, excepting as a mere representation of what they actually are. What do you see when you look in the mirror? What do you feel when you embrace a loved one? Such perceptions trigger an emotional response, which largely determines our disposition toward the perceived truth, and are among the most important mind games that we are ever likely to play, and yet, we mostly go through life unaware that we are playing them.

And so, the Ancient Greek maxim which advocates “know thyself,” is a call to know the SELF, the “I AM-ness” within, for we can never, it seems, truly ever perceive the truth about our physical natures. Perhaps, more controversially, our experience of God must also occur within. And thus, the Heavens Above, or Heaven must be a metaphor for that place within. It remains, however, to identify the precise location of that place called within, as it clearly does not refer to the place of blood and guts held together by the outer body. Of course, silly me, within refers to the soul or the spirit. But where, if you will, may one locate this esoteric, immaterial entity that so many of us pretend to be so familiar with? Maybe it is just not as important to know where it is, as it is to become truly familiar with its nature. Conscious awareness is arguably symptomatic of the soul, so perhaps it is the best place to start.

When you get that truth is in the mind of the beholder, and that there are as many minds as there are beholders, you will also get that agreeing to disagree is the basis for compassion; you will get that it is okay for your neighbor to paint his fence a nothingness gray in deference to the homeowners’ association mandate to paint fences a friendly fuchsia; you will get that using aggression to persuade others to believe as you do is a contradiction in terms; and you will get that it is quite normal for three-year-old Samantha to believe that Mr. Bunny at the foot of the garden is God incarnate.