“Nothing we see or hear is perfect. But right there in the imperfection is perfect reality.”
-Shunryu Suzuki
To observe reality accurately is incredibly inefficient, so much so that few of us actually do it on a regular basis. Instead, our brains have developed a set of heuristics and cognitive biases that filter reality into smaller more manageable parts. After we have been exposed to a new experience several times, we no longer see it in the same way that we originally did. What we see in its place is a memory of how we have judged it to be.
Memory is more efficient than observation and requires fewer neurons to operate. The only problem is that memories are always distortions of reality. We can fall prey to getting trapped in their validity. With time the distortion can amplify so much that we no longer observe at all. Rather, we force our observations through the lens of our preconceived version of the truth. This is how prejudices are born. This is how absurdity supplants common sense. This is how the obvious is so conveniently missed.
The quick answers that our confirmation bias provides for us are difficult to ignore. They become deeply ingrained in our psyche and our identity. Once set, they are very challenging to overcome. They represent our default operational scripts:
We don't apply ourselves to our full potential because we have become accustomed to failure.
We see the worst in our relationships because we have come to expect disappointment.
We lack self compassion because we hold ourselves to impossible standards.
The list goes on an on.
Our biases and compensatory patterns are part of the Jungian "shadow" that is repressed in each of us. The shadow is impossible to see without a proper mirror and even harder to change without the proper motivation. When we get locked into repeating a dysfunctional belief or behavior, we are in the grips of the shadow. When we project our own problems and insecurities onto others, we are being controlled by our unconsciousness.
Confronting the shadow is the only way to truly see ourselves. Making the unconscious conscious is how we can begin to change our destiny. It is only through suspending our disbelief--the disbelief that the world could be any different than we currently think it is--that we can observe things as they really are. And that is a source of immense power. Observation is the wellspring of creativity.
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