Welcome to this week’s Pebbles in the Pond Blog, written by Bill Harvey
November 13, 2026
MIND MAGIC / MIND EXPERIMENTS: The 50th Anniversary Edition Excerpt Series: Part 15
If it is an object someone has created, we do not say to ourselves, “It is not well done.” This merely means, “It is not done in the way usually considered well done.”
Our expectations create a perceptual screen. We can remove the screen by having no expectations of what we are looking at, allowing ourselves to see what the object’s creator saw rather than comparing it to any other.
As we grow older, we are told that object after object is not beautiful; we see fewer and fewer objects as beautiful; fewer and fewer percepts enthrall us. We are looking at things through the eyes of others, accepting what they have told us about what is and is not beautiful. We are comparing each created object with other previously created objects that others told us were or were not well done.
Every object is art, and every object can be appreciated, but only if it is looked at without expectations. Seeing it this way, we can accept art criticism as art-in-itself and ignore it as art-criticism-per-se.
Ignore usual concepts of
what is beautiful or ugly.
See what is really out there.
It was all put there by the same Artist.
Implications: Instead of looking at a situation and saying it is dull, we ask ourselves who do we know who would consider it dull. These are the people who have programmed us to see this situation as dull. Then, we ask ourselves what we can learn from the situation. When we find the answer, dullness will turn to luster.
Rather than looking away from an object, saying we have seen such things before, we close our eyes and attempt to recreate it in full detail. Could we draw a detailed sketch of the object? If not, we likely retain only a hazy image of it, less precise than we suppose; we have not yet gleaned all the information.
By looking at objects as if to reproduce them, not merely recognize them again, our senses can bring us information if we let them. For example, we might ask ourselves why they are shaped precisely the way they are. There are reasons.
Before looking at a situation and saying it is bad, we ask ourselves instead how good might come out of it. By finding and grasping that angle, we can actualize the latent good as much as possible. In retrospect, we may laugh at the memory of thinking the situation was bad. Bad things have such potential for good that it becomes difficult to maintain the position that anything is bad.
Enjoy simple things rather than always demanding more complex ones. Concentrating on an apparently simple thing will reveal it to have more complexity than was at first apparent.
Concentration reveals that the simple-complex variable is an illusion. For example, instead of saying a substance is tasteless, we strive to experience its subtler taste.
This rule can be applied to all our senses.
Visualize feelings as chords played on a multiplex organ.
This musical instrument offers more chords to be enjoyed than merely one (happiness). Therefore, we learn to enjoy all its chords, even those the unenlightened might deem dissonant and agonizing.
We keep asking the questions we have yet to find satisfactory answers to. We and the universe are always changing, which will gradually make some of these questions answerable. We may find that if we ask ourselves a question we long ago gave up asking, we may now have some data in the files that will cast some light on possible answers.
Mind Experiments
This week we have many Experiments. You can choose to do all of them or those that resonate with you. It may only be one. You may also want to review the last two weeks’ blog posts – Parts 13 and 14 – and then you may find some of these experiments work more closely with what was presented there.
Download questionnaire
1. “Without comparing” experiment
When you have nothing in particular to do, pick an object in your environment and look at it closely.
Imagine a vacuum behind your eyes: any memory or association triggered by what you see gets sucked into this vacuum as quickly as it arises.
You see only what is in front of you, as if for the first time. This experiment is excellent for art galleries and museums as well.
2. Surprise mirror experiment
Every now and then, you see a person and then realize it is you in a mirror you weren’t expecting to see.
Whenever that happens, get a good look at yourself before you realize it’s you and stop really seeing. (From Rhythms of Vision, Croom Helm Ltd., London, with thanks to Lawrence Blair.)
3. Dullness experiment
The next time you’re feeling bored, stay with it to understand the state as fully as possible.
Don’t ask questions so much, simply “look at what is there”.
4. I Spy
Keep a writing implement and paper with you so that when you are “on hold” or waiting for something, you can practice sketching faces and objects “as if for a military report”.
5. How to turn for good
Whenever you find yourself thinking of something as bad, visualize a scenario in which you turn that item into something good. The initial scenario might be pure science fiction; i.e., it need not be realistic.
This first scenario will provide the foundation for a realistic subsequent scenario. Consider materializing it when you reach a fully believable and attractive scenario.
6. Subtlety experiment
Learn to detect the information in blandness:
- Be conscious of the taste of water.
- Let yourself see the grain in objects.
- Don’t ignore shadows and reflections.
Always go one step deeper than anyone expects.
7. Agony enjoyment
The next time you hurt, set aside all other distractions and concentrate on “observing” the hurt itself as scientifically and objectively as possible. Just feel it so you can report “what is actually there.”
What does it feel like? What is the feeling in and of itself?
When you get inside the hurt, and it no longer matters quite so much, imagine your future self reflecting on that hurt once it becomes just a memory. Pre-experience the relief you will feel whenever you recall the hurt and no longer feel it.
When you no longer care about the hurt at all, go back and deliberately feel it as a pleasure-pain experience for a little while (going too far in this stage may lead to wasting considerable time with consequences).
When you become bored with this stage, let the pain go and return to your life.
8. What did I ever want to know?
What questions have you asked over the course of your life?
Can you answer them now?
Our best wishes to all,
THEI Team