The brain is a marvelous tool. It never forgets
anything, and picks up on things, intuitions, and communications that are not
even registered on our thinking mind. Unfortunately, the brain also prevents us
from seeing much of the wildlife and beauties that are there to see because it
likes security in the things it is looking at. In other words, it will
automatically seek out and look at all those images on the landscape that are
familiar to us.
Steven van Mathre, in his book Acclimitazation, states:
"Observe the overall aspects of a scene; approach as if you've never seen
it before and seek out the horizons. Use peripheral vision. Avoid looking at the
familiar objects, your mind does it automatically and distorts the unique."
Essentially, what he is saying is that your brain likes to look at the familiar,
thus keeping you from seeing all the things around you.
In any town you can always tell the tourists. They are
the people that are always looking up and around, taking in all the new sights.
But after one time in the town the mind has already taken over and even the
tourists begin to walk around just looking at the same familiar things. People
also do this in the natural world, and when you do this you are saying, "If
an animal isn't standing where I'm used to looking, them I am not going to see
him".
The best way to return to the tourist attitude is to
force yourself to look in places that you only glance over. Yes, the word is
force. Your mind will fight you all the way, but the rewards justify the fight.
