Mind Filters

 

So “Who we are” is really consciousness observing and experiencing the world through a collection of labels, beliefs and thoughts. All these thoughts, experiences, labels and beliefs make up a filter, and this filter is what stands between your consciousness and the world as it is.

         So we don’t usually see a situation as it truly is.

We view it through our unique collection of beliefs, ideas, experiences, judgements, labels and thoughts. We look at a situation and see it through the filter of a woman, a man, a mother, young, old, married, single, poor, wealthy, depressed, optimistic, a person who grew up in poverty or luxury, a private schooled student, a home schooled kid, a dropout, a graduate with a PhD, a person made to feel bad about their appearance, race or sexuality, a person in a position of power or someone who flies under the radar.

         We will never see or experience the world in the exact same way as someone else, because         we have a different filter to them.

 One person may experience the world through a filter that says ‘People are untrustworthy, and you always need to be on guard’.

Someone else might say ‘People are mostly kind and thoughtful, and you should always assume someone to be that until they prove they aren’t’.

Neither is right and neither is wrong.

Each one has its own set of consequences that can be intended and unintended. One way that you can experience the world through another filter while keeping your own is through empathy. Empathy and understanding for others is probably the closest you will get to experience the world through consciousness alone.  As always, awareness is the key. With awareness, you can consciously think about what you want in your filter, and slowly clean it out to get your view clearer and clearer.

Here’s how you’d do this:

In any situation (especially if you’re passing judgement, an opinion or a strong belief), you can ask yourself: ‘What filter am I looking at this through?’

‘If that wasn’t in my filter, how would I see this situation?’

‘Is the filter I’m looking through helpful? Or fair ?’

‘Is this something I want to keep in my filter, or is it time to let it go?’

And if you want to practise empathy, you can also ask: ‘What filter would they be looking at this through?’

It’s completely up to you how much you want to clear out your filter.

Is it realistic to have no filter, and experience the world through pure consciousness and awareness?

Again, that’s relative to you and what you see as realistic. It’s definitely achievable, and if this was something you wanted to achieve you could. If not (and that’s ok!) balance out your filter with empathy, awareness and understanding.

And of course, short periods of pure consciousness and awareness through mindfulness and similar practices can be the perfect way to strike a balance between living in the ‘real’ world and living the in the conscious world.