Perception Through Narrative: How Stories Construct Our Reality.

The believer lives a fundamentally different life from the unbeliever. I’ve written about the power of stories and how they profoundly shape our perception and understanding of the world. This influence isn’t just metaphorical - it has a physiological impact as well. In this way, our entire existence is transformed by what we believe.

One of the clearest ways to distinguish between the experience of belief and unbelief is through the following observations:

The believer sees the world through a relational lens. In other words, they understand their existence as being connected to something beyond themselves - something transcendent. Thus, their sense of meaning arises from fulfilling this relational connection.

A clear example of this is the numinous experience - an encounter with the mysterious or the sacred - which is something nearly all people experience, regardless of belief. However, while the experience itself may be universal and undeniable, the way it is interpreted and experienced depends heavily on one's underlying narrative structures. These narratives profoundly shape not only the understanding of the experience but also the very nature of the experience itself.

Consider the experience of witnessing a beautiful sunset. You emerge from the shadows and are met with the gentle joy of birdsong, the soft orchestration of a whispering breeze, all coming together in a harmonious moment. This sensory tapestry evokes a profound sense of awe - one that envelops your entire being.

The experience of the numinous is universal - something we have all encountered. For the believer, however, this experience is deeply relational, pointing toward the transcendent. The sense of beauty is felt as an echo from beyond, a quiet whisper in the ear. For the believer, this whisper resembles the intimacy of a personal relationship. The experience of beauty is understood and internalised as a message from the transcendent, reaching out to them.

Moreover, even the birds’ gentle hum and the soft rustle of the wind, set against the backdrop of an ominous sunset, take on a deeper poignancy. For the believer, these sensations are not merely natural occurrences - they are perceived as the touch of a hand reaching out from beyond.

As a result, one’s physiological experience becomes more vivid, intentional, and infused with meaning. The entire experience becomes more vivid and deeply poignant.

For the believer, fullness is inseparable from a reference to the transcendent. It is grounded in a relationship with something beyond the self. In contrast, the unbeliever's experience of fullness is fundamentally different - rooted instead in the natural potential of human beings. Here, meaning arises not from beyond, but from what can be realised through human nature itself, understood in naturalistic terms

For believers, fullness is often experienced as something received - something that comes to them as a gift. It is felt through a personal relationship with a being capable of love and generosity. Approaching this sense of fullness typically involves practices such as prayer, devotion, and other acts of surrender or connection.

In contrast, the unbeliever’s experience is markedly different. Here, the pursuit of fullness is rooted within the self. The power to achieve it lies internally. There are various expressions of this, one of which centres on our nature as rational beings - where meaning and fulfilment are sought through reason, understanding, and self-realisation.

Thus, for the unbeliever, fullness is found when this inner power is fully embraced and allowed to guide one’s life. As rational agents, we possess the capacity to create and live by the laws we give ourselves. Fulfilment comes when we acknowledge our own fragility and yearning, yet still rise to admire the very laws we craft - laws born not of external command but of internal conviction.

The power, for the unbeliever, lies within. And the more this power is realised, the clearer it becomes that morality must be autonomous - self-given - rather than heteronomous, imposed from without.

The crucial distinction outlined above underscores a central point I wish to emphasise: the relationship between stories and narratives, and how they shape our perceptual framework—and, by extension, our understanding and experience of the world. Human beings are fundamentally guided by stories, which shape our perceptual framework and influence what we choose to focus on. Our cognitive orientation is structured around the narratives we adopt, which condition how we interpret and engage with the world.

For example, when playing Where’s Wally or solving a complex puzzle, our minds become attuned to the specific task at hand. In the case of Where’s Wally, we train our perceptual system to detect the particular visual characteristics of the character amidst a complex background, sharpening our focus on the elements that are most relevant to solving the problem. This cognitive process is not limited to games - it extends to the broader narratives we tell ourselves about life, reality, and existence. The stories we adopt shape not only our attention but also our fundamental understanding of the world.

The same principle applies to the previously referenced instance concerning the numinous experience - an encounter that becomes significantly more vivid and profound when one internalises the belief in a Creator who engages relationally with humanity. In this context, the experience is not merely sensory but is perceived as a manifestation of that divine relationality. The chirping of birds, the rustling of leaves, and the whisper of the wind are all heightened and enriched, taking on deeper significance.

By contrast, when one lives in unbelief, their perceptual faculties seem dulled, as though obscured by a thick fog. The world appears muted, and the numinous experience loses its depth. Instead of being a relational encounter with a personal transcendental being, it becomes flat and unremarkable. The moment may still occur, but it is sudden, subdued, and interpreted merely as a sequence of natural processes, coloured by a naturalistic framework, rather than as a divine outreach extending through the veil of creation to connect personally with man.