The idea behind this expression is that each of us, as human beings, has a fragmented understanding of reality due to our own limitations, both in gathering and processing information.

Moreover, the fact that we are at a given time and in a given space means that we only have a subjective perspective of what is happening. Therefore, different people have different interpretations of the same event. Then come all the distortions and biases that occur when processing this information.

Information from the outside reaches the brain in the form of electrical impulses, and it is the brain that has to decode this information and generate a mental representation of an image, sound, smell, sensation or taste. In other words, the brain does not smell, hear, feel, see or taste. It only processes information. Moreover, to process it, it uses many systems, some of them developed through years of experimenting with the outside world and with the collaboration of various senses.

Previous experiences and the ideas we have about something also condition what we end up seeing. The brain receives so much information from the outside world that whenever possible it generates shortcuts to save energy.

The implications of the fact that what we perceive is only a version of what is really happening extend to both communication and emotional management.

Conflicts occur when both parties want to be right or do not realise that they are partially right.

The biggest causes of suffering come from thinking that the problem we have is in itself a problem instead of understanding that it is our interpretation of what is happening that creates the problem.

“Perception always intercedes between reality and ourselves”

Rene Magritte