Your 'Fierce' Perception - An Owner's Manual

S eeing is perceiving; seeing is believing; seeing is knowing. You show up, stay present, open your eyes, engage your senses, and let the reality in front of you soak in, as you allow sight, sound, smell, taste & touch feed you all the data you need to fully engage with the world. But are you absolutely convinced of the completeness of the reality that you’re perceiving? And how does your ‘Fierce’ Perception (FP) fit in?!

The word fierce is from the old French fiers: ‘Fierce, brave, proud’, and from the Latin ferus: ‘Untamed.’ So your ‘Fierce’ Perception is the courageous, perceptual engine of your untamed consciousness. Why is it courageous? Keep reading my friend, because drama is anticipation, mingled with uncertainty!

In my previous posts I’ve discussed ‘Hacking Creative Gravity,’ tools for ‘Scribblers’, and explored the ‘Anatomy of a ‘Creative,’ so I think we’re ready to deconstruct Your ‘Fierce’ Perception: the courageous, perceptual engine’ of your untamed consciousness. The newest Post in our Creativity Series.

Perception has become pretty ‘ho hum’ for most of us. Sure it’s a core program in the human OS, but our appreciation of it’s sublime powers has been systematically co-opted by it’s flashier partner – action – which constantly demands our attention! Unfortunately, we’ve been conditioned to praise action’s muscular outcomes, over perception’s thoughtful grab bag of impressions. But our addiction to action puts the cart before the horse, because perception drives action. Without it, we would have become extinct long ago.

Warning! When you place action over perception, you hobble your innate creative genius. Perception is the blood that flows through the heart of creativity, and it feeds, energizes, and renews body & spirit by connecting us to the energies that surround us. Acting without fierce perception can turn your life into a Roman Wilderness of Pain.

Whenever you read a story, listen to music, or watch a performance, episode, or movie that really touches you – you are experiencing fierce perception in action. But the same goes for ANY activity or accomplishment that resonates, because FP expands our field of vision into the ‘Collective-Connective,’ the place where we link to and Free-Associate with the familial nature of all things. And opens the doors to the imaginal space where icons & archetypes ‘Power Link’ us to sympathetic ideas, people and resources.

Interesting Fact: Why do some movies fall flat, while others blast into the box office stratosphere? It’s the quality & quantity of fierce perception that filmmakers use to craft the Story, gather the creative team, and make the movie. It’s why “Harry Potter,” “Lord of the Rings,” and “Star Wars” were mega hits; while “The Gods of Egypt,” “The 13th Warrior,” and “Battlefield Earth” fell short… Think about the hits & misses that you’ve experienced in any area of your life, can you see the Perceptual patterns opening up? Oh yeah, you’re cooking with fire now!

A s a sentient being, using your FP is also central to achieving personal bliss. Without it, you can intellectually understand the world, but not really know the world – or yourself. It’s similar to the vast gulf between liking someone, and loving someone; and yes, it’s key to our ability to love, because to deeply know anything thing, or anyone, you have to love them! FP allows us to step beyond the mundane and restrictive and pass into the transcendent state of Knowing. So ask yourself this question, do I know myself? Not just the shining face and great hair, we see that Story in the mirror every day, but the completely divine, creative, you? If you answered No, then continue reading; if Yes, continue reading anyway, because with power comes responsibility and this manual is designed to help you energize your Bliss by blasting open The Doors of Perception.

Backstory • About fifteen years ago I struggled with several personal challenges that left me feeling agitated, sad, and confused. I discovered Leonard Cohen’s soulful tune, ‘Anthem,’ and this lyric helped me clear it all up “…There is a crack, a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in…” My crack, and the love of family & friends, allowed my fierce perceptive wisdom to light me up, and revealed that the ‘Crack’ is a door to understanding ‘Everything.’ Switching those two words – a tiny adjustment in Perception – resulted in a massive sea-change in my life’s story. This perceptual shift showed me the joys of Creative Gravity; unleashed the fierce perception I needed to build a better life; and encouraged me to let ‘Gratitude is my Be-Attitude!’

Finally a word about courage, since fierce perception is the courageous, perceptual engine, of your untamed consciousness. I define courage as the selfless act of facing the unknown, and willingly accepting it’s big ‘R’ Reality (in all it’s conflicting glory). If you are conditioned to think a certain way, it takes courage to alter your perceptions and accept the Reality of what is, as opposed to what you want it to be. Every time you step up with courage to challenge established perceptions, you draw on the power of creativity to make a positive change in yourself, and in the world.

‘Fierce’ Perception – ‘Quick Start’ Guide:

Step 1 • Prep your Workspace: Take paper and pen, find a quiet, comfortable place to sit, and settle in. Close your eyes, then take five slow, deep breaths. Look inward and focus your attention on the ‘Fierce’ Perception content that you’ve just read. Open your eyes and continue to Step 2.

Step 2 • Unpack your Consciousness: Take note of the ‘general’ perceptions you have of yourself, your family, your friends, your work, your community, and your world. Take your time, the process is more important than the product. Pay particular attention to every perception that feels tight, or elicits strong emotions like impatience, anger, and/ or frustration. Note any feeling that ‘drains‘ you and write it down, rating the emotional charge from one to ten: One = ‘Meh;’ Ten = ‘Please make it Stop immediately!!!’ Now order the list and put the highest charged at the top.

Step 3 • Engage your ‘Courage’ Drive: If you are a naturally courageous individual, start at the top of your list and pick the scariest, most charged perception to examine. But if you’re like me, start at the bottom with the least scary and work your way up. Starting ‘small’ helps you adjust to the process and builds your courageous confidence for facing the big ticket items at the top of the list.

Step 4 • Gentlefolk, Start your Perception Engines: Give your full attention – one at a time – to each perception. Focus on the perception at hand and carefully cycle through each of your five senses: Sight, sound, smell, and taste. Take ample time to recall each impression made on you; take notes if it helps; and then ask yourself “Is my perception of these impressions true?” If you get a NO, proceed to Step 5 immediately. If nothing comes up, or you get a ‘false positive’ (a perception that refuses to accept your desire to face & change it), put the perception aside and let your subconscious work on it, knowing that your consciousness will eventually pop it back into your psychological InBox when you’re ready to face it. Now move on to Step 5.

Step 5 • Now Shift into High Gear: Shifting is the most exciting part of the process, it’s where your creative rubber hits the perceptive road. Start by following the pulsing thread of the most charged sense memory and allow yourself to fully ‘feel’ the emotion/s connected to it. If you experience a flashback to past experiences, don’t worry, it’s how your creativity re-purposes experience to create a new perceptions – like Legos, your creative consciousness will just keep reusing them to build new stuff! After the charge dissipates ask yourself this question “What do I Perceive now?” Do you feel a positive buzz? A trickle of joyous energy shooting through your body? Great! Now Speak your new perception out loud and fully ‘Own It,’ letting it’s exuberant momentum guide you to the winners circle!

How you ‘Perceive’ determines what you ‘Receive.’ The clearer and more connected your ‘Fierce’ Perception is, the more energy and creativity you flow – when you take one step forward, the object of your attention takes two steps toward you. This means your Fierce Perceptive skillset will translate into every facet of your life. Think of it as the swiss army knife of your creative process, and remember to give yourself the time and space to practice using it until it becomes second nature. Confidence and flexibility are the keys to creative happiness, and you deserve to have it!

I love watching that checkered flag wave, and seeing you in the winner’s circle, so pop the champagne! Then, when you’re ready, move on to the next changeable perception; repeat Steps 1-5; and keep going until you’ve re-tooled every perception that is obstructing your uniquely amazing life. After you’ve ticked off everything on your list, you can relax and cruise into perceptual maintenance mode, consciously adjusting your perceptions as needed. Keep doing this and I promise you that your creative energy will jump from Kilowatts to Petawatts, and you’ll have all the flow you need to lavish on everyone and everything you love – especially you…

And be sure to write it all down so you have a record of your success, and share it with us, because we love celebrating your fabulous ferocity!

Now, a parting gift for all of you ‘Creatives’ out there: Are you experiencing a prickly problem with one of your creations? If so, you can engage the five steps above to re-vision your work. The process of shifting your perception can dissolve barriers and create a deeper relationship with your work. And whenever you deepen any relationship, you’re allowing more love and creativity to flow into it!

Here are a some personal recommendations to ‘Fierce’ up your perception skills: