What if you could learn to see in a different way?
The E-Cafe is about exploring AHA moments, the art of observation, learning from one another and attempting to snag a piece of the illusive ‘it’ and “what if” factors…a life-long process.
Why do we see the way we do and how can we enhance our abilities to embrace or conjure new points of view if we choose…and what gets in our way of doing that?
As an artist I have some thoughts as to how we can ‘gather’ more ways of seeing and why that is so important in today’s world.
The original 18 posts were written in sequence. They can stand alone but reading them in order unfolds my thoughts more elegantly. They are listed under “Seeing in New Ways.”
The art inserted throughout is the result of a process I created to demonstrate ‘learning to see the world in other ways.’ There are 25 of them accessible by clicking above on Alex Art Studio 145 and selecting mixed media.
The next group of posts will be more random in subject matter and posted under ‘The Conversation’…maybe things like ‘Find the passion or die’ or Do we have to find our passion?, The diversity factor, Teaching moments… and so on. We’ll see.
8. Basic principles of seeing the world new again.
Just around the corner is your aha moment. Before any meaningful change that matters….especially, a possible shift in world-view, a bit of chaos can sneak in. There is often resistance to the possibility of even a tiny shift in perspective...agitation. internal, chaotic energy all around resisting even a small change in our perspective. We don’t even have to say a word to communicate our discomfort. Words are only about 7 percent of our communication so [...]
9. Six more principles of seeing the world new again.
My last post listed the first 5 underlying principles of learning to see the world through a new lens. As I said, until you know that you are the master of how you do see and are willing to observe from a more ‘eyes wide open’ place, you are naturally going to remain stuck in the same modality. Choice is the rudder of life experience so, choose conscious observation first. 6. Thoughts are things: Choose your [...]
10. Gather options. They are abundant.
I am convinced that my world-view can reflect many perspectives in any one moment. Some might say, well, make up your mind! Hmmm. Then I think, well, I understand more than one perspective and they are each possibly right or all possibly right or not. In so many cases attaching oneself to one view is well...plain arrogant. Sometimes as the world and its aspects unfold before me, I am challenged to observe things in a [...]
11. First 7 of 14 Exercises to pique your sensory acuity.
Choose one of these exercises on any given day and begin to increase your ability to really notice your life. A measure of intelligence is your ability to make fine line distinctions. 'Notice' the world around you, how things connect, their relationships to one another, how the shifting of one thing affects another. This takes no time out of your day. Do it on the way... The first 7 exercises. 1. As an exercise, [...]
12. Seven More exercises to hone your sensory acuity.
It isn’t all about seeing with your eyes. 8. Pick a color that is dominant in your environment…grey or green for example. See how many variations there are on that hue. I come from the Northwest where everything is green. But, I was amazed by the kazillion shades of green that existed when I really looked. Until that concerted effort as an exercise for myself, I saw a mass of green in the periphery of [...]
13. Inner Spaces
I personally need significant stretches of time to sink into the inner spaces of quiet, solitude, reflection and meditation. It grounds me and allows me to better connect to what surrounds me in a more centered way. It is my way of detaching, regenerating and at the same time connecting...an interesting duality of connection and detachment. In that still place new thoughts or realizations drop in. You don’t have to sit cross legged in meditation [...]
14. Curiosity and living in the question.
The search for and acquisition of new ways of seeing requires that we must be, at least, curious enough to take that journey which is as much internal as it is external. Curiosity and the desire to learn one new thing tangentially rewards us with many domains of new learning. These are ‘some’ of the things we need to become good at in order to learn one thing that matters to us: To find a [...]
#15. Suspended in mid-air
Learning to change how we see things can be unnerving to some. We aren't speaking of scaling Mount Everest here but for some individuals I think it would be easier to do that than to change their point of view on something. Notice how you respond to a request to see from a different place. Ego, pride, stubbornness, attachment to being right...so many things to consider. It takes just a little stretching to fix that. [...]