Emotion clear-cuts the natural diversity of original, unfiltered perception. Certainly, this tendency to blindside ourselves is a built-in survival adaptation. Anything ‘aware’ would need such a way to filter out extraneous sensory data. Extraneous is that which has no immediate bearing on survival. Even given our extremely narrow sensory ranges, there’s still an infinite amount of stimuli out there to arouse the nervous system.
Now, consider the filtering effects of language on perception. Words and names allow the brain to filter out sensory data to a fault! Language enabled preconceptions and their emotional underpinnings allow us to create pigeonholing schemes that further clear-cut landscapes of consciousness.
However, we do get something in return — treasures and places to put them! The treasures include everything we cherish in life: music, tables, poetry, vehicles, stories, clothes, books, jewelry, beer… the list is endless. This ‘furniture’ of our mind fills our mind’s clear-cut barren landscape. Words and names comfort us with a promise of sensory security. Even so, that’s okay for we normally can’t miss what we don’t know, and even if we begin to feel we are missing out, we don’t know what we’re missing without a name for it. Pigeonholing reality is a perceptual bridge to cross over, as chapter 10 hints, When your discernment penetrates the four quarters, Are you capable of not knowing anything?
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