"In a sense, the mind works like a flashlight: When you point a flashlight at an object in a dark room, that object emerges from the darkness, as if coming into existence."
— Somov, Pavel G.
Author
Place of Publication
Oakkland, CA
Publisher
New Harbinger Books
Date
2008
Metaphor
"In a sense, the mind works like a flashlight: When you point a flashlight at an object in a dark room, that object emerges from the darkness, as if coming into existence."
Metaphor in Context
Despite our mental agility, we are still disappointingly one-track. In a sense, the mind works like a flashlight: When you point a flashlight at an object in a dark room, that object emerges from the darkness, as if coming into existence. But when you move the flashlight away, the object—as far as your perception goes—ceases to exist. If you can’t see it, it doesn’t exist; if it doesn’t exist, you can’t experience it. When we eat and watch TV or talk, our minds are in a constant tug-of-war between the incoming stimuli competing for a chance at existence. In this ping-pong for attention, the mind loses conscious experience, and eating is reduced to a mindless hand-to-mouth behavior that we carry out with the unconsciousness of breathing: inhaling food by the mouthful.
(p. 74)
(p. 74)
Categories
Provenance
Contributed by Suzanne Morgen; Searching Google Books
Citation
Somov, Pavel G. Eating the Moment: 141 Mindful Practices to Overcome Overeating One Meal at a Time. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Books, 2008, p. 74.
Date of Entry
12/21/2009
