To see things as they are

[um****]

We  often out with  this phrase “

To see things as they are “

What does it really mean and how do you practice it in daily life . If any one can guide me . 

Edited October 2, 2020 by umanair
Grammar mistake

[wa****]

"To see things as they are" would be to see things as they are literally, albeit without being judgemental. However when we try to do that, we often find ourselves "judging". "Judging" in its crude form is like opinions and habits, while in its finer form or possibly without our knowing is like "differentiation" - for example, "This is round", "this is black", "this is bigger, this is smaller" and so on.

Before we can see things as they are, we must be aware of our judgemental process and practice letting go of it. I would say the MSBR practice here is sufficient, in particular, the method of "turning toward".

We are brought up to learn to judge, but must now learn not to judge. It seems counter-intuitive, but only when we know we are judging, then letting go would be possible. Otherwise we'll be trying to build the second storey, without having the first storey in place. Hence the emphasis here is about letting go.

Hope this would help!

 

[Li****]

I think 'to see things as they are' could also relate to not trying to excuse or explain a situation or behaviour that is hurting you. For example it's easy to end up making excuses for someone's poor behaviour towards you instead of 'seeing it as it is' - they are treating you badly and you shouldn't allow them to do so.

[Ar****]

Is about perspectives - see the problem from a different perspective act as an observer detach any emotion a solution will soon follow

[Ka****]

To be able to see things "as they are", one must be aware of "observer v/s observed" dilemma.

The observer must not be part of "that which is being observed"... else observer's influence on "observed" will change the "observed"..... this would lead to distorted perception of reality.

So the key for observer to be able to see things "as they are"..... the observer must be "detached" from the "observed".

Once you are able to develop this ability, your observations would be truly 'objective' (not subjective).... that means what you see (understand) is how it is.

The "observed" could be anything (thoughts, feelings, relationships, events etc).

PS: If you are interested in diving deep on such topics please write to me at [email protected]

[ro****]

I have read a great book on the ongoing topic. The author shows different ways of seeing the individual in relation to society😐
I have found it on this resource: https://freebooksummary.com/category/ways-of-seeing

[wa****]

One very thing about seeing things as they are, is to have seen through everything about yourself. So that there's no way for this observer (yourself) to escape undetected.

 

It is this inner awareness of yourself that once I says "drop it!", you would respond "Got it!". When that happens, you need not have to observe, the observation comes to you!

 

Hence without this awareness of knowing the self that "constantly want to act", you are just observing through your own tinted glasses. This includes the act of wanting to detach as well.

[ch****]

On 10/8/2020 at 4:09 AM, ArabellaSH04 said:

Is about perspectives - see the problem from a different perspective act as an observer detach any emotion a solution will soon follow

I think this is the best answer. This is how I see it as well. Our mind is designed to see all things it can see, not just what we want it to see. This is important if we want to be honest about our experiences, and not merely look for what we want to see.

 

I work in marketing and basically this is how we live by it. We have to creatively turn every problem into an opportunity for us to improve. Let me give an example, I work in content marketing for an SaaS company (something like this) If you went over that quickly you'll see that my job has a ton of observing and gathering information to showcase what we can to our audience. So it's not just about what we want to see but how our audience would perceive our content. 

 

I'm an avid observer maybe that's why I'm a fit for my job.

 

I'm curious as to how this can be applied to other professions....feel free to share your thoughts.