We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are. – Anaïs Nin

Unless you learn to face your own shadows, you will continue to see them in others, because the world outside of you is only a reflection of the world inside of you. – C. G. Jung 

A thought for today: the world becomes miraculous when we see it with our whole being. That is, we perceive the miraculous in everyday life when we start seeing through the eyes of the Self. But what does that really mean? What does “the miraculous” look like? 

Maslow thought it was possible to perceive a thing in itself, an object or creature in its essence. He called this “unitive” or “Being-perception” and described it as having a numinous quality. This is not unlike Tathātā, the Buddhist term for “thusness” or “suchness,” which refers to the nature of reality free from conceptual distortions and conditioned beliefs. This is also similar to Martin Buber’s concept of the “I-Thou” relationship, which extends beyond human relations to describe a way of being in which one encounters reality as if it has soul, not as a series of objects or a means to an end. 

Why is it that some people are able to achieve this “unitive perception” while others aren’t? The answer is ego. As Jung suggests in the quote above, unless we are able to face our own shadows, or repressions, we will continue to perceive them in the outside world. Another way of saying it: when we heal, the world opens up to us differently. When we heal, the world no longer feels like a cold, hostile, isolating environment. Rather, it becomes a place that I am part of and that I am able to perceive as being part of me, not as “it” or “other.” The I am part of-part of me represents a coming to consciousness and a realization of the deeper, or archetypal, dimension of experience, and it is here that reality takes on a numinous, sacred, or miraculous quality. This is what it means to see the world with our whole being: it is to confront reality through the eyes of the Self.

It is worth noting, too, that the Self maintains something like a healthy philosophical distance from the world. At first glance, that statement might seem curious, even paradoxical—especially if I am the world and the world is me—but I think it actually represents a relationship of acceptance. With acceptance of self comes an acceptance of reality—of what is, or that which we cannot change—rather than a relationship of adversaries or “I-It.” From this vantage point, we don’t take the impersonal personally. An example: someone who refuses to pursue love because love is pain is living in pain and has decided that love is negative—a thing to be disliked and avoided. Someone who has healed from the pain of past relationships is able to look on love for what it is—as a thing in itself—which is both beautiful and potentially painful. 

Also worth noting: I think that, as we grow and integrate and develop ourselves, we get glimpses into the miraculous in everyday life. (Maslow called these “peak experiences.”) Indeed, that’s why I think our skills give us access to the miraculous, or extraordinary, in the everyday—because they’re pathways to the Self. I think sensitivity is a pathway, too, at least for some of us, because sensitivity can be a door to the deeper dimensions of experience. But I will say this about high sensitivity: I think of sensitivity as an amplifier, which is neither positive nor negative. If the inner experiences amplified by our sensitivity are positive, then sensitivity feels like an extraordinary gift. If those inner experiences are negative, it can be a curse of gigantic proportions. Either way, I think the message is: heal yourself, and see the world transform as you transform. Or refuse, and continue to see the world as you are.