Perception is a tool of the mind that can bring profound changes to your life. First I believe it will help to clarify the difference between point of view and perception. Standing on a hill high above a battle scene or actually swinging a sword on the battle field are points of view. So is being a afro-american person who is required to sit in the back of the bus. Perception on the other hand is how this person experiences the situation. Is the person standing on the hill judging the battle below as good or bad, are they perceiving a win or loss? Is the afro-american person grateful to simply be on the bus or are they angry they have to sit in the back? Do you understand what perception is now?
Take a hard look at your life and see if you can find a different way to perceive it. Can you be grateful for something that maybe you were upset about before? How about seeing an enemy as someone who is simply acting through compulsion and not necessarily targeting you? Your choice to take things personally is a perception that you control! Have you heard of no-fault law? Where when an incident occurs each person takes responsibility for their own actions and no one is at fault. It is a common law concerning auto accidents in some states. Why can’t we simply use that principle in relation to everyone we meet whether they are in a car or not? Someone bumps you walking out of a store, you say “pardon me” and go on like nothing happened, thinking “I hope they make it where they are going safely.” This is the power of perception. You have created peace, harmony, and good-will in a simple choice of perception. Forgiveness can be a way of life!
Our minds are so powerful that they are the tools we use to create the life we desire to live. If you do not make choices consciously then they are made for you by your unconscious mind based on habitual decisions you made in the past. We are even affected by other people’s choices which in some cases can be a good thing, like when someone drags you out of a burning building after you where knocked unconscious, unless it is not. You decide everything, because it is your life! Just remember that your life is connected to everyone else’s life to the point everything you think, say and do affects someone. Now this can seem like a big responsibility, but it is not. Why? Because all is interconnected and what you put out you get back. Change your life for the better by shifting your perception of events to the Highest Good. Look for the good things in life, expect opportunities to present themselves, and be grateful for everything that happens in your life no matter what it looks like on the surface. 😉 Sequoia Elisabeth
Oneness Ministry 
Very nice, Sequoia. And very Buddhist too. 🙂 -Dora
Thanks for the feedback. I will be thinking of you today when we have our Tao Te Ching discussion group.