We live in a world of thought, but we think we live in a world of external experience. The mind is not a camera, it’s a projector. We can’t tell the difference between an imagined experience ‘in here’ and what’s going on out there. — Michael Neill, The Space Within

Caught up in a movie.

During a recent workshop, I was reminded of how few people have a more modern understanding of how the mind works and how vital it is to have this understanding today.

You may have encountered the metaphor before that our mind works more like a projector, not a camera, which refers to how our brains process and interpret information.

A camera captures an image of the world as it is and records it. However, the mind doesn't work in the same way as a camera. Rather, it projects its own interpretation creating a subjective experience of reality.

In other words, the mind takes sensory information from the world around us and processes it through a filter of our previous experiences, beliefs, values, and expectations.

This subjective filter influences our perception of reality, creating a personalized version of what we see and experience.

Therefore, when people say that the mind works like a projector, they mean that it actively creates our reality experience by projecting our internal thoughts and beliefs onto the external world.

The projector metaphor suggests that our experience of being a separate individual, with our own thoughts, feelings, and perceptions, is illusory.

We are more like an actor playing a role on a movie screen. The actor and the character they are playing are not the same people!

We live in a world of thought and don't know it.

Gaining this understanding is life-changing and, in fact, world-changing. Our future may hinge on more of us gaining this understanding.

Helping you see what others can't see

The real problems today aren't global warming, pandemics, and global unease and unrest but rather our unnecessarily limited capacity to deal with them.

We've all been programmed by our parents, schools, and society to meet our challenges based on Industrial age thinking.

Much more is available when we learn to expand our inner capacities and increase our consciousness. When we do so, we discover greater wisdom and learn how to stop living in the past and allow the future to unfold through us.

The notion that our minds work more like a projector is just one of the many ways I help leaders, teams, and organizations achieve new levels of clarity, insight, and wisdom.

If you'd like to learn more or set up a meeting to discuss any of the above, please email me at bill@billfox.co or schedule a 20-minute call on Calendly. What else is possible?

— Bill