Have you ever wondered about the relationship between perception and reality? In this article, we look at the concept of perception and list 23 quotes on perception and reality.
When busy navigating daily life, how often do we pause to question the lenses through which we see the world?
It’s too easy to be taken up by the current of life and forget that our perceptions shape the very fabric of reality.
What is perception?
Perception and reality are different ways we see the world. Perception is subjective. It is how our brain interprets what we see, hear, and feel. Reality is objective. It is what’s happening, regardless of how we see it.
Understanding the dynamic between perception and reality is about figuring out how much of what we perceive is objective truth. It’s about how we know things.
Philosophers have long been suspicious about our perception. Plato, the ancient Greek philosopher, discusses the allegory of the cave in his book Republic. He tells the story of people chained in a cave facing a wall. Some shadows are projected on the wall. Since these people are chained, they can’t see what’s happening behind them. So, they come to believe that the shadows are reality. Plato uses this to show how our perception might be limited and not always aligned with reality.
While working as a research scientist at the University of Wisconsin, Dr. Bruce Lipton studied human muscle cells. His research found that cells react to their perceived environment, rather than the actual one. This led him to realize that humans also respond to their perceptions, or beliefs, about their environment. Dr. Lipton suggests that many health issues stem from wrong beliefs in the subconscious mind.
In conclusion, perception and reality shape our understanding of the world and ourselves. Perception serves as the lens through which we interpret sensory information. However, reality constitutes the objective backdrop against which our perceptions unfold. By exploring the complexities of perception and reality how much of our experience is shaped by our mind and not the objective reality “out there.”
Whether it’s a hike in nature or a deep dive into a thought-provoking book, little pauses can shift how we perceive the world around us.
It’s about peering beyond the surface and acknowledging the nuances that shape our understanding of the world.
The following quotes on perception and reality refer to some of the content we discussed and more.
Here are 33 quotes on reality and perception
- “The subject of perception is something whose existence is an existence made by perception” – Lambert Wiesing
- “The reality of my perception leaves me no choice: I am there! I am always part of it! And not only that: the reality of my perception sets out the ways—the existential possibilities—I have of being there, the ways I must become a part of the world.” – Lambert Wiesing
- “Most of the time, our perception is the opposite of open-ended.” – Bence Nanay
- “Fact is thought and thought is fact.” – Whitehead
- “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” – Marcel Proust
- “There are things known and there are things unknown, and in between are the doors of perception.” – Aldous Huxley
- “The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.” – W.B. Yeats
- “We live in a world of illusions, where reality is distorted by our perceptions.” – Debasish Mridha
- “Your perception of reality is often more important than reality itself.” – Maxime Lagacé
- “The reality of the world we live in is shaped by our perceptions.” – Maxime Lagacé
- “Reality is what we take to be true. What we take to be true is what we believe.” – Gary Zukav
- “The world is nothing but perception, and yet it is all reality.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
- “Reality exists in the human mind, and nowhere else.” – George Orwell
- “The world is a great mirror. It reflects back to you what you are.” – Thomas Dreier
- “We see the world not as it is, but as we are.” – Anaïs Nin
- “The mind is everything; what you think, you become.” – Buddha
- “The way we see the problem is the problem.” – Stephen Covey
- “Reality is merely an interpretation of our senses.” – Neil deGrasse Tyson
- “We do not see things as they are, we see them as we are.” – Talmud
- “The truth you believe and cling to makes you unavailable to hear anything new.” – Pema Chödrön
- “The eye through which I see God is the same eye through which God sees me; my eye and God’s eye are one eye, one seeing, one knowing, one love.” – Meister Eckhart
- “Reality is created by the mind; we can change our reality by changing our mind.” – Plato
- “What we think, we become.” – Buddha
Conclusion
Our perception shapes the way we interpret our version of reality. But we often perceive perception as the objective reality.
In other words, most of the time, we live in a fantasy world constructed by our minds. For centuries, sages and mystics have warned us about this illusionary facade.
However, our subjective reality is functional. It helps us survive and navigate “what is out there.” This is not to say we should ignore the intricacies between perception and reality. Instead, we should be mindful of its place. This mindfulness gives us the power to be in control of our reality.
To instigate change by setting our mind and intention. This could be adopting a mindset that serves us better in life.