N.O. Pundit

Feel, Think, See, and Know

Glenn Reynolds has an interesting observation.

Why do some people start their sentences with "I feel ..." rather than "I think ...". What about "I see ..." or even "I know ...". Listen to how people characterize where their observations are coming from.

Would you agree to this continuum:

Less certainty <-------> More certainty

"I Feel ..." "I Think ..." "I See ..." "I Know ..."

New Age Warning Alert! Glenn stops with "I think ..." which actually makes sense to me. Glenn is an analytical rational being and for him it's good when things make sense. OK, let's muck into the New Age crap.

When you preface your observations with "I feel ..." you are telling your listener that you are communicating from your second chakra, the seat of your emotions. Emotions can certainly be powerful, but they aren't necessarily trustworthy in conveying certainty and neutrality in the thing you wish to convey.

Prefacing your observations with "I think ..." is the sign of someone using their fifth chakra and analyzer. Highly trustworthy if you live in Cartesian three-space. Worthless utterances to the hyperbolic and elliptical universe beings out there. Get it? Different axiomatic beginnings lead to wildly divergent realities. When you "think" you understand the discomfort of an American in shame, does this translate to an understanding of a Japanese person in shame? The former may flip the bird and get into a fight, the latter may commit hari-kiri.

"I see ..." is uttered by those in their sixth chakras. Don't these words intimate a person with clarity? The sixth chakra is the seat of clairvoyance, or clear seeing. "I see we have a problem here" may be uttered by the school principal upon witnessing the tail end of a student fracas. Just by witnessing the state, or the energy if you will, of this confrontation is enough input. One might even see the principal with a twinkle in his eye and some (concealed) amusement.

The final sentence prefix, "I know ..." shows someone working from their seventh chakra. Knowingness is to have an instantaneous grasp of a situation or scene. A knowledge of what to do and what is happening. If you are Christian you may have heard the Benediction near the end of church. It goes something like, "May God forgive you; may God watch over you; and may God grant you peace, which passes beyond all understanding". This divine peace is a seventh chakra energy. It can be known, but it cannot be understood. You cannot start a sentence about peace with the words, "I think ..."

Posted by nopundit at December 10, 2003 09:21 AM