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my own subjective sense

English translation: my personal perception

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
English term or phrase:my own subjective sense
Selected answer:my personal perception
Entered by: BdiL

16:31 May 8, 2019
English language (monolingual) [PRO]
Social Sciences - General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters / meditation practice
English term or phrase: my own subjective sense
Dear colleagues,
I was wondering about the meaning of “my own subjective sense” in this context: I know that “sense” can have several meanings but I’m not sure about which one to choose. Does “my own subjective sense” refer to “the author's direct experience” with the meditation practice, or might it have a broader meaning and refer to his “personal opinion/impression” about what he may have seen in his patients and participants in his workshops? (or neither of them!!)

I try to provide a little context. The passage is taken from a book on a meditation practice called the Wheel of Awareness, which is used also in psychotherapy. The Wheel is a visual metaphor for the mind. The hub of the wheel is our knowing, our awareness, while the points on the rim are the "knowns", the objects of awareness. Accessing the hub – i.e. awareness – gives us freedom and choice, so the hub is akin to a “plane of possibility” (actually, the line of reasoning is more complex, as it draws on quantum physics and the plane of possibility is akind to “quantum vacuum”...). I hope this helps somehow...

I sincerely thank you for your patience.
******************

The vastness of the plane of possibility gives us the capacity, when we’ve learned to access it more readily, both to have a more sustained focal attention and to hold on to a sense of freedom and flexibility to take in a wide expanse of emerging experiences. Perhaps this corresponds to what Richie Davidson found in his meditation research as ways in which we increase the ability to stay focused and aware even as the things we are attending to change. ** My own subjective sense ** of this with the Wheel practice is that there is a broader receptivity with which to experience and appreciate all that arises.
haribert
Local time: 22:02
my personal perception
Explanation:
...stemming from my direct experience etc.

This is how I interpret this phrase, as opposed to "objective sense", which, were we to analyze the context you gave us (and I'm no expert at that), probably does not exist, because, in meditation, so to speak, everybody "spins the wheel" in his or her own fashion. And much is influenced by "previous sense" experienced. Therefore, as meditation burrows deeper, consciousness adds a layer after the other.

IMHO

Maurizio
Selected response from:

BdiL
Italy
Local time: 22:02
Grading comment
Dear colleagues, this is one of those instances in which there doesn’t seem to be only one “right” or “wrong” answer.
If possible, I would give points (many many points, actually!) to all of you for your help and patience all along.
After reading again some parts of the book, I think that BdL's, Maurizio's proposal might be more suitable, considering this particular context.
I really wish to thank you all!

4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED
4 +3Feeling
Lincoln Hui
3 +1my personal perception
BdiL
3my intuition/instant opinion
AllegroTrans


  

Answers


13 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +3
Feeling


Explanation:
You're right that "sense" can have several different meanings, which is why I don't think you should try to pinpoint any single one of them. My own subjective sense of what the author means by "my own subjective sense" is that he's talking about his "feeling".

So "personal opinion/impression" comes close, but if one is to be precise, it's probably something that's even vaguer, a "feeling" that sort of occupies the twilight zone between "opinion" and "impression", which may possibly encompass both but does not actually fall into either camp.

I don't think there is any way to know whether the author got this feeling from experimenting on himself or by using it with a third party.

Lincoln Hui
Hong Kong
Local time: 04:02
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in ChineseChinese, Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 20
Notes to answerer
Asker: Hi, Lincoln, thank you so much for your contribution (and also for the funny play on words)!


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  philgoddard
22 mins
agree  Philip Yaeger
2 hrs
neutral  AllegroTrans: He's expressing an opinion, not a feeling: "...is that there is a broader receptivity with which to experience and appreciate all that arises" is not a feeling, it's clearly an opinion, albeit an intuitive one
1 day 8 hrs
agree  B D Finch: I think your suggestion of "impression", or "subjective impression" comes closest. Important to recognise that this is weaker than "opinion" and "subjective" as it's not based on empirical evidence.
1 day 22 hrs
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1 day 20 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
my personal perception


Explanation:
...stemming from my direct experience etc.

This is how I interpret this phrase, as opposed to "objective sense", which, were we to analyze the context you gave us (and I'm no expert at that), probably does not exist, because, in meditation, so to speak, everybody "spins the wheel" in his or her own fashion. And much is influenced by "previous sense" experienced. Therefore, as meditation burrows deeper, consciousness adds a layer after the other.

IMHO

Maurizio

BdiL
Italy
Local time: 22:02
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in ItalianItalian
PRO pts in category: 8
Grading comment
Dear colleagues, this is one of those instances in which there doesn’t seem to be only one “right” or “wrong” answer.
If possible, I would give points (many many points, actually!) to all of you for your help and patience all along.
After reading again some parts of the book, I think that BdL's, Maurizio's proposal might be more suitable, considering this particular context.
I really wish to thank you all!
Notes to answerer
Asker: Hi, Maurizio! Thank you very much for your proposal! I was really struggling... I think it might be a good solution, because it seems to include both the meaning of “personal point of view” and, in a way, that of “experience” with the meditation practice...


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  AllegroTrans
2 days 13 hrs
  -> Thanks mate! The agree of a native speaker is always a balm to me. Maurizio
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1 day 8 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
my intuition/instant opinion


Explanation:
I posit this word instead of feeling. A feeling is a spontaneous inner reaction to something and is described in a word, e.g. "I feel happy", "I feel sad" and there are 4 categories of feelings into which all feelings fall - soorow, joy, anger and fear.

What the text here is describing is an opinion that the writer has formed, i.e. his or her thoughts on the matter.

Thouhghts and feelings are totally separate (although many many people confuse the two).

The distinction between thinking and feeling (cognition and emotion) is obviously a fundamental one in relation to what the mind does. ... When I say that feelings represent demands upon the mind to perform work, what I mean is that they represent demands on thinking. The work of the mind is thinking.6 Oct 2015
Thinking and feeling: what's the difference? - FutureLearn
https://about.futurelearn.com/blog/thinking-and-feeling-what...

Learning Thoughts and Emotions | Psychology Today
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/pieces.../learning-t...

16 Jun 2013 - When you have strong emotions, accurately labeling what you are experiencing is part of coping effectively. Distinguishing between thoughts ...
Feelings versus Thoughts - SMART Recovery
https://www.smartrecovery.org/smart-articles/feelings-versus...

Bet you start to say something like “it is devastating our planet”… but now that is a thought or belief, not a feeling. To relate a feeling about that question would be ...

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Note added at 1 day 21 hrs (2019-05-10 14:30:54 GMT)
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Hallo asker, no a feeling and an opinion are not the same. Many people confuse the two as I have said but please look at the definitions.

AllegroTrans
United Kingdom
Local time: 21:02
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 52
Notes to answerer
Asker: Thank you very much, AllegroTrans, for your contribution! If I'm not mistaken, "feeling" can mean also "opinion", not only "emotion"...

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