A top ranked motivational video from Ted Talks. Beau Lotto challenges the nature of what we call reality and demonstrates just how little of what we perceive actually comes directly from our senses!

Beau Lotto explains that in each moment our brains are continually redefining what we consider to be reality. This is because our brains aren’t large enough to process the vast array of sensory information available in each moment and respond to the world quickly enough. Instead, we receive snapshots from our senses and then fill in the blanks with what we expect to see (hear, feel etc). So, what we think we see is not necessarily simply our sensory perception of what is ‘out there’, but rather a blend of both our senses and our predictions of what is likely to be occurring.

Interestingly, the qualities of the South West direction of the Twenty Count glyph (an ancient teaching device that has been used by Humans for thousands of years) also mirrors these findings. It illustrates what a challenge it can be for us to be truly present in each moment when our brains are so preoccupied with predicting a future which is based upon the myriad of distractions, beliefs and concepts that we find in our 21st century lives.

If this is your first visit to Way of the Human, please also see our introduction to the Way of the Human – after watching Beau Lotto’s video of course! You can also check out our What Am I? page (and click on the interactive image at the bottom of the page) to get a little more insight as to how this is relevant to our every day lives.

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