How Does Perception Work?

A reader asked me about the idea that perception is the “collapse of the wave function.” Physics experiments imply the idea that attention collapses a probability wave into a specific particle, solidifying matter & perception.

It is very popular to borrow from physics. And there is some as above, so below. But quantum physics is not consciousness. In some ways, quantum physics is zooming in finer and finer, not deeper and deeper. It’s still measurable with physical instruments, which means it’s still pretty much physical. The more you zoom in, the finer it will go. But it never gets to source as it’s mostly just going closer, not deeper.

The philosophy of Samkhya describes 5 senses and their matching 5 elements, suggesting the senses arise in parallel with the elements, which then differentiate and blend into form. But as we go deeper into being, it becomes clear there is more to the story.

Sensing, in its pure nature, is an interaction between consciousness and itself. Sensing arises in the process of experience, in the interaction between the observer and observed aspects of consciousness. This is the devata value, where the laws of nature are at work creating the world appearance. (By this I don’t mean illusion. It’s an appearance of nature in consciousness, in a way we can process.) It’s the most active, yet also often the last of the 3 aspects to be experienced.

We can further confirm this when we go beyond consciousness into Brahman. There is no sensing and nothing to sense. We can say Brahman knows itself. (Transcending into a blank during meditation is usually still in consciousness as some qualities remain.)

Nature designed the different senses for different vibratory states (elements) and different levels (koshas). Sight, for example, is attuned to light (the fire element) and the 3rd chakra, and mind. And yet, we’re able to “see” at all levels of creation because it’s a quality of consciousness. And consciousness itself is effulgent, lit. (Or backlit by Divinity, depending on your perspective.) Hearing attunes to vibration in space, the causal/celestial, and the throat. But again, we can get sound and vibratory qualities deeper than manifest space, as qualities of consciousness itself. And of course, as vibrations in the air that our physical ears are designed for.

The mind filters the sensory feed and “translates” it into relevant images and sounds, etc., then word and meaning associations. We have energetic and emotional responses, and then physiological responses in the brain and nervous system, and then that feeds back into the emotions, mind, etc.

We share a common world, but the way we each interpret it varies a lot.

This entire play leads to our experience. It’s not just the appearance, but how we respond to it and give it meaning. It’s a large blend of different densities of flows in consciousness, interacting with itself.

We can break down that play of nature into layers like the koshas or sheathes, the gunas, the elements and their matching senses, and so forth. But that’s just the detailing as the appearance seems to get more solid.

All this happens essentially instantly. To see the detail, we have to focus on one stage of the process. Humans are what Buckminster Fuller called “special case” – we experience one thing at a time. We can remind ourselves that the process itself is integrated and whole. It never becomes anything more than consciousness interacting in itself. Like an interactive movie playing in our shared collective. The rest is just ways of relating to it.

Some of our interpretations and response patterns get peeled off as we heal our past and shift into the present, in the physical body, in presence. Then we’re more and more in what is, as it is, now. We become much more aligned with the whole and with the flow of life. Things get smoother, easier, and more enjoyable. We still experience the full range – in fact, our range expands. More and bigger emotions, ideas, inspirations, and sensations. But we live this in an infinite, supportive container. Fullness of life in all its layers.
Davidya