What we regard as objective reality is but a convenience, a virtual representation, created by us, aiding in our quest for reproduction. 1 Cognitive psychologist Donald Hoffman uses the analogy of the computer Desktop. The Desktop isn’t an accurate representation of the alternating voltages inside a computer, but it sure is helpful for us to get things done.
Bear with me as I ostensibly change subjects… it will come around.
The Social Dilemma reminds us that the true purpose of Notifications is to create engagement for the social media platforms, but they disguise them as something that is useful to us. Sure, sometimes they’re useful, but generally speaking, they’re mostly a distraction, taking us away from whatever it was we were doing, and getting us to instead to do what social media companies want us to do: stay on their sites.
Back to the Desktop analogy of reality— not everything a computer is capable of doing is there on the Desktop. And not everything we are capable of doing is apparent within our so-called objective reality. We are capable of more… my inner geek might extend the computer analogy by saying the command line unlocks all these powers not visible on the Desktop. So the question on your mind now is, how might I unlock the command line as it were in objective reality?
This is where we can look to esoteric traditions and unorthodox science for an answer. My favorite example is Remote Viewing. In a nutshell, Remote Viewing demonstrates how we can be trained to quiet our minds and focus our attention on one thing in order to perceive subtle, yet valid, perceptions about that thing. Remote Viewing provides veridical, emperical evidence in support of ESP. Remote Viewing also validates what so many esoteric traditions have taught: silence your mind and be open to receiving information, and the information will come.
Where does The Social Dilemma fit in? Just as computers ping us with distractions that make it harder to focus, so does objective reality. All that we perceive around us says, notice me!, distracting us from whatever higher priorities we may need to be focusing on.
What are your higher priorities? When the world pings you, distracting you, just notice it.