Last week, I talked about the kaleidoscope I use to help me find a way through the traffic jams of life.  Today, I’m talking about the first of three lenses: The Lens of Communication & Visibility.

The Lens of Communication & Visibility deals with all the sensorial inputs we humans receive…or seem not to.  This lens exists across three spectrums

• The 5 Senses
• The 6^th Sense
• Analog and Digital Sensors

Whether you realize it or not, you’re receiving sensory input across each of these spectrums.  As you read these words, your eyes see the words.  Your hands are touching the electronic device that’s displaying the digital pages.  You are also feeling something.  You may not be aware of it, but that 6^th sense is still there.  Finally, there’s probably some analog or digital sensor that you’re relying on while you’re reading this.  Your cell phone may have an alarm set to pull you back into reality, back from the consuming diversion that transcends all sense of space and time, the voluptuous experience that is “reading this blog.”

The 5 Senses

The 5 senses are smell, sight, sound, taste, and touch.  You might be thinking, “I get that sound and sight are communications and visibility, but what does smell, taste and touch have to do with either of those?”  One of the “ah ha” moments I had around that very question was when it occurred to me that Helen Keller had neither sight nor sound, and still communicated and “saw thing”…well enough to earn a college degree.  For Helen Keller, touch was a primary channel over which she exchanged communications and visibility.

The 6^th Sense

Some call this God.  Some call it The Universe.  Some call it The Force.  Some call it The Schwartz.  Whatever you call this 6^th sense, realize that it’s real.  It’s always communicating to, with, and through you.  The real question is, “Are you listening?” 

My understanding of string theory is that everything in the universe is based on vibration.  That theory resonates with me (yes, pun intended) in part because I come from a Christian perspective.  The Bible tells us that God spoke the universe into existence and upholds the universe by His spoken word.  Vibration is the medium through which speech – audible stuff – is communicated.  Everything has a vibrational frequency.  You have a vibrational frequency.  Emotions have vibrational frequencies.

When I struggle with this concept, I think about radio stations.  Radio stations have vibrational frequencies.  When I want to listen to 1200 AM WOAI, I tune the AM radio dial to 1200 kHz.  1200 kHz is the frequency at which WOAI vibrates.  And when I’m tuned in to that frequency, I have clear visibility into what they’re broadcasting. 

Here’s the beautiful thing.  There’s always broadcasts across every imaginable frequency.  I can choose which ones I want to tune in…and which ones I want to tune out.

Analog and Digital Sensors

Analog and digital sensors provide visibility into stuff we consume via the 5 senses.  I’ve included this section because analog and digital sensors measure things beyond our ability to detect with precision.  For example, we can sense heat.  However, not many of us are calibrated to the point where we can sense – with precision – the ambient temperature.  A thermometer does that, and then communicates the data visually so that we can see it.

So What?

The Lens of Communication and Visibility is important because it helps identify how I’m interacting across the three spectrums.  Through the kaleidoscope, this lens helps me identify where minor adjustments in my awareness of and attention to communications can provide huge improvements in visibility…and a pathway through the traffic jams of life.