You are here:

Reality

Contributed by Jim Thiemens and Gary Eyring

The Big Reality

"A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty." - Albert Einstein

The Human Reality:

From the human perspetive, the physical universe is a reality that is created through establshing agreeements such as "it's a tree", "it's a dog" and so on. This agreement-making process also applies, to a lesser degree, in creating a shared reality - on the organization of a business, a nation, or an interpersonal relationship - in establishing how they will work.

This all begins with the fact that we all have a viewpoint that is our reality.  Through communication I begin to share/compare my reality with others of similar or dissimilar viewpoints and realities.  Through this communication I am drawn to certain individuals. I like them or develop some affinity for them. I can also disagree, move away from, or be totally frustrated by certain others. Those that I have the greatest affinity for, I reach the highest level of understanding.

But what about those with viewpoints or realities we don’t agree with, dislike, or move away from?  I know they exist everywhere and by disagreeing and not communicating, I certainly don’t understand them. It may make it difficult to even listen to them without becoming defensive. This creates a growing confusion which causes me to not to be able to apply my abilities. I lose some of my freedoms through lack of understanding of other realities.

The ability to communicate with others and at least understand their reality or viewpoint is key in building teams, understanding the competition and general success in life.  The more we understand of the reality of others through developing our communication skills, the closer and more effectively we can work with and begin to trust others.  Then the growth of our understanding, application of our abilities and our freedoms are limitless. 

We are as free as the number of view points we are willing to understand. . . that is understand, not necessarily agree with.