It’s a Subjective World
Bhaktapur, Kathmandu, Nepal
Seeking to find objectivity, or thinking that it's an objective world, is a denial by the mind of the nature of life. Yet this is precisely what Western thinking does.
It is a misunderstanding that causes humans unnecessary stress, struggle and suffering. Even death.
Everything in the web of life is interconnected with everything. Including humans. But our psyche has been conditioned to believe that we are separate beings, not connected to each other. Unsurprisingly many of us feel divided, disconnected, lonely. There’s a lack of community and kinship, and much conflict in our relationships.
What a terrible misunderstanding!
Worse, this misunderstanding is hidden from us in our subconscious mind, meaning we don't know we are wrong and therefore cannot change anything. But, when we look clearly, we shall see...
IT'S A SUBJECTIVE WORLD and it always will be while you, or me, or any individual, are looking at anything in this world.
'Subjective' means: what's out there + my perception and perspective of it.
For you, 'subjective' means: what's out there + your perception and perspective of it.
You and it out there are connected by your perception of it.
I and it out there are connected by my perception of it.
You do not exist on your own.
I do not exist on my own.
The thing out there does not exist on its own.
Seer and seen, observer and observed, are inseparable. One without the other does not exist.
The seen, apparently the objective fixed aspect of life, is in fact something different to every different human, as it only gains any meaning when we focus on it with our subjective perspective.
Therefore what’s out there is one thing to you, and another thing to me.
It's a subjective world, not an objective one.
Since we are different humans, with a different sum total of past experiences, we may react to the 'it out there' with different perceptions and perspectives of it. It means ‘the out there’ is not out there on its own, it's only out there as related to you, and as related to me, and so on.
It means it's not a fixed thing, a fixed person; what we see and think of it, or the person, is unique. What we see IS NOT any kind of objective truth or reality, what we see is simply OUR OWN personal perception of what is out there.
If I say Xanadu is a bad person, this does not mean Xanadu is bad person, it only means that I think Xanadu is a bad person. Most people coming by a snake will see it as a threat, some others see an animal they like. A snake is a snake, but the meaning it has depends on the seer of it.
This also means something else which might well give one massive cause to pause and think:
if my perception and perspective holds 'it' to be negative in some way, then that means I too have the same negative energy in me, because I am directly linked to the 'it' which I don't like, or hate, or am envious of, fearful of.
If I hate you, then my perspective of hatred towards you brings me the very energetics of that hatred, and fills my body and consciousness with it. By hating you, I fill me with the energy of hatred. I lose out. You might not even care that I hate you. You don't lose out, I lose out. The hater always loses.
If I do this a lot, stands to reason that I would be struggling to experience energy, vitality and clarity in my life. I may well be unhappy, discontented, not very healthy, and easily get into arguments and conflict.
If I realise and understand how I am deeply related to, and interconnected with, the object of my senses (person, thing, place, animal, situation, happening, memory of any of them), then it would make perfect sense for me to harbour no ill-feelings towards the world out there. And to practise this until I master it.
Then life transforms itself. Our mindset, and therefore perspective of nearly everything, changes.
We just have to correct the misunderstanding that was conditioned into us, and the process of self-discovery and self-determination is started and unstoppable.
