We all know beauty when we see it, but defining beauty is something else entirely. Webster’s defines beauty as “the quality which makes an object seem pleasing or satisfying in a certain way; those qualities which give pleasure to the esthetic sense, as by line, color, form, texture, proportion, rhythmic motion, tone, etc., or by behavior, attitude, etc.” We all grew up hearing phrases like “beauty is skin deep,” and “beauty is as beauty does,” but what is beauty? What exactly is that certain quality or qualities that determine if beauty is present in a person, place or thing? Perhaps the most popular phrase regarding beauty is also the most accurate—“beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” Or is it?
How many times have you met someone that you considered beautiful or handsome and yet once you really got to know them they no longer seemed attractive to you? Their personality had totally colored their looks to the negative. They went from being gorgeous to downright unattractive in your eyes. In fact, you couldn’t even decipher what you had initially found to be attractive in them. Or perhaps, just the opposite has happened. You meet someone who at first glance is most unattractive, yet once you get to know them they become remarkably attractive in your sight. Their personality colors their looks to the positive.
The above examples would indicate that beauty really is in the eye of the beholder. But if that’s the case, then two questions immediately come to my mind. 1). What beauty is the beholder really seeing? and 2). Is the beholder entirely responsible for seeing the beauty that he/she beholds?
All dissatisfaction with your life can be attributed to the difference between what is really true and what you think is true. How you see life cannot be more or less than what you believe it to be, and who you are and what you believe to be true is something that you have made up. Your perception is a reflection of your beliefs. In fact, perception is your belief projected out into the world. Let’s take a look at truth versus perception.
Imagine for a moment that you are standing in the middle of an unfamiliar room (truth). You cannot move and you have blinders on (just like they put on horses). A blind man asks you to describe the room to him. You describe everything in your line of vision with great detail for the man. Just when you are convinced that you have depicted the total truth about this room, the floor beneath you shifts ninety degrees and you are viewing the room (truth) from a new perspective. You are now able to describe more of the room to the man. When you think you have now fully described the entire room, the floor once again shifts 90 degrees beneath your feet to reveal a new perspective once again. This continues until you have seen the entire 360 degrees of the room (truth).
In all of the above instances you thought that your limited perception was the total truth until you saw more of the room. You hopefully realize that even after seeing the total room you have not seen the house, or the land it sits on, or the town the house is in, the state, the country, the Universe etc. There is always a higher truth.
When you are describing for someone that part of your truth (room) that you can presently see, you are describing your immediate truth or your perception. You would have to turn full circle to see the whole truth. Two people viewing the same room from similar perspectives would still describe the room differently depending upon their belief systems and those things that they hold to be important to them.
Everything that seems to happen in the outside world is a reflection of what is going on in the subconscious part of the mind. The subconscious holds your beliefs of truth and bears total responsibility for your life experiences. Think of the mind as being the greatest computer ever made. The conscious mind is like a window to the world. It becomes aware of new things and compares it to the already existing data in the subconscious mind to decide what to retain and what to reject. If your hard drive (subconscious) is programmed with negative beliefs then you will keep seeing negative things (conscious). Everything that you are observing is a witness for what presently exists in your belief system. Knowing this information, let’s go back to my two questions.
What beauty is the beholder really seeing? He or she is seeing the only beauty there really is—Inner Beauty. That is the incredible beauty that comes from radiating the joy from within oneself. Is the beholder entirely responsible for seeing the beauty that he/she beholds? No. Each and every one of us is responsible for what we project out into the world. If we believe we are ugly, fat, stupid, unworthy, unlovable etc. then the rest of the world will honor our beliefs and feel the same toward us. Each and every one of us is responsible for finding our inner joy and projecting it out to the world so that everybody can see our inner beauty.
True beauty is both in the eye of the beholder and the beholden. True beauty is joy. True beauty is self-worth. True beauty comes from believing in yourself. You are worthy, smart, creative and capable. Don’t forget that. Stand tall in the light of who you are. What is beautiful? You are beautiful. You are the definition of beauty—Believe it!
Debbie Darling, ©2014 The Presentation Pros
Read more of The Presentation Pros blog HERE.
The above examples would indicate that beauty really is in the eye of the beholder. But if that’s the case, then two questions immediately come to my mind. 1). What beauty is the beholder really seeing? and 2). Is the beholder entirely responsible for seeing the beauty that he/she beholds?
All dissatisfaction with your life can be attributed to the difference between what is really true and what you think is true. How you see life cannot be more or less than what you believe it to be, and who you are and what you believe to be true is something that you have made up. Your perception is a reflection of your beliefs. In fact, perception is your belief projected out into the world. Let’s take a look at truth versus perception.
Imagine for a moment that you are standing in the middle of an unfamiliar room (truth). You cannot move and you have blinders on (just like they put on horses). A blind man asks you to describe the room to him. You describe everything in your line of vision with great detail for the man. Just when you are convinced that you have depicted the total truth about this room, the floor beneath you shifts ninety degrees and you are viewing the room (truth) from a new perspective. You are now able to describe more of the room to the man. When you think you have now fully described the entire room, the floor once again shifts 90 degrees beneath your feet to reveal a new perspective once again. This continues until you have seen the entire 360 degrees of the room (truth).
In all of the above instances you thought that your limited perception was the total truth until you saw more of the room. You hopefully realize that even after seeing the total room you have not seen the house, or the land it sits on, or the town the house is in, the state, the country, the Universe etc. There is always a higher truth.
When you are describing for someone that part of your truth (room) that you can presently see, you are describing your immediate truth or your perception. You would have to turn full circle to see the whole truth. Two people viewing the same room from similar perspectives would still describe the room differently depending upon their belief systems and those things that they hold to be important to them.
Everything that seems to happen in the outside world is a reflection of what is going on in the subconscious part of the mind. The subconscious holds your beliefs of truth and bears total responsibility for your life experiences. Think of the mind as being the greatest computer ever made. The conscious mind is like a window to the world. It becomes aware of new things and compares it to the already existing data in the subconscious mind to decide what to retain and what to reject. If your hard drive (subconscious) is programmed with negative beliefs then you will keep seeing negative things (conscious). Everything that you are observing is a witness for what presently exists in your belief system. Knowing this information, let’s go back to my two questions.
What beauty is the beholder really seeing? He or she is seeing the only beauty there really is—Inner Beauty. That is the incredible beauty that comes from radiating the joy from within oneself. Is the beholder entirely responsible for seeing the beauty that he/she beholds? No. Each and every one of us is responsible for what we project out into the world. If we believe we are ugly, fat, stupid, unworthy, unlovable etc. then the rest of the world will honor our beliefs and feel the same toward us. Each and every one of us is responsible for finding our inner joy and projecting it out to the world so that everybody can see our inner beauty.
True beauty is both in the eye of the beholder and the beholden. True beauty is joy. True beauty is self-worth. True beauty comes from believing in yourself. You are worthy, smart, creative and capable. Don’t forget that. Stand tall in the light of who you are. What is beautiful? You are beautiful. You are the definition of beauty—Believe it!
Debbie Darling, ©2014 The Presentation Pros
Read more of The Presentation Pros blog HERE.
