Perceptions - Conclusions or Illusions?

Perception leads to Conclusions or Illusions?
We often have perceptions that lead us to conclusions, which often ended in illusions.

jugding by experiences
For example, when we see tears: (In the setting of a psychotherapeutic session, deliverance session, or counseling session etc.)we judge the action by our experiences.

In a psychotherapeutic setting, or a counseling room, we tend to assume the person is sad. In a deliverance setting, we see it as a sign of deliverance, which could resemble sense of guilt and repentance. Then we ask, "Why are you sad?" or in the case of deliverance, "What are the guilts?" and "Do you repent for what you did?" Which in both cases, we are wrong!

Blinding an answer
First, we had "assumed" a feeling for the tears. People who been asked on this question will think and agree with what the therapist had presumed, "I am sad","I have guilts" or "I repent". Our mind work in connection with the others. If we do not start right, we lost the whole battle. We will never find out the true meaning behind the tears, and what is the real feeling of the person. We (both therapist and patient) will be blinded with our own perceptions on our actions. Where it might not always be the truth!

Missing the POINT
Tears would have many meanings. It could be joyous, it could be relief, it could be fear, it could be emotional melting, it could be pain, it could be sadness, it could bring a whole lot of meanings depending on the travel of the mind state of a person. But what we often do is allow our bias to shape our concept at a start of perceiving an issue. What happen next is we MISS THE POINT!!!

Removing our lenses
We need to be aware of what lenses that we are putting on, and how it affect us, and how does this impact on our input to others. Taking a step backward and ask, "What feeling do you have with the tears?" would be a far more better question to lead us to a real state that the person is in, rather than a preconception condition.

Assumption versus Truth
People love to have a suggestion of feelings, so that they need not to work our mind on it. Many of the people do not know what they want, they are preconditioned and co-exist with the values and perceptions that were input to their early experiences. It's not a custom for us to analyze how we breath and why we cry. Cry is often associated with sadness, and smile is associated with joy. Could they have different meanings? Or the actions and the emotions could be totally opposite what we think they are. It's the responsibility of social workers, counselors and deliverance board members to Not to simplify the reason of an simple action when we deal with clients!

We want truth, not an assumption of truth.


Food of thoughts after the dialogue of psychotherapy of East meets West, 06Oct06.
by Dr. Robert Resnick, Dr. David Ho and Dr. Rita.