While I thought that we all see life from different angles, I had thought it was from the level of our experience, but it may be more from the level of our awareness.
David Hawkins writes a neat example of how we see the world.
"Imagine a "bum" on a street corner: In an upscale neighborhood stands an old man in tattered clothes, alone and leaning against the corner of an elegant brownstone. Look at him from the perspective of various levels of consciousness, and note the inconsistency in how he appears to different people and viewpoints.
"From the bottom of the scale, at a level of 20, (Shame), the bum is seen to be dirty, disgusting, and disgraceful.
From the level 30 (Guilt) he'd be blamed for his condition: He deserves what he gets; he's probably a lazy welfare cheat.
At the level 50 (Hopelessness), his plight would appear desperate, a damning piece of evidence to prove that society can't do anything about homelessness.
At the level 75 (Grief), the old man looks tragic, friendless, and forlorn.
At a Conscious level of 100 (Fear), we might see the bum as threatening, a social menace; perhaps we should call the police before he commits some crime.
At 125 (Desire), he represents a frustrating problem – why doesn't somebody do something.
At 150 (Anger), the old man might look like he could be violent; or, on the other hand, one could be furious that such horrible conditions exist in our country today.
At 175 (Pride) he could be seen as an embarrassment or as lacking the self-respect to better himself.
At 200 (Courage), we might be motivated to wonder if there is a local homeless shelter – all he needs is a job and a place to live.
At 250 (Neutrality), the bum looks okay, maybe even interesting. "Live and let Live," we might say – after all, he's not hurting anyone.
At 310 (Willingness), we might decide to go down and see what we can do to cheer up that fellow on the corner; maybe we'd be motivated to volunteer some time at the local shelter.
At 350 (Acceptance), the man on the corner appears intriguing; He probably has an interesting story to tell; he's where he is for reasons we may never understand.
At 400 (Reason), he's a symptom of the current economic and social malaise, or perhaps a good subject for in-depth psychological study.
At the higher levels, the old man begins to look not only interesting, but friendly – and then lovable. Perhaps we'd then be able to see that he was, in fact, one who had transcended social limits and gone free a joyful old guy with the wisdom of age in his face and the serenity that comes from indifference to material things.
At 600 (Peace) he's revealed as our own self in a temporary expression.
When approached, the bum's response to these different levels of consciousness would vary with them. With some, he'd feel secure – with others, frightened or dejected. Some would make him angry, others would delight him; some he'd avoid, others he'd greet with pleasure. (And so it's said that we meet what we mirror.)
So much for the manner in which our level of consciousness – that is, the world we encounter as passive observers – decides what we see. It's true that we'll react to things in a fashion predicated by the level that we perceive them from, that is to say, external events may define conditions, but they don't determine the conscious level of human response. " David Hawkins
What I failed to take into consideration, along with the truth, is that we all see what we see depending upon our level of awareness. It isn't so much that the truth has different shades, but that we do.
We have darker shades of viewing life and you see how you feel or by your level of being.
I have learned that who I am to others, way depends on how they see themselves…and really their total understanding not only of self, but life and the Universe too.
I have felt many differing viewpoints of me…and how I was so wrongly perceived.
Just as this bum, I am a lady and they bring their own definition of me to me, and it is colored by their own self awareness. The lower the level, the worse of a person I become.
This has freed me to be me…and to make choices based on what I felt was the best for my soul.
What is also interesting, or at least it bears noting. It seems that the choices that are good for the soul, are not so good for the pride/ego person.
My old choices that helped me thrive in the lower levels are now extremely unappetizing to me now. It is like you lose the taste for old habits…the magnetism loses its attraction to you
What is also very cool, is that no one but you can change the level of your consciousness, its energy field is derived by your thought patterns and beliefs. What you believe…is your level of consciousness.
David Hawkins writes about making a leap in awareness.
"On our scale of consciousness, there are two critical points that allow for major advancement. The first is at 200, the initial level of empowerment; Here, the willingness to stop blaming and accept responsibility for one's own actions, feelings, and beliefs arises – as long as cause and responsibility are projected outside of oneself, one will remain in the powerless mode of victimhood. The second is at the 500 level, which is reached by accepting love and nonjudgmental forgiveness as a lifestyle, excercising unconditional kindnes to all persons, things and events without exception. (In 12-step recovery groups, it's said that there are no justified resentments -even if somebody "did you wrong." you're still free to choose your response and let resentment go.) Once one makes this commitment, he begins to experience a different, more benign world as his perceptions evolve." David
Beauty indeed is in the eye of the beholder…You simply can't see that which you are not aware of within you…the less of your self you know and undertand, the less of me you understand and know.
The more I have learned about me, the broader I view the world…the world is seen from our inner level of truth.
I M Perfect lady 