Helping Others — Practicing Multiple Points of View — Having More Than One View of the Same Thing
Helping Others
Practicing Multiple Points of View
Having More Than One View of the Same Thing:
You will be perceiving things from more than one angle. An angle can be an attitude, a feeling, a belief, or a physical position. To practice, start with a physical object, then, when you have the idea, graduate to people.
Let's say you have a block of wood that is 1 inch high, 1 inch wide, and 2 inches long.
First, view the block straight from one end. What you see is a wooden square 1 inch on each side.
Second, view the block straight from one side. What you see is a wooden rectangle. At this point you can be fairly certain (for the sake of the drill) that the wood is a three dimensional object twice as long as it is wide. However, to make sure, we look at it from another angle.
Third, view the block so that you can see one end and two of the sides. Now, you see the object is indeed three dimensional, twice as long as it is wide.
Fourth, view the other end of the block and the two sides that you haven't seen yet. See if there's a difference. Is one side painted, a different color or texture?
Fifth, pick up the block to get a sense of its weight (another point of view).
Sixth, view the block from all sides at different distances. How does it appear?
Okay, that is the simplicity of it.
Now, it's time to practice on people.
Your point of view is how you see things. Let's use a joke as an example. You hear the joke. Do you see it as good, bad, confusing, dark, too bright, acceptable – how do you see it? The way you view the joke is one point of view of the joke. Now see the joke from a different point of view. You might see it as something your kids might enjoy, as likely to be improved upon, as somewhat sad, as really funny – any point of view will do, provided it's different from your first. Now take that joke and use your imagination to view it from as many points as you can.
Then look about you and choose something or someone else. Determine what your point of view is. Then use your imagination and view it from as many different points as you can.
Every point of view has the same validity as every other point of view.
The better you get at this, the more numerous your vistas and the broader they become. Your ability to view all as equally valid will become better and better. Your sense of power over your own destiny, your intuition, and your sense of who and what you are will become so infused with certainty that there will no longer be any question of right and wrong.
