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Are you seeing things?

Do you ever see things in the clouds, or rocks, or patterns on the floor, ceiling, marble, etc. that isn't really there? I've seen faces, angels, crosses, birds, hearts, or whatever in the clouds, or patterns on the floor, wall paper, trees, etc. There is a name for it. It's called pareidolia.


Pareidolia is the tendency to see meaningful images out of random or ambiguous visual patterns. At one time they thought it was a sign of psychosis, but now it is recognized as a normal part of human thinking. Seeing things like faces in the clouds is actually quite natural and helps us have a healthy imagination and creativity.


I don't have a lot to say about pareidolia at the moment, other than the fact that I learned a new word to describe what I've seen since I was born. I didn't know it had a name. If you are looking at the clouds and see a swan, but your friend sees something different, that's okay. Seeing things and how we interpret what we see, is an individual thing. I may see a face in the clouds, but you see something different or nothing at all. That's okay.





Do you see the face in the clouds in my painting called "Get Ready"? It was painted unintentionally. I didn't see it until later.





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