Wk 2 Reading: The Art of Possibility - Constructed Reality?

The idea of "flight paths to the eternal", a quote from the book The Art of Possibility written by Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander generated some reflection on self-actualization. See the TED talk here.


At the college I teach at, I am continually preoccupied with the concept of establishing pathways for these predominately first generation college students. If the idea of higher education was not a path that was established in your brain as a child, then it is difficult to imagine what and why college education is and how can it benefit one. I've found that instead of preaching the benefits of higher education, I need to "show" rather than "tell". This is agreeable with the ideas in the book where the authors discuss the idea of "generating active practices that shift" rather than forcing or arguing. . . 


I apply this to my own life when I encounter obstacles. I think about my past self, my present self and my future self. Where do I want to be and how can I begin to grow and establish paths and "shoot" out tentacles to attach to success? 


Let's deconstruct the notion of "we create our own reality". The book establishes an more in depth exploration into this popular catchphrase. The authors call it "It's all invented." They make analogies between how a frog sees the world and how that idea can metaphorically be applied to our perceptions of reality. The frog, according to the book, has extremely selective perceptions that it needs for basic survival. Humans, although more complex, also perceive those attributes that we are programmed to receive. Therefore, we are not seeing all of reality. If we could "reprogram" what we see to create new pathways for perceptions, then we could possibly create our paths. 


Let me give an example of this at work. I'm testing my own hypothesis of how we create experiences of survival. The other day I was driving in a large major city. I am unfamiliar with driving in the city and am somewhat overwhelmed. After residing here for about a month, I figured out (learned behavior) that there are major arteries of "paths" or highways/interstates. Not unlike the human circulatory system, the minor arteries (side roads) feed into larger vessels/routes. I was trying to get across the Columbia River, which is a large river. I needed to cross a bridge. I figured it would be really obvious, plus there was a sign that said I5 (the major artery bridge) turn right 3/4 mile. Wow, ok that's easy. I was discussing the idea of the nine dots with my son. Ironically, this puzzle is about perception. The directions are to: connect all nine dots using only four lines: Here's some examples of how some folks have attempted to solve this problem. 

And so on, try it yourself. I will not give you the answer because I know that you can look it up. Here's a hint: like I said before, it has to do with being open to possibilities and thinking "outside the box". 


While discussing this with my son, I completely missed the exit. How could this happen? I was astounded. There is not another exit for six miles. You would think I could see it as my vision is unencumbered by buildings - it's a river for goodness sakes! It's like the exit completely disappeared. There are three explanations for this: 


1. I was distracted with the discussion with my son, and 
2. My perception was askew. Let me give a more in depth explanation of this phenomenon. The exits are counter intuitive to a newbie like me. When you are expecting the exit to go right, it actually goes left and then 180 degrees merge. 

The final explanation: 

3. This is somewhat more nebulous and illusive. Perhaps we are unconsciously creating pathways, inventing realities. For someone who has no experience of the city, my mind perceives what I program it to receive (I know you are singing "Hotel California" at this point). Whoa! that's wild. And a little out there. . . .