Excerpted from "Gifts from a Course in Miracles". Edited by Frances Vaughan and Roger Walsh.
SEED QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION: How do you relate to the notion that we have the freedom to change what we believe, and our beliefs shape what we will see? Can you share a personal experience of a time you were aware of your perception and willfully changed your belief to change your perception? What helps you be aware of the beliefs that are shaping your present perception?
Whenever i look at a tree, i feel that it responds to my love and concern for it. I like bare trees. I find them lyrical, beautiful, naked creating a silence which is musical and healing. The bare tree represents many things to me which are different from how we normally perceive.
I see my perceptions tied closely to my past experiences. So I try to stay curious. I constantly find myself asking what assumptions I carry with me and if they serve me well or hold me back. In doing so, I have found myself choosing to discard many old assumptions and taking only those with me that move me positively forward.
Our perception has a deep impact.. it guides ur actions, behaviours, feelings, thoughts, our vibes and gives us ample reasons to justify it.
we have the choice to be in deep despair or to change the perception and change the attitute, i.e. from despair to happiness.
Only an individual has the power to change and see the percept in different light and to be at a pwerful stance.
I don't believe whatever I want -- I believe what I believe. I don't directly or willfully change what I believe. I can have new experiences and learn, and my beliefs change with new experiences and learning. My beliefs definitely shape what I see, and what I see shapes my beliefs. As my beliefs have changed over time, my perceptions of myself, of others, of the world, of life have changed. What helps me be aware of the beliefs that are shaping my perception is taking my beliefs seriously, paying attention to my beliefs and to changes in my beliefs, thinking about what my beliefs are, questioning and examining my beliefs, and being open.