To See Or Not To See

MAP

Glad you finally joined me – showed up.  Afraid to hear what I have to say?

No – don’t even know if I could call it procrastinating.  Feels more like I simply allowed myself to fall into the numb zone of mindless TV.  One thing leads to another and time has slipped away in a poof of smoke.  Like the mindless computer zone too.

Mindless is certainly a good term for much of what you have on your TV and computer.  Numbing is also a good word because you lose your awareness the further in you go.  It becomes harder to pull yourself out.  Addictive in a way.  Good avoidance technique too.

Funny how watching TV is acceptable but day dreaming isn’t.

Take a look at who’s controlling your mind at that point. 

Day dreaming is much more constructive for you and building your imagination.  Through your imagination your dreams can come true.

Try doing that with TV – for the most part your mind is told what to do rather then you telling your mind what to do.


You keep asking about books – the same holds true.  Be diligent about your thoughts and what you read.  Some books hold your imagination hostage will others are more open to interpretation.

What does that mean?

Books are easier to put down.  The good books exercise your imagination and enable you to dream a bigger dream if that is what you desire.  You have to paint the visual picture yourself rather than being fed what you see.

Two people can read the exact same book and create two entirely different scenes.  With a TV you are given what to see – you cannot change the colour of a character’s hair or the colour of the walls or the smell of the grass and a breeze.

Reading engages your whole suite of sensations in ways that television can’t do yet.

What about others being open to interpretation?

That is what I just said about engaging your sensations.  A book is open to your interpretation.  You get to see through your eyes and not necessarily limit your view to only that of the director or producer.

A book holds you hostage when it does not engage you to think or imagine beyond what is written there.  Have a conversation with a book – look in the background, ask questions and see what answers come forth.  You do not have to have the writer to be there to always fill in the details.

The more something engages you in further exploration the better it is.

And of course part of the responsibility lies with you.  Are you just skimming your eyes along the letters and words on the page?  That is where you go mindless too.  Or are you engaged in painting all the details with your imagination or seeing implications of what you just read?

What about photos?

A photograph or painting – or any piece of art – is somewhere in between.  A picture may paint a thousand words but how well does it expand your imagination?

With a picture you are given a visual box that is hard to jump out of.  The blue shade of the ocean, the colour of the sky, the hue of the sand is all there.  This visual stimulation is very difficult to break out of – you are put in somewhat of a box.

Next time you look at a picture use your imagination to change the colours you see or move objects around.  How easy or difficult is it for you?

On the upside of a photograph it stimulates your imagination by placing you there without telling you what to do.

You can imagine yourself laying on the beach feeling the warmth of the sun and sand while the cool breeze drifts across your toes.  Or you can smell the smog of that polluted city and hear the loud din of the market place and motorcycles on the street while feeling your reaction to being in the close confines of the crowd.

With TV or a movie all those details become mindless background until you pay attention to them over another’s story.  Most times when you watch TV or a movie you get hooked into the story and all those details fade away.

Observe, become aware of you read, look at a photograph or watch TV.  What are you paying attention to?  Where are you engaged more – or engaged less?  What sensations do you feel – what senses are being used?

You want to be more aware – use this simple exercise as a tool to help you move there.