Perception Can Become Greater Than Reality
[Music]
uh
y’all know what i just did there
did y’all know what i just did
nobody caught that
what did i just do
i stepped off the red circle
to some of y’all that may seem like
that’s not a big deal
some people just said you just simply
moved outside of that red circle
some people said you just took one step
but it can be a whole lot more profound
than that just taking one step
before i get to that let me give an
example there’s this movie out there by
a guy named m nightshield i don’t know
if you guys ever seen it’s called the
village
in this move the village
these people in this village was told a
certain type of stories
they were told
to live by certain kind of rules
they said if you stay within these rules
you are going to be safe
if you do what we say you will remain
safe you will not be punished for
sticking by these rules
so they came up with these stories about
these certain kind of creatures
that if they do break the rules or if
they go beyond the boundaries of what
they were told to
they would be punished by these
creatures
i had the same kind of experience
and in this movie
there was a girl
in the movie
she went beyond what she was supposed to
she went beyond the village she went
beyond the walls
and when she got over the wall she
realized something she was in modern
world and if you have not seen a movie
they were pretty much living like
pilgrims if you haven’t seen a movie the
village
they were cut off by these boundaries
that they were not supposed to go
outside of right but she went outside of
those boundaries
turns out
she was blind
she was blind the whole time in the
movie she was blind
you say well what’s the significance of
that
this same type of thing can be happening
to us and we don’t even know it
take me for example
grew up in chicago some lived down in an
area in illinois called decatur illinois
while living there
i was told
these same kind of stories
i was told that
the type of life that i was supposed to
have i need to stay within these certain
type of boundaries
if i step outside these boundaries
there’s no place for people like me
outside those boundaries
i was told that if you go and step
outside these boundaries there’s going
to be some type of danger there
there’s going to be something there
there’s going to be an evil force
there’s going to be something that’s
going to hate you there’s going to be
something that is not going to like you
it’s intimidating
folks like you don’t have no place
outside that so it’s safer
here
it’s safer being with the rest of us
now
those rules
those stories were they there
to protect me
or could it be
were those rules there
to actually limit me
i had some cousins
that they always tell me these same type
of stories like i just told you guys
about the village
i was told that
there’s these type of creatures that
hang out in the basement right
that and they come out at night time
this is this a series
came out at night time right
and what would happen is this
where i live the only way to get to the
kitchen
to get something to drink was to go past
this basement door
and when i walked past this basement
door
it was just complete darkness down there
and they would always say if you go down
at nighttime these creatures these
things they will come out and they can
get you
i used to get all the way down there
to the to the main floor walk towards
the kitchen and there was that door
right there i would freeze
sit there scared to death start shaking
sweating
okay i guess i don’t need no water i
would go right back upstairs lay down
so thirsty
it had gotten to the point where this
was a repetitive thing at least three
four times a month i would go down the
stairs so thursday throw dry i just want
to get something to drink but then if i
go past that door something’s gonna
reach his hand and snatch me and pull me
down in the basement
one time
i couldn’t take it anymore
i walked down those stairs
got to that basement door
just like this carpet
i went downstairs in that basement
completely dark hands on the side of the
wall walking down there everything you
can think of in a horror movie what’s
happening the stairs is quick
going down these stairs
i get down those stairs touch that cold
basement floor barefooted
and i sat there
heart rate
sweating
okay i’m waiting for the heck of my
chickens to get me
they’re gonna get me okay
next thing though
heart rate started slowing down
heart rate started slowing down
started breathing better my eyes started
adjusting to the darkness
guess what happened to me
did anybody know what happened to me
obviously i’m here
they didn’t get me
there was nothing there
there was absolutely nothing there
what does that all mean
all because
i believed
in something that they told me
all because i believed in these stories
that they told me
they became engrafted
in me it became engrafted in my mind it
became engrafted in my brain i believed
those stories i believed them so much
that my body reacted as if they were
true
every time i walked to that darn floor
to get to that refrigerator try to get
something to drink
i thought that if i walked past there
something would get me i believed it
that much
but do you know what kept me from
getting to my goal
what kept me from getting to the
refrigerator
what kept me from getting what kept me
from quenching my thirst
was it the stories that they told me
you can say that yes but ultimately what
kept me from getting there was fear
fear kept me from getting to my goal
fear kept me from getting to the place
where i wanted to go all because i
believed in these stories that they told
me
so
here it is
coming from areas that i lived in
projects the ghetto these stories that i
was told that someone that looks like me
don’t go outside these walls because
there’s going to be a force there that’s
going to limit somebody that looks just
like you there’s going to be a evil
there that’s going to keep you bound
there’s going to be evil that if you
step outside these walls right here
trust me
it’s going to get you
guess what i decided to do
i’ll reflect it back onto those stories
my cousins told me about the
hickomachica that was in the basement
hmm let me go try this thing out
i stepped outside
of the walls that were planted there
i stepped outside that belief system
that was said to me that if you go
outside these walls there’s going to be
a force there that’s going to limit you
found myself
going to college
check
people like me
you don’t get told you go to college if
you go to college there’s going to be a
force that’s going to keep you from
going you will not be able to be
successful no because there’s going to
be a force there there’s going to be an
either to keep you from going
found myself
married where i come from
unheard of
check
found myself with two sons raised them
19 to 17 years old
married to my wife still with my family
unheard of
these beliefs that can be placed in us
can be so strong that you have no idea
that you’ve been living your life to
simply perceive
perception can become greater than
reality
i was taught to perceive
that these monsters existed
i was taught to perceive
that if i step outside these walls
there was going to be something there
for me i was taught to perceive
that if i tried to get to the
refrigerator machine was going to get me
when the reality kicked in
it was not there
it did not exist
and once i found out that those things
did not exist
there was no stopping me
nothing could stop me from getting to my
goal now so now every time somebody
comes up and tell me a story
that they feel might be somewhat
protection
to me somewhat protective of me
i question it are they trying to protect
me
or could it be that it’s a possibility
they can be limiting me
just like this little rug right here
they say stay within that rug it’s best
for you stay within that rug because
that’s what everybody does stay within
this rock right here because that’s
where you’re going to get the best shots
was but you telling me i don’t look good
right here either
get back inside that rug ty stay within
those boundaries ladies and gentlemen
all of us in here
some shape form of fashion
have been told
some sort of story like i have right now
if you can reflect back and think about
anything that you’ve been told in your
life
through your family through your friends
that they tell us so much they tell us
so strongly it has to be for real but
have any of you actually been courageous
enough to go outside those boundaries to
see if they are indeed real
are you possibly sitting here right now
stuck
in your mental village
are you possibly sitting here right now
stuck
because some type of ideology or way
that you were taught to think and feel
about something
you still think that way right now you
still feel that way right now without
ever knowing
if it is indeed
real
a lot of people have lived their life
based on nothing more than perception
years down the road
living their lives based on perception
thinking that that is reality when it
all turns out it is indeed not
i have a saying that i say all the time
i’m going to leave you guys with this
it’s simple
and it’s my quote so somebody still i’m
copyrighting them
i say this all the time
do not
listen to this closely because a lot of
us do it we do it to our children we do
it to our friends we do it to our family
do not
place your limits
on me
based off of what you
are incapable of achieving because we do
that a lot somebody wants to do
something i wouldn’t do that if i was
you because it’s too hard oh i wouldn’t
do that biology because we let’s no
longer do that anymore
do not remember this do not
place your limits on me
based off of what you are incapable of
achieving
ladies and gentlemen thank you very much
[Music]