Creating Our Own Reality: Really?

Last week, I wrote a post with a mention of the reticular activating system, the part of our brain that filter's what we experience and notice. Then Doug O'Brien wrote:

I wonder if this is what is meant when people say we create our own reality. Is it that we notice what we want to notice and disregard the rest, and then act as if our perception is reality?

I hadn't thought of it that way. Usually when people say that, they are referencing The Secret about how we are responsible for what we create in our lives. That we can direct and attract what we want with the Law of Attraction. I just had a thought: What if the Law of Attraction works for those people because they believe in the Law of Attraction? So they are filtering their experiences looking for evidence of it working, ignoring all the times that it doesn't work. Hmmmm . . . .

How do you see the world? You see it as you believe it. Here's a variation on an exercise I learned years ago from Tony Robbins. Look at the picture below and notice all the brown: the trees, the leaves, the ground. See all the different browns?

There's a LOT of brown! It's everywhere all over the picture. Now . . . look for the green. There's actually a lot of green in the picture, too. Do you notice that one colour stands out more than the other when that's what you're looking for?

Tony's original exercise was to look around the room and notice everything that's brown. Now close your eyes and think about everything that's GREEN. What happens? Now open your eyes, and look for everything that's green. Did you notice more green?

Most people do. Why is that? We notice what we sort for.

How do you sort your reality? We sort with our beliefs. I like to say Belief Goggles. We put on these goggles to see the world and think that it's reality. It's OUR reality. Bruce Lipton does a wonderful exercise in his seminar where he gives out 2 sets of 3-D glasses. We look at a picture on a screen with each set. One set shows Halloweenish figures and scary things. The other set shows flowers and sunshine. Same picture, different experience. The picture doesn't change, we do. Change your goggles, change your experience, change your life. Or not.

Some people not only cling to their own goggles, but they insist that other people wear the same ones. Religion comes to mind. What's the difference between a fundamentalist Christian and a fundamentalist Muslim? The content. The structure of the belief is the same. And then both sides look for evidence to support their beliefs. [thumping bible] Well, in the Bible it says x. Yes, but in the Koran it says x.

Beliefs are the filtering system, so that your experience of the world remains consistent. The question is: Do you have limiting beliefs or empowering beliefs? Is there a difference between a person who believes I am a failure versus someone else who believes I am a success? Which belief would you want to adapt?

In answer to Doug's question, YES. We do create our own reality. And we get to decide if the beliefs we continue to hold onto are useful and life-enhancing. Or not.

For another angle of approach, Doug has written a blog post exploring the reality topic, as well. Does he say we create our own reality? Hmmm . . . go see.