Right now there is more information coming in from all your senses than you could ever possibly keep conscious track of. Fortunately, the mental filters of your pre-conscious mind limit what you become aware of.

One estimate (I’d say more of a guess) I’ve seen is that the pre-conscious brain processes and filters several orders of magnitude more information than is passed onto The conscious brain.

Consider the fact that all the sensory nerves in your body continually fire, sending information to your brain, most of which you are never aware of. If I asked you what your right foot feels like you can tell me. But before I asked, you probably weren’t consciously aware of the messages coming from your foot.

That’s an example of how this mental filtering works.

Here’s an example of how these mental filters can determine the reality we perceive. I used to drive a silver Camry. When I’m on the road now I notice green Intrepids  like the one I used to drive.

All the others cars on the road fade into the general category of “cars” but the preconscious mind continually screens the incoming information for something that might be important to me. When it sees a car like my old Intrepid, it brings it to my conscious awareness.

This makes it clear that our mental filters determine what we’re able to perceive in the world around us.

I see a road filled with silver Toyotas and you see red Chevys. They’re both there, but what each of us sees is determined by our filters.

This makes it pretty clear that the quality and type of a person’s mental filters are a big determinant in the quality of their life.

Since these mental filters are so important, you’d think everyone would pay more attention to how they’re formed and what they are. But they don’t.

It can be different for you. Assume responsibility for your mental filters and change them to help you live your best possible life.

I’ve found a site that will help you do that: www.JFMcCaffreyMD

Dr McCaffrey has a lot of information on all aspects ofvital living - mental, physical and emotional. you can read a bit more about mental filters at: How Real Is Your Reality?

I think you’ll also enjoy the page: Improve Your Worldview - A Modest Proposal to tell you an easy way to eliminate one the most negative influences on our mental filters.

While you’re at the site, be sure to sign up to get the free special The Surprising Power of the Heart. it’s information I haven’t seen any place else. Among other things, it tells you how much more influence messages from the heart have on the brain than the other way around. Be sure to check it out.

 

 

Technorati Tags: , , ,