Fwd: [ITP] Perception

[Denise Tennen]

This seems somehow relevant to the discussion about youth leaders.

Notice how many times it says the children noticed the violinist and  
wanted to linger...

Denise

>>
>>
>>
>> ITP (integral transformative practise as described by philosopher  
>> Ken Wilbur) works to understand  useful patterns and find ways to  
>> incite others' interest but there are hurdles involved in  
>> expanding understanding and awareness (pick your definition).
>>
>> Attached is a fascinating piece about lack of perception -- or the  
>> UN-willingness of anyone to perceive anything that doesn't  
>> immediately interest them. This is a key problem for ITP'ers for  
>> it demonstrates a blank area in everyone's responsiveness -- an  
>> intentional blank region we won't fill in unless we are ready to  
>> change.
>>
>> Even then, if haste intervenes or our interest is focused  
>> elsewhere, we have little ability to attend to anything new --  
>> anything truly different from what we think or assume.
>>
>> We are happy to reorganize 'facts' into more convenient patterns  
>> or add new factoids to our beliefs.
>>
>> We are happy to believe in magic of various practical sorts -- but  
>> we block anything exceptionally different from our trains of  
>> thought for, even when we seek new scenery, our 'trains of  
>> thought' are truly on 'rails'.
>>
>> Imagine the new scenery that the microscope and telescope have  
>> brought us -- but all they reveal is physical. With much of what  
>> we see, we still have no idea why some of it happens. The  
>> implications these devices bring offer new areas for speculation  
>> but, first, we must engage an emotional self if we are to give a  
>> damn about something outside our frame of reference -- not just to  
>> expand that frame but to reconstruct it. No one understands  
>> Relativity or Quantum Mechanics by 'expanding' anything. They are  
>> different from everything that went before -- so different in fact  
>> that even those who understand are still mystified.
>>
>> Changing perception requires adjusting intent -- even for a moment.
>>
>> There is nothing in a view-finder that can do that for us.
>>
>> There is nothing we know that can tell us when, how or why to  
>> engage anything beyond our awareness.
>>
>> Beyond our awareness are things we cannot recognize -- for they  
>> are not in our history.
>>
>> We can still have access and many of them are both simple and  
>> beautiful.
>>
>>
>> Here's the piece:
>>
>> . . . Something To Think About . . .
>>

>> THE SITUATION
>>
>> In Washington , DC , at a Metro Station, on a cold January morning  
>> in 2007, this man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about  
>> 45 minutes.  During that time, approximately 2,000 people went  
>> through the station, most of them on their way to work.  After  
>> about 3 minutes, a middle-aged man noticed that there was a  
>> musician playing.  He slowed his pace and stopped for a few  
>> seconds, and then he hurried on to meet his schedule.
>>
>>
>> About 4 minutes later:
>>
>>
>> The violinist received his first dollar.  A woman threw money in  
>> the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.
>>
>>
>> At 6 minutes:
>>
>>
>> A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked  
>> at his watch and started to walk again.
>>
>>
>> At 10 minutes:
>>
>> A 3-year old boy stopped, but his mother tugged him along  
>> hurriedly.  The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but  
>> the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning  
>> his head the whole time.  This action was repeated by several  
>> other children, but every parent - without exception - forced  
>> their children to move on quickly.
>>
>>
>> At 45 minutes:
>>
>>
>> The musician played continuously.  Only 6 people stopped and  
>> listened for a short while.  About 20 gave money but continued to  
>> walk at their normal pace.  The man collected a total of $32.
>>
>> After 1 hour:
>>
>> He finished playing and silence took over.  No one noticed and no  
>> one applauded.  There was no recognition at all.
>>
>>  No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the  
>> greatest musicians in the world.  He played one of the most  
>> intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million  
>> dollars.  Two days before, Joshua Bell sold-out a theatre in  
>> Boston where the seats averaged $100 each to sit and listen to him  
>> play the same music.
>>
>>
>> This is a true story.  Joshua Bell, playing incognito in the D.C.  
>> Metro Station, was organized by the Washington Post as part of a  
>> social experiment about perception, taste and people's priorities.
>>
>> This experiment raised several questions:
>>
>>      *In a common-place environment, at an inappropriate hour, do  
>> we perceive beauty?
>>
>>      *If so, do we stop to appreciate it?
>>
>>      *Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?
>>
>>
>> One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this:
>>
>> If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best  
>> musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever  
>> written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made . . .
>>
>> How many other things are we missing as we rush through life?
>>
>


*
*
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