Today I wondered if I could pass a lie detector test with two completely opposite answers to the same question. I think I could, which makes life all that much more confusing. It’s about perspective.
I’ve heard people complain about new-agers being hypocritical and confusing by talking from both sides of their mouths. I think the problem is there is a dual perspective happening. There can be completely correct but opposite answers from different perspectives.
Dueling Perspectives
There are many versions of the Six-or-Nine perspective example similar to the image above. A person on one side can plainly see it’s a six and the other person can plainly see it’s a nine. We all know that in real life something like that example wouldn’t cause issues, because they know the difference is about perspective.
But in the real world, we talk with each other and we don’t realize that others are coming at this topic from a completely different perspective. Then, when we disagree, we think they’re lying, shifty, or being argumentative.
I’ve seen plenty of arguments online that only existed because people had different definitions of a word they were both using. [That’s called the fallacy of equivocation if you’re doing it on purpose.] I honestly think most people have no conception that the other party has a different definition or perspective and that might be the only reason for the disagreement.
People don’t seem to be able to see things from multiple perspectives like they used to. They don’t seem to recognize that other people may see things differently and still be correct, or at the very least have a good reason to see things a different way based on their personal experiences and perspective on the subject. And, as people today scream for tolerance, they seem to have less and less tolerance for others’ perspectives too.
Why Are Dual Perspectives Popular Among New-Agers?
The more popular way of viewing the world is from one singular perspective, the 3-dimensional human perspective. That is if you get hurt or sick, or a loved one dies, that’s “bad.” Because the 3D human will not go on after death and being in pain sucks.
When you start to view yourself as other than the 3D human, thinking that you have a soul or spirit that will go on after death, you can see those things from a different perspective, the spiritual perspective.
You don’t have to believe in souls or spirits to see things like these from different perspectives. I would imagine someone who didn’t believe in that spiritual stuff could still see some benefit to a loved one who was dying of painful cancer finally dying and not living in such pain any longer. From one perspective, it sucks to be the one who lost a loved one. But if you view it from the deceased’s perspective, you could be not as sad if you see they are not in pain now.
I have discussed the idea of higher selves before. Personally, I don’t think the higher-selves are the exact same perspective of God-Source, but I don’t know. That’s just my perspective right now. Either way, a higher-self (or spirit/soul) and God-Source would have a higher dimensional perspective than we do as 3D humans.
So, from a 3D human perspective, someone will hate being fired and think that’s absolutely terrible. But from their higher-self perspective, they may see that being fired freed them up to focus on what they actually love to do but never thought they could. Like a mother bird kicking her baby out of the nest to get it to fly, a higher self may get you fired from your sucky job to get you into the job you actually want (that they know you will eventually get).
Getting Dumped
There was this time my boyfriend told me it was over. Thankfully, I was in a fantastic place spiritually and handled that quite well. But the reaction of my other friend was another story. Through her eyes, I was a victim, and this was devastating news. Through God’s eyes, I was open to having new experiences that wouldn’t have happened otherwise and I was open to a new relationship with someone better suited to me. I could pick which way to view this. I never felt like a victim.
I have shifted through various perspectives on all of the ups and downs of my life. And, in a matter of minutes, I can view things from a low perspective or a high perspective, and I will usually flip-flop between them. But even half and half is better than only seeing from the low perspective my whole life.
My Ways Are Higher Than Your Ways
Isaiah 55:8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. 9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. 10 As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, 11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”
As 3D humans, we are stuck in this river of time (4th Dimension). We cannot see the future. We worry because we fear what comes ahead. If we knew the future, there would be nothing to fear.
Consider there is a God who has a very-long-game plan for all. God-Source wouldn’t be worried about what is happening at each individual moment because there would be knowledge of how it all turns out.
The 3D perspective is like struggling to get through a garden hedge maze, while the higher perspective (like a bird or being on a mountaintop) can look down from above and clearly see how to exit the maze. We have access to that higher perspective through divine inspiration that we get through meditation, appreciation, and not worrying as much.
Conflicting Truths
So I can say I’m very angry at something that happened to me (from the 3D perspective) but I can also appreciate that what happened to me happened because it was for the best in the long run (from a higher perspective). I can be mad and happy about the exact same event, people, places, etc.
I don’t believe in evil (from a higher perspective), but I can damn well point out evil when I need to. Because, yes, from a 3D perspective there is good versus evil.
I also don’t see anyone as a victim (from a higher perspective), but I also know when people are being taken advantage of, abused, or hurt (from a 3D perspective). It’s wrong to hurt people. But, from a higher perspective, I also believe hurt people are attracting that experience in order to grow. That doesn’t make it correct or moral to hurt people.
What I’ve written about in this article are things that other people who hear only one side of the conversation (or just hear a snippet of it) will take out of context and completely disregard whoever is saying it. These are things that sound contradictory when put together. I understand that some people only see things from their 3D-limited perspective and can’t or won’t conceive of another way to view things.
Switching perspectives mentally can allow us to view the same event or person, place, or thing in opposite ways. I think it is healthy to be able to conceive of things from multiple angles. Looking at things from only one perspective never really gives us the whole picture and is extremely limiting.
But, in a world where most people have 1-dimensional thinking, it makes it very difficult to have worthwhile conversations. I’ve also pointed out it is absolutely pointless to talk with someone who won’t pin down the definitions of words. If you can’t agree on what words mean, there is no real conversation actually happening.
If someone won’t try to view from your perspective, if they are not even interested in trying, then it’s really not worth it to have that discussion with them.
So many people today are really lazy and don’t want to try to see things from new perspectives. This is why I’m very thankful for my readers who DO find it interesting to view different perspectives. Thanks for reading!
Cheese and crackers. Are you in my brain? This reads like I'm talking to myself.
Wonderful.
It's good to contemplate how we can better understand and communicate with other people. There's FAR too little attempt to really understand the points of view that other people have and too strong a reflex to presume/label/dismiss.
Thanks for this!
https://jmpolemic.substack.com/p/homework-assignment-1/comments
https://jmpolemic.substack.com/p/certainty-vs-dialogue