"Even in the darkest darkness of the night, the sun still shines. It is only your narrow point of view that makes it appear otherwise." Happy Cow
I sat down opposite the psychologist as he explained to me the experiment in which I was going to take part. After he had finished, he led me into a small room in which there was a TV hooked up to a DVD player.
"Just relax and watch the short video," he told me.
He pushed some buttons and then left me alone in the room as the video began. The programme seemed very odd. The screen just flashed between dark and light and there was a lot of loud banging. In the background I thought I could hear some faint music, but I could not work out whether or not I recognised it. The banging made it very hard to concentrate on the faint music. The experience was rather disconcerting.
After a few minutes, the video ended and the psychologist returned to the room. He ejected the DVD from the player, inserted a different one, pressed the play button and then left the room once more.
This time I immediately recognised the video to be showing a stage performance of Riverdance, which I had seen a number of times before. The dancers had changed, but I recognised the familiar music and unmistakable synchronised Irish Dancing. I relaxed and enjoyed the wonderful spectacle, feeling rather disappointed when it ended abruptly mid-show and the psychologist popped his head around the door, inviting me to exit the room with him.
He gestured for me to sit down at the table again and then handed me a pen and a questionnaire. The questionnaire asked various questions about how I was feeling while watching the two videos. You have probably come across something similar. Tick the box between one and five for the various questions.
After I had finished the questionnaire, the psychologist thanked me. Then he asked me if I had any idea what the first video was. Having answered the questions I now had a good idea what the experiment was all about.
The first video was of the same performance, but from a different perspective. The camera and microphone were in the stage, the camera pointing vertically. The narrow perspective had produced a dramatically different experience.
"So what is discord at one level of your being is harmony at another level." Alan Watts
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