As covered in class, Virginia Woolf used tunneling
in Mrs. Dalloway to explain her
characters’ attitudes, beliefs, current feelings, actions, and so on.
Furthermore, in the scene of the plane writing letters in the sky we readers
see how different people see something different, though they were watching the
same: for example, while a woman is spelling what is written as “K, R,”
Septimus conceives in his mind the phrase kay
arr, which meaning is “fry someone’s brain.” This particular scene from Mrs. Dalloway is to me a good example of
the fragmentation of reality, which as seen in class implies that objectivity
doesn’t exist and that we can just have access to fragments of reality. Thus,
every human being has on their mind their own version of reality, of the truth,
of everything that surrounds us.
Considering all of the above, I suggest that
you read this article which is part of a series entitled “How Your Beliefs Create
Your Reality?” which I believe will make you put your own beliefs into
perspective. Another reason for reading
this is that although they aren’t explicitly mentioned, it helps to understand
the concepts of fragmentation of reality and the importance of tunneling ones’
lives to understand why we believe what we believe. For example, in the first article it is stated
that “everything we see, experience, think and feel is adjusted to fit with our
beliefs,” thus, “our version of reality is a creation of our beliefs.” In those
quotations lies the concept of fragmentation covered in class in that it can be
inferred that since we humans don’t experience the same things, and that even
if we do, we don’t feel the same way as we experience them, our beliefs are
prone to be different. Thus, on a given experience, we’ll tend to adjust it to
our beliefs, and our opinions toward it will be different.
Moreover, it is also stated that our beliefs
operate unconsciously. This part is very important because some of our beliefs
are deeply integrated to our perception and opinions, so much that we don’t
realize that they aren’t applicable to our adult lives. For example, if we as
children were taught that a person dressed in a particular way is a thief or is
dangerous, perhaps we unconsciously judge people dressed that way as such,
though they aren’t necessarily thieves or dangerous people; perhaps they are
just poor. Thus, it is, I believe, of utmost importance that we make our
beliefs explicit so that our judgment of life, of events, and mainly of people
isn’t influenced by obsolete beliefs that more than uniting us as Clarissa’s
party did with every person invited to it, they are just alienating us more and
more.
So I leave you classmates with the invitation
to put your own beliefs into perspective.
Very interesting reflection, Jorge. Is amazing how fast thoughts run through the mind and had an impact in how reality is perceived. You're right when saying that every person has his own version of reality; there are many versions as people in the world. All that we have been through in the past make us the person we are now, tunneling occurs on and on during our daily lives and it is inevitable to happen. Like in the novel, during a common day we revoke the past thousand of times! And as you invited us, maybe putting these thoughts (that are part of our beliefs) into perspective is a good idea in order to meditate on how we feel about something and how we act.
ResponderBorrarI read the article, it was pretty engaging. As you and the article suggest, I think it would be very interesting (at least for me) to put our thoughts and beliefs in perspective, since most of us are not used to think about why we believe or we think what we think. Moreover, as future teachers, we should encourage our students to question what they are taught in order for them to develop their own way of learning, thinking and views of the world.
ResponderBorrarI agree with what you, Jorge, have written and what Andrea have commented. Reality can mean completely different things for each person; based on their experiences, people undergo things so differently that it is really hard not to assume that reality is variable. From my perspective, reality is formed by an event and its repercussions on each person's mind mingling it with their past and history, yet it is true that there is a consensus reality that we all agree to believe and share. I think the article you have posted aids to support this point, and the law of attraction theory encloses what I have just mentioned in a simpler and easier way to understand.
ResponderBorrarIt is relevant to restate that feelings, emotions, values, beliefs, experiences and the past take part of an event's aftermath leading to a different perception on ones’ reality, as you explained in that lucid example about Mrs. Dallaway and Septimus looking at the letters formed in the sky. That is why I think tunneling is so vitally important in Virginia Woolf's Mrs Dallaway; unearthing the history of each character makes us understand what is going on in their minds and why these characters are behaving in a certain way.